3D printing and the consumer space: The myths and realities

Having been “involved” with the consumer space of 3D Printing (“3DP”) for the last two years, the road of discovery – or more accurately distinguishing between myths and realities – has been and continues to be a fascinating and rewarding one.

Firstly as many know, 3DP is nothing new, having been around for at least twenty years. The “hype” in the last 3 – 4 years is no doubt due to “rapid” advances in technologies: design software, printers and materials. The “reality” is that 3DP remains very much industry oriented; it was reported in 2014 that over 70% of “large” manufacturers in the U.S. deploys 3DP to various extend and largely confined to prototyping.

Secondly, the “hype” may be propagated by the proliferation of “home” 3DP printers with prices coming down as low as several hundred US Dollars apiece – mainly due to expiration of IP licenses. The “reality” remains that 3DP “home” printers are good only for making of small plastic-like gadgets and hobby items while helping to attract “beginners”, children included.

Thirdly, already many artist-designers are attracted to the 3DP consumer space, struggling against many constraints while paving the way to the day of “hundred flowers blossom”. Herein are some of the myths and realities:

Fashion: We have seen more than a few stunningly beautiful high-fashion gowns on catwalks; including one made from a 3DP “pen” by a pair of design-school students of Hong Kong. The reality is that it takes up to several hundred hours to “print”, not to mention effort in design and tailoring works and the plastic-like material is basically not wearable.

Shoes: High-heels made of nylon. wear one at one’s own risk!

Jewelry: 3DP jewelry has been around for several years. Such is the use of 3DP to make the mould of what in the trade is known as “lost wax casting”. Jewelry made of direct 3DP while available remains few and far in between.

Home Decor: As more and more materials are becoming available – metals, ceramics, glass, wood etc are increasingly becoming available. We have already seen some stunningly beautiful products such as lighting, vases and mobiles by 3DP.

Another “myth” of 3DP may be “manufacturing on demand” and “customization”. While it is true that a single piece of good may be made by 3DP “on demand”, it remains prohibitively expensive due to design and setup costs. All-in cost of 3DP production of, say, 10 pieces may be, say, a fifth of that of a single piece.

Another “reality” is that the production of professional-grade 3DP products remains in the hands of a few service bureaus whose delivery cycle may take up to a few weeks while shipping cost remains prohibitive such that 3DP consumer goods are far from being competitive in terms of price and availability.

What we see as most encouraging is more and more artist-designers are increasingly attracted to the 3DP space, including many well-established and distinguished artists and designers of all disciplines: architecture, fashion, jewelry, modern art, animation, and electronic games.

Then 3DP technologies are evolving at blinding speed. Other than HP announcing its new 3D printer that will be 20 or 30 times faster than existing ones, Taiwan just announced coming production of new metal printer at a fraction of price of existing ones.

So myths of today may likely become realities of tomorrow – which may be only a year or two around the corner.