Consumer 3D Printing
Final users of 3D printing technologies were the last category to emerge. This category includes primarily adopters of consumer 3D printing technologies. These may be enthusiasts and hobbyists who have purchased a 3D printer as a garage tool to further explore the production of drones, miniature models, RC cars or accessories.
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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Sports technology company GuardLab Inc. has teamed up with hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer Hockey to bring to market a new line of 3D printed mouthguards. The protective gear, produced using 3D scanning and printing, will become available this month under the Bauer APEX and APEX Lite Mouthguard product series. Ice…
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Your morning cup of OJ could become a lot more eco-friendly in the future thanks to a novel (or navel!) circular juice bar developed by Italian design studio Carlo Ratti Associati. The system, which was created for Italy-based global energy company Eni, juices oranges and then turns the unused orange…
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Since its founding in 2005, fashion label threeASFOUR has remained at the forefront of avant garde fashion. For the past few years, the collective’s boundary-pushing designs have often overlapped with cutting-edge 3D printing practices, making for some of the fashion-tech world’s most awe-inspiring garments. Once again, at this year’s New…
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In the dynamic world of fashion, technology’s footprint is increasing every day and very few designers in the world know how to combine the two – leveraging 3D printing – better than Anouk Wipprecht. The Dutch designer worked with Cirque du Soleil to create Elixir and Fragrance, a new set of…
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Just nine days in, September is gearing up to be an exciting month for cycling and 3D printing enthusiasts. With Eurobike 2019 taking place last week, bike designers and their manufacturing partners were excited to showcase the latest in 3D printed cycling equipment. We saw 3D printed bike seats by…
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Just a week after Carbon unveiled an innovative 3D printed bike saddle made for American bicycle manufacturer Specialized, the digital manufacturing company has announced a new partnership with Italian cycling equipment producer fizik. The partnership, revealed today at Eurobike 2019, will see Carbon leverage its Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology…
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Composite 3D printing company AREVO has just announced a partnership with bike design and production company Pilot Distribution Group BV through which it will produce 3D printed carbon fiber unibody frames for a new series of Pilot e-bikes. The announcement, which follows on AREVO’s existing bicycle-focused collaborations with Studio West…
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edelkrone, a Germany-based provider of portable filmmaking tools and solutions, is plunging into the world of 3D printing with the launch of a new “co-manufacturing approach” and series of 3D printable products. The 3D printable filmmaking solutions—which currently include two products—are being marketed under the name ORTAK. As edelkrone explains…
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Ogle Models, a UK-based model maker, showcased how 3D printing could be used to redesign and optimize a tennis handle. The handle was designed in partnership with Unstrung Customs, a European specialist in tennis rackets which was seeking a new and customizable way to produce the sporting equipment, and Skywide…
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Danish cycling company CeramicSpeed and a team from the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) have partnered to develop a new, higher performing pulley wheel made using SLM Solutions’ additive manufacturing technology. The part meets the demanding requirements of professional cycling with its lightweight and durability. Performance in professional cycling is influenced…
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