3D printing for your business?

3D Printing has been making the news a lot recently with some saying it will hail the death of mass production.

It has been around for some time but only now are big corporations taking it seriously and it is being used in manufacturing processes, taking away the need to outsource to as far away as China.

And it’s cheap, just look at what these entrepreneurs did and how much they managed to save -




Most astounding of all has to be the recent news of artificial blood vessels being made by a 3D printer, done by a team at Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. For years scientists have been creating ‘lab grown organs’ but have not been able to create the needed blood vessels for the organs. The team say it is especially promising and they will be revealing their findings at the Biotechnica Fair in Germany in October.

It’s not just plastics and metals either; there is a chocolate 3D printer under construction with many retailers keen to get their hands on them.

And don’t think the 3D printers is limited to small objects, it can also create large building materials.

I think businesses will find it hard to come to terms with the 3D printing revolution just the same as 'old' media cannot get to grips with 'new' media. It means the last 100 years of mass production is meaningless for the future of business. But wake up! It’s cheap and quick. Surely in this day of impatience that can only be good thing.

Related links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14946808
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14030720
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14282091

Written by Tom Hancock