Consumer 3D Printing
Consumer users of 3D printing technologies and 3D printed products were the last category to emerge. This category includes primarily adopters of consumer 3D printing technologies, as well as adopters of 3D printed products.
These are actually two very different targets for the AM industry. The first and most relevant category for the future of AM is made of regular consumers who purchase 3D printed products because these offer better characteristics than traditionally manufactured products. The second category is made of enthusiasts and hobbyists who have purchased a 3D printer as a garage tool to further explore the production of DIY products such as drones, miniature models, RC cars, robots or even the 3D printers themselves. This category, which also includes many from the maker movement, is focused primarily on the 3D printing process.
Consuming 3D printed products
Users of 3D printed products are only concerned with the products themselves and only very marginally with the processes necessary to make the. They are users of 3D printed products because these are better, more efficient, more customized products but they are not interested in how these products were actually made.
Typical 3D printed consumer products include eyewear frames and footwear products (insoles, midsoles, sandals), as well as some sporting equipment. These all leverage 3D printing to offer improved customization and more efficient product geometries to ensure lightweight and better ergonomic properties.
Another typical consumer product segment using 3D printing at various levels is jewelry. In this case, 3D printing is used for lost wax casting manufacturing – to create more advanced geometries with traditional materials – but also as a direct manufacturing tool using polymers as well as ceramics and direct precious metal 3D printing technologies
Consuming the 3D printing process
This category of adopters was created when the RepRap movement made many of the technologies and processes necessary to build 3D printers available to everyone through open source sharing of information. Focusing primarily on filament extrusion and – in minor part – on DLP stereolithographic technologies, this movement led to a further, drastic reduction in the price of some 3D printers, taking it from the $5,000 professional and prosumer cost level to below $1,000 (with some systems running as low as $200).
Early RepRap adopters and developers often evolved their expertise thus creating a new business segment for affordable desktop 3D printers. This trend was – and continues to be – driven by the Maker movement, which is largely made up of amateur engineers and artists who have embraced digital manufacturing technologies and make things for the sake of making.
While in many cases this passion for making leads to failures or products that prove to be useless on unattainable, there is no doubt that the maker movement and amateur 3D printing adoption has been instrumental in raising global awareness around the use of these technologies, proving much more effective – to this day – than initiative promoted by governments and large corporations.
Latest consumer 3D printing news:
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Sir Ben Ainslie and INEOS TEAM UK are implementing metal AM technology from Renishaw in their bid to bring the America’s Cup home to Britain (where the competition originated). As the team’s official precision measurement and additive manufacturing (AM) partner, Renishaw is contributing its engineering expertise to aid and fast track…
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JAMADE Germany, a company focusing on the development and production of electrically powered sports equipment, developed and serially produced the AMAZEA underwater scooter using large format extrusion 3D printing technology. This marks a significant new era for digital mass production, as the AMAZEA will feature an impressive 75% 3D printed parts…
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In the additive manufacturing industry, Olaf Diegel is probably best known for his role as associate consultant at Wohlers Associates, an independent consulting firm focused on the 3D printing market. However, there is another aspect of Diegel’s work which we’d like to focus on today: he is the founder of…
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For months, Australia has been combatting some of the most intense bushfires in its history, which have caused unprecedented devastation to its land, wildlife and people. In recent weeks, media attention for the ongoing environmental disaster has picked up significantly, which has led to an outpouring of support from around…
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Swiss automobile manufacturer Rinspeed has a unique vision for the future of cars, one driven by modularity and efficiency. At this year’s CES, the forward-thinking company is showcasing its latest concept vehicle, the MetroSnap, an electric and modular vehicle with 3D printed parts that can fulfill multiple functions. The vehicle,…
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With CES 2020 kicking off today, there is a ton of buzz around consumer electronics. As one might expect, 3D printing has figured in to the event in a significant way. Yesterday, for instance, we reported that Korean beauty giant Amorepacific was presenting its new 3D printed facial sheet masks at…
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Korean beauty giant Amorepacific will be introducing its customizable 3D printed face mask system at CES 2020 this week. In fact, CES 2020 has named the 3D printed cosmetic product, “IOPE Tailored 3D Mask”, as an Honoree of its 2020 Innovation Awards. The customized 3D printed face mask will become…
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The potential of using additive manufacturing and lattice structures to improve protective sportswear is becoming increasingly clear. As of last month, what is less clear is the commercial potential of its use—at least for football helmet startup VICIS. The NFL-backed company known for its innovative helmet designs, and which licensed…
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Canadian footwear company Native Shoes is working with MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab and a team from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design to develop a new type of 3D printed shoe. The collaborative project, called Liquid Printed Natives, involves a novel liquid rubber 3D printing technique. Since 2009, Native…
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For more than a decade, additive technology has been a creative mainstay at LAIKA, evolving with LAIKA’s increasingly ambitious artistic vision and rapid advancements in 3D printing and software. In its latest animated comedy adventure Missing Link, fresh winner of the Golden Globe award for Best Animated Feature Film, the stop-motion…
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