"And finally, the most important point: Lutz and Wolschendorf emphasize that the future of the industry doesn’t lie in the next breakthrough technology, but in better utilization of existing ones."
I would disagree with this.
Sometimes I think about how all of our existing techologies kind of suck, and a new approach will probably be discovered that all but kills everything else.
Maybe that sounds naive, and it's not really something we can plan for, but that would be my prediction.
Things today are just too much of a hassle. Post-processing, failures, manual supporting etc. And in the world of infinite possibilities, surely we will disover more than just the 7 or so approaches we keep iterating on.
I agree that today's technologies don't work well for rapid manufacturing, largely because they were created for rapid prototyping. In other words, we're trying to use 3D printers designed for producing single parts to print millions of them. It's like trying to use a Toyota Aygo for international freight transport.
But on the other hand, we don't need a technological revolution to change that—we just need to change what's being produced on 3D printers. Instead of forcibly redesigning typical CNC parts to make them more complex just to justify 3D printing, we should look for applications where 3D printing actually has an advantage.
Mass production got off to a rather silly start—with 3D printing colorful dragons and eggs on FFF farms. But in my opinion, this will soon evolve into more serious applications.
"And finally, the most important point: Lutz and Wolschendorf emphasize that the future of the industry doesn’t lie in the next breakthrough technology, but in better utilization of existing ones."
I would disagree with this.
Sometimes I think about how all of our existing techologies kind of suck, and a new approach will probably be discovered that all but kills everything else.
Maybe that sounds naive, and it's not really something we can plan for, but that would be my prediction.
Things today are just too much of a hassle. Post-processing, failures, manual supporting etc. And in the world of infinite possibilities, surely we will disover more than just the 7 or so approaches we keep iterating on.
I agree and I disagree.
I agree that today's technologies don't work well for rapid manufacturing, largely because they were created for rapid prototyping. In other words, we're trying to use 3D printers designed for producing single parts to print millions of them. It's like trying to use a Toyota Aygo for international freight transport.
But on the other hand, we don't need a technological revolution to change that—we just need to change what's being produced on 3D printers. Instead of forcibly redesigning typical CNC parts to make them more complex just to justify 3D printing, we should look for applications where 3D printing actually has an advantage.
Mass production got off to a rather silly start—with 3D printing colorful dragons and eggs on FFF farms. But in my opinion, this will soon evolve into more serious applications.