A THREE YEAR 3D PRINTING JOURNEY

If there’s one thing that being involved in the 3D printing industry has taught us, it’s to never underestimate the speed at which a new technology can evolve and expand.

July 30, 2015 marks exactly three years since we began selling 3D printers when, under our partner company Barwon Copying Solutions, we became authorised resellers for the Bits from Bytes’ RapMan 3.2 and 3D Touch printers.

The reseller agreement was the culmination of months of research sparked by a National Geographic YouTube video showing a wrench getting scanned and reproduced on a 3D printer as a fully functional tool.

After seeing that clip we needed to know more so we ordered a RapMan printer kit that we built in our spare time. Having never seen a 3D printer other than online, you can imagine it was like assembling an IKEA bunk bed with only the sparsest of instructions. In the end, we successfully completed the RapMan and set it to work.

Wow - the first time you see a 3D printer working is mesmerising. Watching the layers of plastic build up into an object you can hold and feel was an amazing experience.  

Although the technology had been around since the 1980s, in July 2012 it was still only known and understood by the most ardent of technology enthusiasts.  For most of the population, it wasn’t even on the radar.  I quite clearly recall constantly having to explain in detail the concept of a 3D printer and remember seeing the look on people’s faces when they realised what they considered futuristic technology was already in use.

Over the past three years, as our knowledge and experience with 3D printing has grown, so too has the public’s awareness of the technology.  Each day there are new 3D printing applications unveiled. The mainstream media quickly caught on and we now regularly hear news about 3D printing prosthetics for dogs, medical implants, working jet engines and even complete houses.

Most people have now heard about 3D printing. Many have also seen it on TV or online.  Some are already using the printers.

The 3D printers themselves have also transformed from skeletal-like contraptions to stylish and easy-to-use items that nicely fit onto any desk or workspace.

Larger, industrial 3D printers are no longer used solely for rapid prototyping but have moved on to fabricating final products with the ability to customise and optimise design to create one-off or low production runs for tools and parts.  Nano-printing and bio-printing are regularly discussed and we even have a zero-gravity 3D printer churning out parts on the International Space Station.

In 2014, we launched our company PrintIn3D as another step in our 3D printing journey. This year we are working on new collaborations and initiatives to deliver an expanded range of services and products for the years ahead.

Industry consultant and analyst Terry Wohlers has been releasing an annual report on the state of the 3D printing industry for the past 20 years.  He’s previously described 2012 as the “tipping point” for 3D printing when the technology started gaining more attention coinciding with the release of lower cost desktop printers.  For us, it was most definitely a milestone year.

Wohlers predicts the 3D printing industry will be worth $12.7 billion by 2018.  That’s less than three years away and just six years since we entered the industry.

Wonder what else 3D printing will have in store for us and you between now and then?