Emerging technologies such as 3D printing, Artificial Intelligence, Drones and cognitive systems are often referred to as “innovation accelerators” due to their disruptive impacts on markets and business (Lalchandni 2017). However, what may not be realized by people is that 3D printing has existed since the late 20th century with Charles “Chuck” Hull inventing stereolithography in 1984 (Pechter 2018).
The effects of 3D printing have been firstly discussed in the construction industry (Burger 2019). It is expected that 3D printing can lead to a reduced supply cost (Wollenhaupt 2019). China-based 3D printing construction company Winsun estimates that 3D printing will save construction companies up to 50% on the cost of building a house (Burger 2019). This reduced cost can help the construction company to obtain a cost leadership strategy (Amadeo 2019) to outperform its competitors within the traditional construction field who are not using 3D printing technology. Consequentially, considering that more and more companies might adapt to this technology, this contributes to increased competition amongst construction companies. Additionally, it is expected that consumers can benefit from lower prices caused by increased competition among construction companies (Burger 2019).
Also, 3D printing has disruptive effects on other industries. In the fashion industry, many fashion companies have tapped into the power of 3D printing to redefine clothing and accessories (Alexander 2019). Additive manufacturing (3D printing) impacts fashion designers on testing and prototyping their designs (Alexander 2019), a process that originally was expensive and inaccessible for new fashion entrants. For example, high fashion designers, such as Iris Van Herpen, have created an entire collection of wearable clothing through 3D printing (Alexander 2019). In addition, Adidas is now moving ahead with plans to mass-produce 3D printed shoes through its partnership with Carbon, a 3D manufacturing company (Wollenhaupt 2019). Healthcare is also expected to benefit from 3D printing. Startups like MBC Biolabs have already developed ways to print functioning organs using 3D printing (Wollenhaupt 2019). In general, 3D printing reduces manufacturing costs in many ways, such as supply costs and R&D costs. It also promotes current business players to rethink their operations in the supply chain, such as finding new partners and redefining their competitors.
Taking these benefits into account, people might ask what is the future of 3D printing. Normally, people might expect a cool list referencing 3D printed organs, human augmentation, and life-size houses. However, the article written by Mika Yeap (2019) aims to explore a higher-level impact of 3D printing. He indicates that the most important aspects of 3D printing in the future is not a specific process or technology, it is democratization. As more and more have access to 3D technology, more and more people have the power to affect 3D printing as a whole (Yeap 2019). Taking the fashion industry as an example, 3D printing makes personalization and customization in an easier way. It can be expected in the near future that consumers can download fashion designs online and do a 3D printing themselves. In conclusion, 3D printing changes the way people doing business and changes consumer purchasing behaviors.
Alexander 2019, 7 Industries in 2019 That Are Currently Being Disrupted by 3D Printing, viewed at 8 October 2019, < https://interestingengineering.com/7-industries-in-2019-that-are-currently-being-disrupted-by-3d-printing>.
Amadeo 2019, What Is Competitive Advantage? Three Strategies That Work, theBalance, viewed at 8 October 2019, < https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-competitive-advantage-3-strategies-that-work-3305828>.
Burger 2019, The Effect of 3D Printing on Global Construction, viewed at 8 October 2019, <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/3d-printing-construction-industry-845342>.
Lalchandni 2017, Digital disruption and the evolution of 3D Printing, GulfNews, viewed at 10 October 2019, < https://gulfnews.com/technology/digital-disruption-and-the-evolution-of-3d-printing-1.2097316>.
Pechter 2018, History of 3D Printing – Who Invented the 3D Printer, viewed at <https://all3dp.com/2/history-of-3d-printing-who-invented-the-3d-printer/>.
Wollenhaupt 2019, One more product of 3D printing: supply chain disruption, viewed at 9 October 2019< https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/3D-printing-supply-chain-disruption-manufacturing/547615/>.
Yeap 2019, The Future of 3D Printing: A Glimpse at the Next Generation, All3DP, viewed at 10 October 2019 < https://all3dp.com/2/future-of-3d-printing-a-glimpse-at-next-generation-making/>.
This is a great application of this technology! It amazes me to think that the fashion industry might move to some form of a technology platform where people can download their own clothes. That would revolutionize the business. The adaptive raw material will remain a challenge I suppose, but I think this I going to be a reality. Especially if you combine this with personalised clothes based on your body size, everything would also fit perfectly. I’m not sure if people would purchase these machines purely for those motivations, but I can imagine it occurs as a complement to already owning such a machine. They would also have to drastically improve print speeds to make it ‘instant gratification’. The experience of watching your clothes being printed would be really cool. And if the material would be reusable then you could have a cycle where you keep printing new designs!
Yesss, it is not sure whether will accept the 3D-printing clothes, but customization will be a good thing!
Thanks for the interesting post!
Indeed, I think we don’t really hear too much what is going on with 3D printing although it bears so much potential. In addition to its many many application areas, one could also highlight how it could shape the economy in the long-term. With wider adoption, supply chains could drastically change, costs can be saved and it might even have a decent environmental footprint (except of its energy consumption) due to eliminated shipping. However, initial investment costs are still quite high which is why I think it still poses an adoption barrier for firms.