Probably you read the title and were expecting a nerdy listicle about cool 3D printing technologies of the future — a list no doubt referencing 3D printed organs, human augmentation, and life-size homes squirted from a nozzle.
But this article isn’t what you might initially expect. Here, we aim to explore the higher-level impact of 3D printing advancements as it relates to the distribution of manufacturing power, rather than micro-level innovations. The truth is, the most important aspect of 3D printing in the future is not a specific process or technology, it’s democratization.
First, Some Context
What many people don’t realize is that 3D printing has existed since the late 20th century, with Charles “Chuck” Hull inventing stereolithography in 1984. Yet, hardly anyone knew about it for years, because the technology was shuttered behind patents. When those patents expired, 3D printing technology became accessible to more people, and the consumer 3D printing community was born. Helping it spread its wings was another humble innovation called the Internet.
Though some forms of 3D printing remain solidly in the professional manufacturing world, much of it has become accessible to the average consumer. For instance, SLA still has a presence in pro-grade manufacturing — Carbon3D’s patented CLIP technology, for example, is a derivative of SLA –but it’s also made its way into consumer machines like the Formlabs Form 2.
What does this show? Like any technology, 3D printing is being adopted by more and more people over time. It’s already started the classic “adoption lifecycle” and is now entering the “early adopters” phase with consumer 3D printing.
Democratization, Decoded
As more and more people have access to the technology, more and more people have the power to impact 3D printing as a whole. Look no further than the RepRap movement: One person gained access and decided to make a reprintable printer, which quickly spread access to thousands. Now, anyone can buy a 3D printer from Amazon, a remarkable shift for the industry, as a whole.
That’s democratization at work, already.
Why You Should Care
Capable printers like this Snapmaker are becoming more accessible. Source: Snapmaker
The development of 3D printing is remarkably similar to the development of the Internet, especially in terms of impact. In the late 1990s, people thought the Internet was a fad — an experiment for nerds that wouldn’t change anything. Flash forward to 2019, and few people dispute the magnitude of change the Internet has wrought upon humanity.
The Internet democratized information. Now, anyone can start their own “TV show” on YouTube or a business on Shopify. Most importantly, anyone can find the answer to (almost) anything in five seconds thanks to modern search engines.
Of course, there’s a limitation to this democracy (when was the last time you directed a blockbuster?) but the point is that the barrier of entry has almost entirely been torn down. Previously, if you wanted to distribute a TV show, you had to sign a deal with a network, who held the keys to distribution. Now, you can pick up your smartphone and premiere your series about exotic cats on YouTube, thirty minutes after you start filming.
“The Internet Effect” with 3D Printing
The same effect will apply to 3D printing in the future: The power to make will be democratized. More people will be able to make more things. Just like the Internet, there will be limitations — few people will be able to print life-size passenger planes from their garage — but there are mountains of changes that are just waiting to be explored.
THE FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING
Democratization: Creating, Not Replacing
Desktop, prosumer SLS printers create opportunity rather than replace industrial SLS. Source: 3Ders
The biggest impact of the democratization of production lies in the new things it will create, not what it will replace. Certain forms of manufacturing won’t go away anytime soon, such as injection molding, which is excellent for large, uniform batches of parts.
To illustrate the idea of new and old coming together, let’s take another page out of the Internet book. Radio has been around for decades, but in recent years, a new form of listening built on the back of the Internet has become mainstream: podcasts.
Previously, you had to pull strings at a radio station in order to share your voice with the masses. Now, starting your own show is as simple (in theory) as downloading an app and recording your first episode.
That doesn’t mean radio has disappeared. Now, podcasts merely exist as a different version of the radio concept, a form that’s more distributed with lower barriers of entry.
Similarly, the democratization of 3D printing won’t eradicate traditional manufacturing with patented technologies. Instead, it will create new opportunities for innovation. In other words, what’s exciting is the opportunities that distributed manufacturing will create, and some current trends already point to possibilities within the next few decades.
THE FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING
Existing Trends to Watch
A large robot building a house. Source: Inhabitat
Finally, it’s time for the most captivating part of the article. In the following, we look at some of the ways the democratization of production might affect different industries. Of course, existing developments are included and used to predict the tangible possibilities in the near future.
Here are the industries we’ll focus on:
Art and Fashion
Medicine
Architecture and Construction
Automotive and Aerospace
Case Studies: Art and Fashion
A 3D printed sculpture. Source: Sculpteo
Disrupting with a Flourish
3D printing was first invented to improve manufacturing, and as such, the use cases were heavily utilitarian. Once the technology spread to people with less concrete agendas, however, artists saw a new medium to practice their craft in. Now, people have created amazing pieces of artwork with the technology.
As the 3D printing processes that are accessible to consumers become more capable, one can only imagine the kind of artwork that will be produced.
Novel forms of artistic expression will crop up everywhere when better and better 3D printing technology lands in the hands of more and more people.
The Expanding World of Fashion
Designers are already experimenting with 3D printing in the design process, whether that’s by printing directly on fabric, adding printed fixtures to pieces, or incorporating flexible materials to eliminate seams.
But the possibility of advanced personalization in fashion is equally exciting. Personalized soles in footwear is a prime example.
When it comes to the fashion industry, we don’t have to squint to see that better 3D printing is becoming common, and common 3D printing is getting better.
3D printing in luxury fashion. Source: Forbes
Prototyping is the Future
For most of us, the most familiar 3D printing use case will probably be a significant one in the design world: iterating through a design concept. It’s highly likely that many design hemispheres, including product design studios, furniture shops, and metalworking shops will soon make use of 3D printing in some parts of their workflow, especially if the technology becomes more user-oriented and accessible.
It’s not a stretch to think a machine that can produce accurate prototypes very quickly will be used to offer tighter feedback loops between designers and customers in all kinds of design-centric industries.
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