3D printing’s commercial undercurrent validates hype

Back in 1986, Chuck Hull was issued a patent for something he called stereolithography, a method for printing thin layers of ultraviolet curable material into a three-dimensional form. An additive manufacturing process, stereolithography became what we know today as 3D printing, the next big thing. DIY kids are using open-source hardware and free modeling software to make rabbits out of thermoplastics. Futurists imagine printing entire buildings in space. With 3D printing ideas now bubbling from Etsy to NASA, Hull may laugh -- his brainchild has taken over 25 years to become an overnight success. Yet mainstream media still introduces 3D printing as a new, developing technology. Maybe the commercial applications, the enterprise success stories, the here and now manufacturing revolution 3D printing promises have all got lost in the hype.

Truth is, the aerospace and automotive industries have implemented 3D printing for over two decades. And Hull’s company, 3D Systems, provides personal, professional and production 3D printers for a variety of companies, in a variety of industries. 3D Systems, along with its biggest competitor, Stratasys, market fully integrated solutions complete with print materials, custom parts, engineering support and direct links to 3D content and 3D CAD software.

Cubify is a consumer 3D printing solution by 3D Systems.

As for being untested or immature, 3D printing has sprung investment darlings, and is starting to consolidate. Stratasys is merging with Objet, an industry leader in inkjet-based 3D printing systems. While 3D Systems has been sweeping up like-minded companies, and pushing its product portfolio closer to the hobbyist in an effort to steal mindshare from MakerBot, a quirky mover and shaker in the DIY community offering personal printers for under $2,000.

So 3D printing isn’t sneaking up on anybody. Investors are taking notice, leaving analysts to question key indicators like paltry net incomes and overpriced stocks. Although pronounced dead on arrival, a distribution agreement between HP and Stratasys had industry players feeling queasy over external market threats. Core manufacturers, with experience in both additive and subtractive manufacturing, bemoan the material limitations and lack of scale inherent in 3D printing. Most printed products you see are plastic. And 3D printing, by nature, is agile, lean and designed for custom finishes and small batch production.

And one guy recently printed a gun. Which scared some people. 

But it’s still fantastic to think we could someday organ print a new kidney. Or not bother packing a lunch because we can print a burger on demand. Those two apps are still in the lab, but that’s just it -- the possibilities of 3D printing seem endless. Simply adding to the awe and wonder masking the work of some creative companies currently employing the technology for the greater good.

Yes, 3D printing has been around for years and good for nonfunctional models and prototypes. But advances in additive manufacturing enable higher production of usable parts. Without molds, tooling and welding junking up the process, or wasted material junking up the environment.

Bespoke Innovations, a San Francisco maker of “designer body parts,” has built a business plan around 3D printing. Founded in 2010 by an industrial designer and an orthopedic surgeon, Bespoke creates custom prosthetic leg covers, or fairings, for people suffering congenital or traumatic limb loss. Going beyond the one-size-fits-all approach of current limb prosthetics, Bespoke aims to bring style and individuality to an otherwise artless market.

Bespoke starts with a three-dimensional scan of a wearer’s unique shape, capturing images of both the “sound side” leg and the prosthetic leg. The resulting 3D model superimposes the “sound side” over the prosthetic reproducing a more natural leg contour, a more symmetrical look. Bespoke, a 3D System’s customer, then “prints” plastic shells that fit around the existing prosthetic limb. The user can pick from different materials and finishes, including ballistic nylon, chrome plating or mirror-polished metal.

Scott Summit - additive manufacturing veteran, holder of over 20 patents, and Bespoke’s design guru - told The New York Times “we can do a midcentury modern or a Harley aesthetic if that’s what someone wants.” Tattoos can even be laser-etched into the finished product.

According to Bespoke, their 3D printed fairings cost between $4,000 and $6,000, and weigh 8 to 16 ounces. The price tag is important. Although considered a prosthetic bargain, Bespoke products aren’t yet covered by insurance. So striking the perfect balance between cost savings and custom work may dictate market adoption, and short-term company survival while Summit’s breakthrough catches up with bureaucracy.

Summit’s enlightened thinking is consistent with what other niche U.S. manufacturers are accomplishing through robotics and automation. Design and redesign the manufacturing process to fit a product’s value and demand. Give the people what they want and compete on technology, innovation and speed to market. 3D printing makes Summit nimble, fast and responsive - all difficult hurdles without the magic of additive manufacturing. In other words, Bespoke might not exist without 3D printing because their product can’t be mass-produced.

Brammo makes electric motorcycles. Think European racing bike or Mad Max street machine, not Vespa. The Tesla of the EV commuter segment, Brammo was under the gun to create durable body panels for the latest iteration of its Empulse RR race model. Unlike fiberglass or carbon fiber panels that require tooling, Brammo chose to print plastic panels straight from CAD data. Brammo has since manufactured other critical bike parts using similar rapid manufacturing technologies, made possible through 3D printing.

In 2009, 1212-Studio, a New York maker of custom LED illumination products designed and built LED fixtures for U2’s 360 Tour using a Stratasys printer. Known for elaborate stadium shows, the Irish rockers needed almost a thousand LED fixtures, outfitting three stages, completed in four weeks. 1212-Studio engineered a working prototype in three days using additive technology.

Full production and assembly came in under schedule, fast enough for U2’s Bono to request another project: an LED lit microphone attached to a steel cable and suspended from the U2 stage. The microphone was printed in sections and needed to be, as a unit, strong enough to support the singer’s body weight. Still under a tight deadline, 1212-Studio actually printed the alignment and assembly tools necessary to facilitate the multi-unit microphone assembly process.

At this point, based on volume and influence, China would have probably pointed 1212-Studio to the back of the assembly line. And rapid changes to both of U2’s delicate, one-off projects would have created an offshore nightmare. With the finished LED fixtures then presumably stuck on a boat for three weeks. In this case, cutting thousands of miles off the supply chain got a tricky rush job done on U2’s time, and built to spec.

Bespoke, Brammo and 1212-Studio not only illustrate the speed, flexibility and potential of 3D printing, but also remind us the technology is all around us. Not just exclusive to Boeing and BMW, but also positioned for startups and disruptors searching for clever workarounds to manufacturing roadblocks.