Friday, September 13, 2013

3D printing big in America, bigger in China

3D printing — the construction of solid objects by building them up, a layer at a time, in plastic or metal — often called the next big thing in manufacturing, will grow by 28 percent in 2013, according to a consultancy firm, and is especially popular in the U.S. and China.

Cheap 3D printers for consumers are selling fast, although the comprise 5 percent of the market. Although many are still used for prototypes, in 2012 more than 25 percent of the items made in 3D printers were finished parts, up from 4 percent in 2003, said Wohlers Associates.

Wohlers forecasts that the 3Dsector, worth $2.2 billion in 2012, will grow by 28 percent this year. Align Technology, which makes transparent dental braces, printed 17 million of them last year alone. NASA, recently tested a rocket engine with a 3D-printed fuel injector. Printing meant it could be made with just two parts instead of 115. A recent study on the technology by another firm, CM Research, reported that manufacturers who do not adopt 3D printing "may find themselves at a cost disadvantage faster than they think."

For more of The Economist story: economist.com

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