Autodesk CEO Carl Bass discusses the myths and truths of 3D printing in opinion editorial in Wired.
“What are its real life applications?”
”Will it bring back old manufacturing?”
”Has it reached the Hype point?”
Never before have we had a technology where we can so freely translate our ideas into a tangible object with little regard to the machinery or skills available. Yet just as the microwave didn’t replace all other forms of cooking as initially predicted, 3-D printing will not replace other manufacturing technologies let alone industrial-scale ones for a variety of reasons. It will complement them.
3-D printing won’t replace other manufacturing technology
3-D printing is indeed an important fabrication technology, because it has the marvelous ability to make anything regardless of the complexity of the form. Other fabrication techniques, honed over decades of industrialization, struggle with geometric complexity — where 3-D printers can print either the most intricate shapes or simplest cube with equal ease.
Read the entire Wired op-ed piece by Carl Bass:
http://autode.sk/12LJHGo
