8 Ways 3-D Printing Will Revolutionize the Global Economy

3D printing has been around since the 1970's. This begs the question: why is it that we have only recently began to hear about it's applications? The answer: computer-directed modeling. Until recently, the software technology had simply not been on a level playing field with the hardware technology, as is the case in many industries. Recently, however, progress has been made. Ten years ago, products took weeks to generate a 3D digital model. Now, that process can be done in only hours. 

Currently, however, the predominance of this technology has yet to impact the average individuals life in any significant way. Why? Because 3D printing is still too slow. In fact, at the recent TED conference, Joseph Desimone made the bold assertion that "there are mushrooms that grow faster than 3D printed parts". Using the power of Moore's Law, it is very easy to envision that it is only a matter of time before the capabilities become much more widespread and affect the lives of everyone.

As a point of reference to allow yourself to envision the revolutionary impact that this technology will inevitably have on society, I encourage you to think of social media. Social media allowed for every individual with a smartphone to voice their opinion with others, instantly and effectively. In the same way, 3D printing will allow for a much lower cost of entry barrier to enter the market, and as a result, many more people will be able to enter the market who previously were restricted. This will implicitly lead to much lower cost and more personalized products, and especially in businesses like fashion, corporate giants will crumble to the infinite customization that this technology will afford.

Here are 8 major implications for the future of 3-D printing technology:

1) Medicine Will Be Individualized 

3-D printing allows for personalized objects to be printed instantly, perfectly conforming to the patients body. Further, organs (this has already been done successfully in the lab with mice) will be allowed to be personalized and therefore would eliminate the majority of the current problems with organ transplants (i.e. lack of supply of healthy organs, finding compatibility, bodies natural rejection of some organs). 3-D printing is already producing personalized hearing aids, dental restorations, orthodontic braces, and even skulls (smithsonian). 

2) Economies will become more localized

Time will become a more important factor once 3D printing expands. Thus, no longer will we rely on the current method of producing very cheap products abroad, and then ship them out across the globe to fetch a higher price tag. All of this will be able to be more efficiently done at the local level instead. 

3) Shifting Back to Resource-Based Economy 

Rather than our current market-based economy, we will become a resource based economy. Once there is a 3D printer in the majority of households, people will no longer find it beneficial to purchase a completed product which will subsequently then be sold for some multiple of what the product actually cost to produce. Instead, they will simply purchase the raw materials necessary for the product, and allow software to manufacture it. 

4) Legal & Criminal Implications

Crime will become more widespread and easy (however, Big Brother will almost inevitably hinder this). Currently, there is a growing concern among law enforcement that 3D printers already have the capability of producing untraceable weapons. 

5) Products will be essentially infinitely customizable. 

As a result, I would expect that industries, such as clothing, will be very significantly affected.

6) Labor-intensive economies (i.e. China) will be significantly affected

Instead of relying on their mass-manufacturing model which has been the source of strength to their economy, they will instead have to rely on their domestic market as the primary source of revenue, because no longer will there be an incentive for companies to waste valuable time and resources shipping across the oceans when any country would be able to print their products domestically in an instant.

7) Transportation, handling, storage costs will all decrease.. So EVERYTHING will be cheaper

When you buy a product, you are implicitly paying for all of the costs that it took for that product to reach the retailer. Thus, when these costs are eliminated through 3-D printing, the cost of the product will be allowed to be much more affordable.

8) Products will become much more quickly updated and upgraded

Currently, it takes a vast amount of resources to make alterations on a current product, which is why it also takes years in between different models of products. Ideally, one could envision a time when software applications will update themselves. Further, the concept of 4-D printing is attempting to create products which would be able to re-assemble themselves in the case of damage. This is truly an incredible time period we are living in.

While 3-D printing is inevitably going to revolutionize the world around us, we are simply not there yet. "Traditional methods of production in low-wage countries are still far faster and cheaper than additive manufacturing when large numbers of parts are needed" (Smithsonian). 

Currently, due to the slow nature of the process, 3-D printing is thriving in industries such as medicine and aviation, industries that rely on low volume, high complexity products. 

This will all soon change, isn't that right, Mr. Moore?