Imagine a future in which a device connected to a computer can print a
solid object. A future in which we can have tangible goods as well as
intangible services delivered to our desktops or highstreet shops over
the Internet. And a future in which the everyday "atomization" of
virtual objects into hard reality has turned the mass pre-production and
stock-holding of a wide range of goods and spare parts into no more
than an historical legacy.
Such a future may sound like it is being plucked from the worlds of Star Trek.
However, while transporter devices that can instantaneously deliver us
to remote locations may remain a fantasy, 3D printers capable of
outputting physical objects have been in development for over two
decades and are starting to present a whole host of new digital
manufacturing capabilities. 3D printing may therefore soon do for
manufacturing what computers and the Internet have already done for the
creation, processing and storage of information.
This is amazing. I can't wait for this technology to become cheap, accessible, and widespread. But then again, there's a word of caution for those who are still lavishing in the euphoria of this suddenly-real technology's potential:
Everyone's now aware of 3D printing — they’ve read about it in the
papers, on blogs or seen it on TV. The mentality now seems to be that,
in the future, we'll be able to download our products or make them
ourselves with CAD programs, apps and 3D scanners, then just print them
out, either at home, or in localised print shops. Which in turn will
supposedly decentralize manufacturing, bringing it back to the West. But
like the cupcake, Daft Punk’s latest album, or goji berries, 3D
printing is severely overhyped — and I should know, because it’s what I
do for a living.
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