Will 3D printing really become a household trend?
Will 3D printing really become a household trend?
3:34

Will 3D printing really become a household trend?

Culture
-Finally, 3D printing. A few candidates for Next Big Thing status seem quite as much like magic or quite as unlikely as this one depending on your point of view. Here's a small example of how automakers move at a pace more like electronics using technologies like this 3D printer to rapid prototype ideas today, not next week. Let me show you something. Now, that 3D printer that we have here in the ERL made this hole. This machine was made ready to go. This wasn't assembled later. Same goes for this chain. It came out this way. That's amazing. -3D printing isn't just for the super geeks and people making components for cars. You can use it to make everyday objects like an iPhone case. -This head deposits this plastic material down here to this print surface. It prints up layer by layer until you get a solid object at the end of it. So, once you have the plan and load it on the software, it tells the printer to print out plastic in a series of layers, building gradually up until you get a finished solid object. This exterior head moves here along the X axis as well as the Z axis and then this build plate moves up and down for the Y axis. So, it's created by the Replicator in particular and it can print two different colors. Now, it can either do that at the same time, making one object compressed in two different colors or can print, say, one object in white, one object in black, or you can do those at the same time depending on the file and the layout and the very software settings you have. -We knew that 3D printers had arrived two years ago at the Consumer Electronics Show when suddenly the printers were all at or below $2,000, some quite a bit below. And the makers of them were abandoning this idea that we were all gonna go out and learn CAD software, instead envisioning a sharing and buying market of pre-done designed files. Bottom-line is we are more a nation of buyers than makers. That's not a condemnation. It's just reality. After a busy day, week, or month of commuting, working, parenting, shopping, and dealing with all your connected life, a few us have the time or the inclination to come home and design the perfect soup ladle, let alone produce the thing. Great design is a talent anyway. It's more than just a piece of hardware and software. I watch instead for 3D printing to grow big in four areas above the average consumer but well below the large corporations who basically have already discovered and embraced it. First, prototyping. This is where products can leave the realm of a paper presentation, a PowerPoint, a verbal discussion, and move to being tangible. That's a big jump that seems trivial, but it's not. Early prototypes can make the difference between dying on the designed page and making it into early production. Second is low-volume products that are almost personal in their lower volume. Imagine something as simple as a smartphone case that is printed out that fits the contours of your hand on up to a crown ready at the dentist on the same date, not a week later, to a prosthetic that is perhaps created during a medical procedure for a perfect fit for the patient from the very beginning. Third, simple software. I mean, so simple that it's almost like expression more than technology operation. -Look at Autodesk 123D Catch, object capture software for example. -Or see what the folks behind the Meta Smart glasses were envisioning where you would just use augmented reality to shape your envisioned product in space and then hand that design to the printer. Fourth, more materials. Moving from today's mono-color plastics to multicolor plastics, metals, and even biological materials from the DNA level all the way to printing synthetic meat.

Up Next

CNET's Scott Stein and Brian Cooley explain the metaverse
stein-00-16-15-21-still093

Up Next

CNET's Scott Stein and Brian Cooley explain the metaverse

CNET's Next Big Thing: Will technology keep us at home after the pandemic?
vlcsnap-2021-01-04-10h15m03s248.png

CNET's Next Big Thing: Will technology keep us at home after the pandemic?

CNET Next Big Thing: The Invisible Doctor
010918-cesnbt

CNET Next Big Thing: The Invisible Doctor

Tomorrow's medical breakthrough? You're already wearing it
nbthearthealthcnet.jpg

Tomorrow's medical breakthrough? You're already wearing it

What do millennials want in ​a​ smart home?
nbtmillennialsstill.jpg

What do millennials want in ​a​ smart home?

Do tablets still matter?
nbttablet-still-regular.jpg

Do tablets still matter?

Quantum computers will blow your mind
quantum-image.jpg

Quantum computers will blow your mind

The robots are coming -- are you ready?
nbtrobotstill.jpg

The robots are coming -- are you ready?

Unlimited plans are back: Do you know why?
unlimitedplans.jpg

Unlimited plans are back: Do you know why?

Electric cars aren't just for golfing any more
news-sequence-00094701-still005.jpg

Electric cars aren't just for golfing any more

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
playstation5pro-leak-clean

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
nvidiastill

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
nvidia-vision-pro-image

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
robot-2

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
gettyimages-1178244881

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
playstation-portal-audio-options-thumb2

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
adobe-lightroom-00-02-58-03-still006-1

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
p1022441-mp4-15-35-32-23-still001

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro