Editorials / Opinions
by John Hauer | Jul 20, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Popular Stories
I think there is tremendous opportunity for color in 3D printing. Here’s why. “For digital (2D) printing, the big tipping point was affordable color. I think the same will be true for 3D. Whether that’s best accomplished through production or finishing is a... 
by Sarah Anderson Goehrke | Jul 18, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Education
Driving a successful industry is a successful workforce; that workforce, though, has to come from somewhere. In terms of additive manufacturing, lately we’ve been seeing an increasing call toward the importance of education, skills, and training as the industry... 
by John Hornick | Jul 17, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Metal 3D Printing, Science & Technology
The field of 3D printing has been growing rapidly for years. It has applications in many areas of life and the economy, such as healthcare, aerospace, and parts replacement. 3D printing also reshapes supply chains and democratizes manufacturing. Fueled by this... 
by Joris Peels | Jul 12, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, 3D Printing Materials, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Metal 3D Printing
Metal 3D printing is a burgeoning area at the moment. Many companies are investing in metal 3D printing systems and the market is growing quickly. There are a number of different metal 3D printing technologies out there. In this article we’ll give you an overview of... 
by Joris Peels | Jun 26, 2017 | 3D Printer Reviews, 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Popular Stories, Science & Technology
There are a lot of 3D printers available nowadays. Which one do you buy? It really depends a lot on who you are and what you wish to use it for. Generally the more you pay for a 3D printer the more capable it becomes and the more reliable it is. There are quite a few... 
by Clare Scott | Jun 23, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Science & Technology
Over the past few months, our Spotlight on Women series has highlighted the contributions of many brilliant women in the field of 3D printing. Even as we’ve begun a new spotlight series focused on educators, we’re still receiving responses from women eager... 
by John Hauer | Jun 21, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Popular Stories
“Complexity is free” and “the cost is flat” are two of the biggest lies in 3D printing. Neither is true, and I’m going to prove it. Right now. MARKETING AND SALES Say you open a 3D printing service bureau. You want to fill it with work, so you... 
by John Hauer | May 25, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Editorials / Opinions, Exclusive Interviews, Science & Technology
Over the years I’ve written a lot about the safety of desktop 3D printing. When Underwriters Laboratory announced plans to enter the market, I covered it. When Dremel launched the IdeaBuilder I wrote that in my experience, it was among the first to be UL and CE... 
by Joris Peels | May 19, 2017 | 3D Printing, Editorials / Opinions
Many people somehow see 3D printing as some benign force. The technophile’s latest solution to the world’s ills is a small box that spits out plastic. It too, as the flying cars and jetpacks, will come to save us from ourselves. What many people do not... 
by Joris Peels | May 18, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, 3D Printing Materials, Business, Editorials / Opinions
Adidas has announced that it plans to 3D print 100,000 shoe soles of its Futurecraft 4 shoe by 2018. The German shoe and apparel company is doubling down on its Future Factories initiative where it is reshoring the production of shoes to Germany in highly automated... 
by Joris Peels | May 16, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions
The decentralization of production is a hot topic nowadays. The idea of distributing manufacturing that lets you make products close to your customer to obtain an edge in time to market and speed of delivery seems like an increasingly viable strategy for many high end... 
by Joris Peels | May 15, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Science & Technology
Our honeymoon is officially over. After a few years of being feted by the world’s media and being one of the most talked about tech subjects globally, 3D printing deception is now the norm. Inflated promises and overclaim by some vendors has led to user and... 
by Joris Peels | May 14, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Metal 3D Printing
Optomec is an American company that has two 3D printing technologies: Aerosol Jet and LENS. Aerosol Jet can be used to 3D print electronics and is being used to 3D print millions of mobile phone antennas. LENS is a metal 3D printing technology that can be added onto... 
by Joris Peels | May 12, 2017 | 3D Printing Materials, Editorials / Opinions, Robotics
Industrial additive manufacturing machines have been used to manufacture at scale for a number of years now. Especially in applications such as dental, surgical guides, hip cups and hearing aids, millions of end use parts have been made. DLP machines from EnvisionTEC,... 
by Sarah Anderson Goehrke | May 12, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, 3D Printing Materials, 3D Software, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Exclusive Interviews, Metal 3D Printing, Science & Technology
“Like fine wine, this event continues to improve year after year,” Terry Wohlers said in his keynote at RAPID + TCT. Applause, and appreciative laughter, followed Wohlers’ statement yesterday as the gathered crowd pondered his words. No one would... 
by John Hauer | Apr 28, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, 3D Software, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Education
A lot of progress has been made in 3D printing over the last five years. But much of that has been focused on the “what.” What printing technology? What materials? Beyond The “What” Many in 3D printing are so focused on the features, advantages... 
by Sarah Anderson Goehrke | Apr 24, 2017 | 3D Printing, 3D Software, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Science & Technology
The Materialise World Summit last week in Brussels was a remarkable event, filling two complete days with some of the brightest minds in additive manufacturing. The hyper-focused nature of the conference ensured that all attendees had a real reason to be there, and... 
by Shamil Hargovan | Apr 20, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions
Last week was a huge week in both the $350B footwear industry and the 3D printing materials industries, when two companies I admire and respect, sports powerhouse Adidas and 3D molecular science sensation Carbon, announced the Futurecraft 4D performance shoe,... 
by Joris Peels | Apr 18, 2017 | 3D Printing, 3D Printing Materials, Aerospace 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions
3D printing has a lot of potential impacts and uses in business. Prototyping to producing intermediates and making end use 3D printed parts are just some of the application areas where 3D printing is seeing large-scale implementations at the moment. One of the touted... 
by Joris Peels | Apr 18, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions
Open source development has brought a lot of advantages to desktop 3D printing. Is our flirtation with open source a youthful indiscretion that will soon be discarded? Or is open source the key to our recent past and to unlocking the future of 3D printing? A Short... 
by Al Siblani | Apr 10, 2017 | 3D Printers, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Medical 3D Printing
As a company that has been inventing and manufacturing 3D printers and materials for 15 years, our company has had a front-row seat to amazing changes in the way things are made. We are also confident that much more progress is on the horizon, especially when it comes... 
by Sarah Anderson Goehrke | Apr 7, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Education
As we kick off our Spotlight Series focusing on the women of the 3D printing world, publishing interviews starting early next week, we have been in contact with several dozen impressive individuals already who come from a wide range of backgrounds. We’re talking... 
by Joris Peels | Mar 31, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printed Art, 3D Printing, 3D Software, Editorials / Opinions
3D printing is being used by artists, curators, museums and galleries worldwide to create works. Designers, sculptors, digital artists, painters and people new to the art world are using 3D printing as a medium to create works. This headfirst rush into the technology... 
by Sarah Anderson Goehrke | Mar 30, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Exclusive Interviews, Science & Technology
Earlier this month, we celebrated International Women’s Day by highlighting a very few of the women involved in the 3D printing industry today. The accomplishments of women in the industry are many, though, and certainly not limited to that talented five —... 
by Mara Hitner | Mar 27, 2017 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Exclusive Interviews, Science & Technology
My little maker heart is full after spending 48 hours at the 5th Annual Midwest RepRap Festival (aka MRRF) In Goshen, Indiana. Yes, over 1,000 people from 18 countries around the world made their way to the 4-H Fairgrounds in a tiny town (where Wal-Mart has horse and... 
by Terry Wohlers | Mar 19, 2017 | 3D Printing, Business, Editorials / Opinions, Science & Technology
Looking ahead is tricky business. Many try, but most can’t do it well. Predicting what might occur in a year from now is one thing, but looking further out, such as years or longer, is difficult. Megatrends author John Naisbitt said, “The most reliable way to forecast... 
