3 D printing is all the rage but will it make investors rich or is it still mostly hype?! In the June 11th Boston Globe business section, there is a discussion about 3D printing and prosthetics.Using MRIs and combining them with 3D printers, certain companies are able to produce faster and cheaper individual fitting prostheses that fit better and are lighter than prostheses manufactured the old fashioned method.  Now, the old fashioned method is not so different,  a computer combines with a lathe and cutting devices to shape a prosthesis that is then fitted over and over multiple times until it fits perfectly.  The greater the skill of the technician, the fewer fittings before the prosthesis fits properly.   Obviously the technician must have many skills with the computer, material and machining.  Currently, we have a shortage of this type of labor skill in the US.  Also, because of the nature of the work, it is slow and time consuming and the finished product is a high value (expensive) product.

The benefit of 3D printing for this type of application is simple.  We replace the skilled technician working for long periods of time with a printer operator and Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings.  The operator inputs the CAD drawing to the printer, sets the correct mix of materials from the  drawings.  The process can take a day or more to produce but, in general, it is more accurate, uses less material and often fits better than a machined product.  Therefore, on products such as prostheses, prototypes, medical devices, aeronautic parts and other low volume, expensive to manufacture parts, 3D printing is economical today.

The process is similar to the facsimile (fax) machine.  The general principles of the fax machine were known from the 1870s as an outgrowth of the telegraph.  However, until the early 1980s, the technology to produce a decent fax copy did not exist.  Then once the wiring and machine technology caught up, the product took off and became ubiquitous within a short period of time.  Of course, the internet and file sharing has made the fax almost obsolete.  We have a similar situation with 3D printing.  The actual technology is the ink jet printer.  Plastic or metal can be sprayed from heads and they are built up one layer at a time.  Just like early ink jet printers, they are slow and expensive.  Many of the 3D printers take several days to produce a product the size of a football, if it is solid.  Also the machines can run close to $500,000 (or more for the more sophisticated and faster machines).  So, the promise of 3D printing is certainly here and it is working its way into manufacturing.  But currently, it is for prototypes and low volume, highly expensive products.  As the technology develops, the price and speed will grow and things will change, but that could be a decade or more from now.

So, it is good that the media is reviewing these innovations and keeping us abreast of the latest technologies, but the current commercial value is much more limited than the hype suggests!