The Questions Executives Should Ask About 3D Printing

Channing Flynn for Harvard Business Review:  Most hearing aids in the U.S. are now custom-made on 3D printers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first 3D-printed pills. Carmakers have started using 3D technology to produce parts. And last year saw the first demonstration of a digital printer producing multilayer, standards-based circuit boards. Imagine the changes afoot in the pharmaceutical, medical device, automotive, and consumer electronics industries.

3D printing is poised to redefine global manufacturing and distribution. It could upend supply chains, business models, customer relationships, and even entrepreneurship itself. It may do to physical goods what cloud computing is now doing to digital services; what the PC, internet, and smart mobility have done to personal computing; and what outsourcing did to software development and business processing — take mass distribution and innovation to the next level while realigning the very geography of work and trade.  Cont'd...

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

MOTION CONTROLLERS FOR MINIATURE DRIVES AND MICRODRIVES

MOTION CONTROLLERS FOR MINIATURE DRIVES AND MICRODRIVES

FAULHABER has added another extremely compact Motion Controller without housing to its product range. The new Motion Controller is ideal for integration in equipment manufacturing and medical technology applications. With 36 V and 3 A (peak current 9 A), it covers the power range up to approx. 100 W and is suitable for DC-motors with encoder, brushless drives or linear motors.