An In-depth Analysis On: 3D Printing

The Roman Ridge SchoolTeam Lower 6

Welcome To The Future 3D printing is the future of technology and frankly, the future is now because 3D printers have officially arrived. From the first going prices of $20,000 to less than $1000 ,3D printers are slowly worming their way into the global market leaving most people with the question of fad or necessity?

Tags to track fish Prosthetics including

legs and arms Embryonic stem cell DIY engine parts Automobile parts Skin Grafting Organ synthesizing Bacteria Culture Prototyping

o Toy manufacturingo Small arms manufacturingo Archaeology , anthropology

and bone reconstructiono And many items in

manufacturing such as cups, phone cases, light frames etc.

It is remarkably high-tech, it is practical and it is innovative, especially in the fields of scientific study especially in the field of medicine, biology and even archaeology. USES

3D printed kidneys courtesy of dvice.com Prosthetic hand and

vertebrae extracted form blog.tego.com

Bacteria culture (for 3D printing bacterial communities), from pys.org

Skin grafting derived from 3dprintworld.com

Enlarged insect models from gadget.ndtv.com

3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as Steel, Half the Weight, and Nearing Production

Jim Kor’s dream has been realized with the first ever fully 3d printed car. The car is very lightweight, built at Redeye, it takes about 2500 hours but the ‘Urvee’ moves likes a dream and its lightweight attributes makes is a very efficient fuel consumer

the Urvee : courtesy of wired.com

3D Printers in Our Schools

Education is feeling a financial squeeze, as in any sector in this time period. 3D printers present an option for providing all sorts of low cost tools and equipment which can be repaired and created locally without expensive third party intervention.

With 3D printers, rare, delicate and expensive artifacts can be cheaply reproduced, giving even the youngest students the opportunity to not just see, but to feel what things are like. Especially in the case of Ghana, where there are close to no museums and show cases, a 3D printer would create an opportunity for students to see artifacts, replicas and prototypes of extinct organisms, archaic tools and other models that they learn about in school right in the classroom.

It makes the learning environment more engaging. As students create objects and receive hands on experience by touching and seeing how things work, lessons become active and involving, and learning takes place effectively.

School for the Blind and 3D printing

3D printers can be used in schools for the blind, where students have never seen any of the objects they learn about and hear about. By implementing 3D printers into these schools, disabled students can feel these objects, broadening their educational, imaginary and creative scope.

Yahoo! Japan created a 3D printer which is connected to the internet research database containing many design templates. All you have to do is “tell” the printer the object you would like printed and it prints it. This printer was implemented in Special Needs School for the Visually Impaired in Tsukuba, where the students are now able to touch all the things they have been studying about.

Picture from edudemic.com

3D VS 2D

3D has new, attractive technology and can even print documents. However it would take an unnecessarily longer time when 2d printers are already available.

Although seemingly archaic when compared to the 3D printer, 2D printers will always be cheaper and simpler to use. Printing and photocopying will always be part of the workplace. Just like the argument of eBooks over hardcopies, paper never gets old.

However, since we are dealing with innovation, a hybrid printer could be created that would combine both printers into one unit and give consumers the opportunity to have 2D and 3D at their will

Microsoft’s brilliantly simple 3D printing mission: Make it just like 2D printing With Windows 8.1, 3D printing is getting two things it

desperately needs: standards and simplicity. Not only is Microsoft integrating 3D printing into

Windows 8.1on a system-level, but it’s even gone so far as to create its own 3D printing format, which it hopes will solve some of the more pressing issues with the technology.

The format, called “3D manufacturing format,” or “3MF,” was the direct result of feedback from Microsoft’s hardware and software partners, many of whom wanted a common 3D printing format that offered more supported features, particularly with color and materials support.

The process of sending a design file to a 3D printer looks to be as seamless as sending your resume to the inkjet printer you own right now.

Picture from; Venturebusiness.com

Why are costs reducing?

Continuous mass production of 3D printers caused prices to fall. Advancements in the design tools and materials continues to reduce the cost of building 3D printers and encourages mass production of the product, thus, leading to reduced prices.

Improved general levels of technology also lead to this increase in supply of 3D printers, and its price reductions. As compared to the 1980’s, when this product was first introduced, levels of technology have shot up. This encourages increased supply of the product and consequently reduced prices. Improvements in technology made entry into the market easier for other smaller firms (like ExOne and Voxeljet), or more attractive to other suppliers. As more suppliers entered the marketplace, competition between the companies increased too, forcing some of them to respond to this by reducing prices, in order to attain a larger market share.

Some companies are purposely reducing prices below natural equilibrium as a pricing and marketing strategy to increase demand and revenue. The $200 Makerbot 3D printer, for example, attempts to simplify 3D printing for a more consumer-friendly experience, by lowering the price and reducing the complexity of assembling the devices and minting objects. Amateurs, basement inventors and hobbyists with no experience printing in 3D will immediately be attracted and start experimenting with minimal investment.

A simple graph demonstrating how increased supply lead to reduced prices of 3d printers

s1

s2

p2

p1

q1 q2

The supply of 3D printers, after having increased recently due to reduced cost of production and improvements in levels of technology, shifted the first supply curve s1 to the right. The increased supply consequently reduced prices from p1 to p2, thus, resulting in a downward movement along the demand curve, labelled d. The initial high price for 3D printers indicate high prices in the 1980’s. The fall to price p2 shows that the cost of 3D printers has decreased dramatically since about 2010, with machines that used to cost $20,000 costing less than $1,000.

Price

Quantity

d

d

HP Getting In

on The Game

According to smartplanet.com tells us that the world’s leading producer in 2D printers HP has taken it upon themselves to break into the 3D market. It is reported that they will soon have their own 3D printer by early 2014. Hewlett-Packard are known for their many hardware innovations especially computers and printers, they have promised to take 3D printers to the next level mainly focusing on reducing costs and increase printing speeds. Since 3D printers available now takes over 20 minutes to print an object and hovers around the $1000 to $20000 price range, this strategy is sure to impact the marketplace strongly.

Marketing strategies:3D Systems

3D Systems are the pioneers of 3d printing with the most recognized name in the field and with an impeccable reputation.

It was founded in 1986 in Valencia, California, by Chuck Hull, the inventor and patent-holder of the first stereo lithography rapid prototyping system. The 3D printing market in the 80’s and 90’s was very specialized but has seen rapid growth in the past 5 years , on its way to becoming a household product

3D systems has ingeniously acquired Geomagic Inc., a leading global provider of 3D authoring solutions including design, sculpt and scan software tools that are used to create 3D content and inspect products throughout the entire design and manufacturing process. In fact, some of the world’s leading companies and research organizations use Geomagic software, including Ford, BMW, Boeing, Harley Davidson, Timberland, Mattel/Fisher Price, Lego, Pratt & Whitney, NASA, Schneider Electronic, 3M, Danaher and Invisalign.

Also in the bag is Acu-Cast, that offers precision parts made on a wide range of traditional and additive manufacturing systems including rapid prototyping, SLA, SLS, aluminum and zinc coating, urethane casting, and high-speed CNC machining. And in an alternative 3D systems has also launched 3D Proparts which they say will be largest prototyping and parts manufacturing service.

The company also announced that it is expanding its merger with Canon Marketing which will allow it sell and deliver finished goods straight to Japan, increasing the companies outreach in the global market.

picture from:Reviews.cnet.com

Marketing strategies: Stratasys

Recently Stratasys acquired Makerbot, the most widely recognized name in 3D printers that makes printers for less than $2000, a move sure to boost their demand and ultimately their profit.Stratasys has also launched RedEye on Demand, a rapid prototyping service targeted at industries and service bureaus. It is aimed at providing a 3D printing service to individuals who do not own a printer or do not want to own a printer but occasionally need a 3D printed object.Last year, it merged with Israel-based Objet to optimize value chains and cross-sell products. Last week, they also made a public offering of 4.3 million to raise funds for “working capital and mergers & acquisitions.” they also acquired Solid Scape, another 3D printing faction aimed at promoting 3D printing and making it as user friendly as possible to the masses. Picture from:

Stratasys.blog.com

The End

Thank you so much for your timeTeam lower 6 members

Daisy SowahAmina Seini

Kofi Opuni-FrimpongLeiya Salis

3D printers are here to stay in the market, they facilitate easy and cost effective ways of replicating and manufacturing items whiles more recently, 3d printers come in a trendy and less bulky hardware ( you can now get it straight from the box). It is simply following the new technological trend of initial rejection and finally to the ultimate peak of demand the “I can’t live without it” stage. But then again, time will tell.

Team Lower 6