3D Printing will Change the world...eventually

The world is changing at a rate so fast that its hard to even know what all is happening at any given moment. Technology has become so easy to obtain, as has information that anyone with a desire to make or create just about anything has become possible. One area in particular that is seeing tremendous focus is 3D printing. What is 3D printing? Its not magic but it might as well be. Its a printer, much like one at Kinko's but instead of printing paper with color, the printer 3D prints real-3 dimensional objects that you can hold in your hand. It's not a new industry. 3D printing has been around for 25 years but it only recently gained market appeal as the equipment and materials used for 3D printing advanced to the point to make the technology actually useful. For the past 10-15 years, people have been using this technology under the name Rapid Prototyping. It was essentially exactly what the name implies. A method of making a prototype of "something" quickly... In the past 5 or 6 years, several companies have evolved the concept of Rapid Prototyping into Rapid Manufacturing...which means using 3D printing to make products for end use, not just a prototype. Think of it like the Detroit Auto Show cars...pretty to look at but many of the future vehicles are fake. That is what a prototype is, something that resembles what the real thing will look like. What's most interesting today is that the companies pioneering the idea of 3D printing for consumers are moving the technology into the spotlight, something the equipment makers failed to do themselves. Instead of the general public hearing about 3D printing from a company like Xerox, you learn about it from a series of small startup companies all working to position the technology to change the way people make, buy and sell products. Let's get one thing straight. 3D printing will NOT replace traditional manufacturing. It will make custom manufacturing more affordable. It will also reduce pollution, and make manufacturing more sustainable. With 3D printing, waste is radically reduced. The energy and material to make your widget is consumed but not the energy for the scraps that end up in the dumpster at traditional manufacturing companies. Another advantage is print-on-demand manufacturing where the item is not made until the customer orders it. These ideas and early technology adopters are great but the real magic of 3D printing will come as tools and techniques for allowing consumers to personalize products are created. One company pioneering this technology is a Houston, Texas based startup called Digital Reality which develops software for what they call Made-To-Order Digital Manufacturing. Their flaghship product, Digital Factory™ is being use dby sister company www.kraftwurx.com. Kraftwurx is a 3D marketplace where individuals can upload their own designs