3D printing was once an abstract concept, an inventor’s daydream. Today, it’s a manufacturer’s reality. Indeed, more and more organizations are printing an array of objects when and where they want. In fact, 3D printing is on the cusp of changing everything for manufacturers, from the way products are designed to the way prototypes are produced.
Industry experts believe that the world can expect even more breakthroughs in this technology in the coming months and years ahead.
- The rate of innovation will increase: Companies will increase their use of 3D printing for prototypes, combining it with CNC machining and cast urethanes to get new products to market faster and at a lower cost.
- Entire products will be printed: In addition to using this technology to print prototypes, companies will soon employ it to print entire products, including electronic devices, engine parts and more.
- The transportation industry will be a big winner: As the technology matures, 3D-printed parts will become lighter, more durable and fuel-efficient, resulting in better planes, automobiles and trains.
- It will save lives: There will come a time in the near future when medical devices are custom-printed for patients, improving their efficacy and affordability.
- It will be available to the masses: Malls will someday feature stores where customers can drop in and have products printed on demand.
- Customers will customize: Consumers will have the ability to design products to their exact specifications, have them printed and delivered to their doors.
- It will build businesses: 3D printing will do for manufacturing what the Internet did for tech companies.
- A new generation will emerge: There will come a time when our children will have the ability to print products on demand.
- New products will emerge: The most exciting new products haven’t yet been imagined, just like how the iPhone wasn’t fathomable a decade ago.
- Factories will be transformed: New materials, new machines and new techniques for prototyping and producing products will take manufacturing to the next level.
Why wait for the future to make the most of 3D printing? Contact PDS today to combine the power of 3D-printed prototyping with the power of CNC machining and cast urethane.