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Rapid Prototype Manufacturing: The Shape of Things to Come

The latest issue of Business 2.0 is dedicating to finding the next great disruptive companies. The lead article profiles 10 start-ups that the editor’s claims might challenge General Electric, AT&T, Microsoft and even Google. It’s an interesting article and I would encourage readers to pick up a copy.

As interesting as that article was, I was more intrigued by a separate article in the issue, one which highlighted the rapid rise of rapid prototype technology. If you are not familiar with the technology it is more commonly referred to as 3-D printing and it works by taking computer-aided-design (CAD) data and using that information to build physical objects layer-by-layer. In most cases layers of liquids or powdered plastics are deposited from a printer and then sintered together into a computer-generated shape using ultraviolet light or a laser beam.

Today, the leading companies in the field are 3D Systems and Stratasys, as well as two private companies—Z Corporation and Desktop Factory.

Interestingly, the latter is soon expected to begin producing a 3-D printer for $5,000 and the others have indicated that the price might drop to below $2,000 within the next few years.

To understand the significance of this development is important to know that just a decade ago such machines cost over $100,000 and were the purview of large companies like BMW and Boeing (NYSE: BA). Today, the cost has dropped to anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000 and the number of companies capable of purchasing these machines has increased correspondingly.

If the price continues to plummet, the number of companies using these machines—which can be used to manufacture everything from automobile and airplanes spare parts to custom-made plastics toys and personalized figurines of SecondLife avatars—could explode. This will be especially true as a new generation of designers comes to understand that they can easily create complex shapes and parts in order to produce new products that were previously too expensive, if not impossible, to previously manufacture.

To this end, Wohler Associates, a consulting specializing in tracking developing in the emerging field of rapid prototype manufacturing, has estimated that the market for rapid prototype machines will grow 360% to 15,000 units by 2012.

All in all those are numbers that bear watching, and if you’re involved in the manufacturing sector or if you’re a designer, this is a technology that will impact your business over the coming years.

Jack Uldrich is a writer, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequenter speaker on future trends, innovation, change management and executive leadership.

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