Three 3D Printing Trends To Watch For Early 2016

2016 looks to be a breakout year for the industry as senior executives’ eyes are on the technology’s potential. The industrial market for 3D printing real end-use parts looks poised to begin its long growth run, with far reaching implications. 2016 will likely usher in 3D printing’s first “killer apps,” impacting both product design and supply chains. No matter what, 2016 will be a year when leaders across industries will be compelled to pay close attention to the emerging opportunities and disruptions that 3D printing is creating.

Here are eight 3D printing trends to watch in 2016.

1. Consumer Market Drop

It appears they may be late to the party. 2015 marked the end of the 3D printing consumer market hype cycle with Stratasys (the acquirer of MakerBot) taking massive write-offs and 3D Systems shutting down its entire consumer unit in December. With prospects dimming for the short-term consumer market, attention will quickly turn toward 3D printing’s area of greatest promise — industrial applications.

2. Pushing The Limits Of Technology

While GE and Ford have touted their rapid progress with 3D printing, many others are achieving some incredible accomplishments.  Look for exciting announcements about exotic new 3D printing materials such as glass and graphene and 3D printed objects that shatter the previous limitations on shape and size. These “big area” 3D printing machines hold the promise of manufacturing an entire airplane wing structure or blades for massive wind turbines in a single print.

3. Outsourced 3D Printing Gains Share

Most internal design shops have access to an in-house “pro-sumer” 3D printer. But despite advances in the technology, these printers remain difficult to use, often result in print errors, and are subject to traffic jams when everyone wants to print something at the same time. As the speed and sophistication of external providers has increased dramatically, with some now guaranteeing 24-hour production/delivery, many engineers and designers are ditching their internal printers in favor of a external service providers. Many firms feel they don;t have to buy a machine at all.

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3D Printing Funded on Shark Tank

Keri and Alesia enter seeking $100,000 for 10% of the business. They show some samples and how their software works, then they hand out samples of each Shark as a superhero. The Sharks love them! They tell the Sharks about how they learned about 3D modeling and marketing. They are not at market yet. It’s costs $15 for one model and they sell for $60. Each 3D printer can produce 100 heads per day. New printers cost $45K, but they own two used printers they bought for $20K each.
There are other personalized action figure businesses, doing a small amount of sales. Their best customers are aged 30-45 years old. Robert thinks it’s clever, Mr. Wonderful wants to know if it’s proprietary. The 3D printing software they developed is patent pending.

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3D Printing From Apple?

A patent doesn’t guarantee that Apple will produce a printer, however — as with most large design companies — the tech giant files and receives thousands of patents, for everything from haptic feedback systems to staircases to public transportation systems. And it’s highly unlikely that anything they might make would be open hardware, despite the historically open nature of the 3D printing community.

But Apple’s foray into this market would mean that 3D printing would get its brightest spotlight yet, putting these tools into the hands of people that would otherwise not be looking into this field. That’s a fascinating proposition. According to the Association of 3D Printing, “it’s a logical step. Apple has a reputation for making the some of the coolest products out there. And 3D Printing is cool.”

3D Printed Christmas Ornaments – Why Not 3D Print Your Holiday?

For many people, decorating their home and Christmas trees with ornaments is one of the most enjoyable ways to capture the magic and excitement of the holidays.

Although Christmas trees first appeared in America in the 1700s, the emergence of the modern Christmas tree actually dates back to 15th and 16th century Germany.

Evergreens were used first in church plays at Christmas and were hung with apples to symbolize a Paradise tree. Paradise trees later found their way into homes, where they were adorned with small white wafers, and later, small pastries cut into stars, angels, hearts and flowers.

During the next 200 years, this custom slowly spread throughout Germany and Europe. Decorated trees were brought to America by Hessians – German mercenaries – fighting in the Revolutionary War.

Christmas wasn’t widely celebrated in the United States until the 1800s, however, because of the Puritans’ influence. As a result, decorated trees did not become widely popular until people saw the ornaments brought to America by families emigrating from Germany and England in the 1840s.

Now in 2015, can Christmas undergo a revival with 3D printed ornaments?