3 Impacts 3D Printing Will Have on Manufacturing
Phil Lelyveld
Entertainment Technology Center
[Industry Week]
Bloggers, techies, and industrial innovators in the know seem to have settled on one theme for this year: additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing. Many have called 2012 “the year of 3D printing” and expect this 30-year-old technology to break into the mainstream market soon with new industrial viability. …
What is clear, however, is that developments to the technology have allowed 3D printers to begin actively saving companies time and money while shortening product-to-market timetables and increasing customization capabilities.
Customization:
The additive manufacturing process is quite literally 3D printing, explained Frank Marangell, president of Israel-based Objet Technologies. …
Product-to-Market Speed:
The key to Apple Inc.‘s success, said Objet’s Marangell, is its ability to create a direct link between product and design. …
Efficiency:
“When you think about traditional manufacturing,” said Marangell, “you have to think about all the tooling upfront [as well as] the transportation, the storage, the inventory. Time is a big factor. You don’t even think about the inefficiencies of the process.”
Additive manufacturing changes this model, opening the door for new processes and new efficiencies across the manufacturing process. …
Read the full story here: http://www.industryweek.com/articles/3_impacts_3d_printing_will_have_on_manufacturing_26755.aspx?ShowAll=1&SectionID=4
