Three-dimensional printers spray thin strips of molten plastic, metal or some more exotic material through a specialized nozzle, forming layers that accumulate into an object described by a digital design file. Manufacturers see the technology?s potential to shorten supply chains, accelerate production, and create lighter and more complex parts, with replacements printable on demand. The U.S. government is investing in 3-D printing for use in energy research, defense and space exploration.
Although home versions ? desktop varieties now cost as little as $300 ? still tend to be slow and hard to use, their appeal to hobbyists and tinkerers has surged, leading to a small flowering of entrepreneurs. The hype has often overtaken the reality. Even so, everything from from cars to bionic ears have already been printed. In 2013, the market expanded by 34.9 percent, the biggest increase in almost two decades. And the global industry will more than quadruple to about $12.5 billion by 2018, according to an estimate by Wohlers Associates, a consultant.
Opportunity:
It?s been called a ?game changer,? a ?world changer? and a ?life changer.? It?s predicted to disrupt everything from medicine to manufacturing to military strategy. It?s being used to create guns and gold jewelry, houses and human hearts. Three-D printing has evolved in the past few years from an obscure industrial process to an exemplar of digital-age innovation ? with all the thrilling potential, lurid hype and amorphous menace that goes with it.
Impact: ธุรกิจทั่วโลก
