3D Printing, Industry 4.0, and the Dawn of Creativity at Scale
By Sylvie Barak for Mouser Electronics
The advent of 3D printing is an integral part of what has oft been referred to as the fourth industrial
revolution, aka Industry 4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things.
The collective term embraces a number of contemporary automation, data exchange and manufacturing technologies and
refers to the recent convergence of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Services,
resulting in "smart factories" to
bring customers and suppliers closer together.
Humanity has streamlined the process of manufacturing several times over the course of its history. First, we
channeled water and steam to mechanize production. Then we learned to harness electrical power for mass production.
Next, electronics and information technology helped us increase automation. Now with 3D design and printing, we're
just becoming able to blend the physical, virtual, biological, and chemical. In 3D printing terms, for instance, a
production order could be sent by the customer directly to the machine and the production data would be transferred
to the distribution partner in real time, making manufacturing exponentially leaner and faster to respond to
customers' needs.
While previous industrial revolutions took the means of production out of people's homes, some future scenarios
involving 3D printing put manufacturing machinery back in the general public's hands. That brings a new,
distributed, mechanized industry relying on the nexus of creativity and rapid prototyping. Like Foucault's pendulum,
it would appear we are advancing in degrees to eventually come full circle. As 3D printer pioneer Bre Pettis
famously noted, "Before the industrial revolution everybody did work at home; there was a cottage industry. Then you
had to go to the factory to work. Now we're bringing the factory back to the individual."
3D printing is taking several steps forward by taking several steps back, but the results could bring humanity to
that Holy Grail of personalized mass production: creativity at scale.
The dawn of the machines
Before the steam engine or the spinning jenny, people lived rurally, made goods with their own two hands, and sold
those goods locally. As the 19th century loomed, mechanization began to transform not only the means of
production, but also the entire socio-economic landscape, as tasks done by manual labor in people's homes - cottage
industries - began to be brought together under one roof. The factory was born.
New basic materials like iron and steel forged the basis of the era, while new machines made increased production
with decreased human input possible. Transportation, too, was running full steam ahead, with trains and ships able
to move goods further afield relatively quickly. People became richer, more urban. The commodity was born.
Figure 2: Industry has come a long way
from basic stamp press machines, now evolving into smart manufacturing plants thanks to the likes of the Internet
of Things and 3D printing.
In the early 20th century, Henry Ford mastered the moving assembly line and mass production became the new normal.
People, however, often felt alienated by the technology - just small cogs in a wheel with limited scope for
improvisation. Lots of things were suddenly being created, quickly, efficiently, with fairly high standards of
quality, but so many of them were exactly the same. The era of the standardized product reigned.
Figure 1: Industry has come a long way from basic stamp press machines, now evolving into smart manufacturing
plants thanks to the likes of the Internet of Things and 3D printing. (Image source: pixabay.com)
Rising digital tide
3D printing is, in many ways, is the love child of the PC and laser printing industries.
The earliest electronic computers were in no way "personal." Instead they were huge, hulking, expensive machines
needing teams of engineers and other specialists to run and maintain them. Thomas Watson, president of IBM in 1943,
famously said he believed there would be a "world market for maybe five computers." As the 1970s loomed, however,
technology had evolved to the point where individuals - mostly hobbyists and electronics buffs - could buy
unassembled "microcomputers" and program them for fun. These machines couldn't really perform many useful tasks -
just some games and a few mathematical calculations.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home," said Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment
Corporation, in 1977. Little did Olsen know that a young Paul G. Allen and Bill Gates were already well on their way
to developing a software interface to make using a PC simple. Or that two friends named Steve - Steve Jobs and
Stephen Wozniak - were building their own computer, with innovations like a "Graphical User Interface," a keyboard,
and color screen, enabling users to store data on discs and run practical applications. Within a decade, personal
computing was not only accessible but increasingly popular.
Meanwhile, the laser printer, based on a modified xerographic copier, was invented at Xerox in 1969 by researcher
Gary Starkweather, who had a fully functional networked printer system working by 1971. A decade later, the first
laser printer designed for use with an individual computer was released with the Xerox Star 8010 for the low, low
price of $17,000 apiece.
After personal computers became more widespread, the first laser printer intended for mass market - the HP LaserJet
8ppm - released in 1984, using a Canon engine controlled by HP software retailed for about $3500. The HP LaserJet
printer was quickly followed by more laser printers from Brother Industries, IBM, and others, and today one can buy
an ink printer for less than $100. Indeed, often it's the ink that becomes the expensive part of the printing
proposition.
3D printing, the early days
The basic technology behind 3D printing - or additive manufacturing, to use the technical term - has also been
around for decades. It started with stereolithography technology back in 1984, using UV lasers to solidify
photopolymer for the creation of 3D parts layer by layer.
A plethora of other systems and patents emerged throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including non-computer fused
deposition modelling (FDM), direct metal laser sintering, ballistic particle manufacturing, laminated object
manufacturing, solid ground curing, and laser sintering (LS), which has continued to go from strength to strength.
Eventually, however, the industry consolidated itself around three large 3D printing manufacturers and their
technologies: selective laser sintering, LS, and FDM. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s new technologies
continued to be introduced, though most still focused on industrial applications and mainly processes for
prototyping applications. Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, 3D printers were still exorbitantly expensive
systems, geared toward part production for high-value, highly engineered, complex parts. These printers are only
just starting to become prolific in production applications across the aerospace, automotive, medical, and jewelry sectors.
In parallel to the development of the industrial 3D printers, many firms also continued developing less expensive
office- or user-friendly systems of which we're only just starting to see the tip of the iceberg. In 2007, the first
3D printer offered at less than $10,000 was introduced, although it wasn't a particular success. Two years later,
in January 2009, the first commercially available 3D printer - in kit form - was offered for sale. Things gathered
speed from there. 2012 yielded a more mature crop of 3D printers, including ones that utilized digital light
processing technology and stereolithography.
The making of a maker movement - the tools will set you free
It's fair to say 3D printing may not have gained quite as much popularity had it not been for the simultaneous
rise of the maker movement,
which itself was a reaction to the standardized, mass-market product. Makers often express frustration with the
devaluing of physical exploration and creativity. They want to go back to making things with their own hands,
designs, and imaginations. Many products produced by maker communities have a focus on open source, sustainable development,
environmentalism, and local culture.
3D printing has become a key player in the movement by giving regular people the ability to take an idea and turn
it into a finished product with a CAD file, some filament, and the press of a button. It's perhaps easy to laugh off
the maker movement and non-industrial 3D printing as a fun hobby, but even conservative estimates from The Boston
Consulting Group peg the economic impact of the maker movement's shift away from Chinese imports alone at $20
billion to $55 billion annually, citing that much of the imports in transport, computers, fabricated metals, and
machinery could be made locally by individuals by 2020.
Going mainstream
In the past few years huge technological leaps have been made in personal 3D printers, allowing the technology to
explode onto the mainstream. The number of applications for it has ballooned, and people have found ways to
crowdsource and share printers in various communities, making even larger ones accessible to the general public.[i] In many cases, the design software for the printer files is also
being given away for free.
In Europe, governments are already lobbying for all schools to have 3D printers, and companies are springing up to
allow those who have 3D printers to outsource them and provide on-demand pay-as-you-go access to the general
public. In the medical world, scientists have already experimented with printing human organs, skin, bones, and
muscle tissue, and are able to print structures as small as a human hair follicle. Materials used by mass 3D
printers have also expanded from simple plastic filament to ceramic, wood, titanium, gold, paper, and even
chocolate.
What has in the past only been possible to make on the industrial level can now be made in small tech workshops or
even people's homes. Small businesses selling 3D printed art, jewelry, furniture, and tools are springing up on a
monthly basis as 3D printing also helps people save on transport and other logistics. Indeed, a recent report by
the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and UPS notes that the additive manufacturing primary market - which
consists of 3D printing systems, materials, supplies, and services - has grown by 30% a year between 2012 and 2015,
and is expected to keep growing. [ii] The rest of the growth for the
industry, according to the report, will come from the secondary market, which consists of molding, casting, and
tooling processes.
New industries, big and small
In terms of industries that have adopted 3D printing technologies, the CTA report notes the consumer electronics
industry and the automotive industry account for around 20% each of total 3D printing revenue, while the medical
device industry, which benefits from the customization afforded by 3D printing, contributes 15% of the total
revenue.
The American hearing aid industry, for example, which now manufactures all of its hearing aids using 3D printing
technologies, successfully converted to the technology in under two years.
"3D printing presents compelling business opportunities. Companies that wait too long to explore the potential
could be missing out," notes the CTA report's author.
Still, while many companies in the manufacturing industry have begun to adopt 3D printing technologies, the report
also suggests the technology's potentials are still far from being realized.
Products or prototypes?
In a breakdown of how 3D printing is currently used in manufacturing processes, CTA says 29% of 3D printed parts
are used as functional parts, 18% are used as prototypes, 10% are used for molds and tooling, while another 10% are
used as visual aids.
"Technology adopters that move beyond prototyping to use 3D printing in supporting and streamlining production can
achieve new manufacturing efficiencies. Plus, there is an enormous opportunity for companies that get it right,"
says the report.
It is, of course, premature and naïve to suggest 3D printing is about to become the premiere solution for all
manufacturing needs. Currently, for high volume production, traditional methods like injection molding are still far
better suited and efficient. For prototyping, product development, innovation, cost reduction, and efficiency,
however, it's clear to see the value and potential 3D printing offers, especially for low-batch runs. Things can be
printed on-demand, less material is required, and nearly none wasted.
Creating cost- and time-efficient customized products is something previous industrial revolutions were unable to
do, and creating structurally complex and materially efficient parts has also been a historical challenge. Thus, the
advantages offered by 3D printing will eventually help solve a number of supply-chain challenges in time,
especially with experts agreeing that printing speeds are expected to increase by a significant 88% in the next five
to seven years, which could make 3D printing even more viable for manufacturing purposes.
Today, more than 100 years since Ford revolutionized the automotive industry with the standardized product, 3D
printing is making it possible for people both within large industries and small businesses to create customized
products on demand at affordable prices. Products no longer need to be exactly the same; they can now be tailored to
meet individual needs at little or no extra cost.
How significant is the revolution, really?
Are today's digital manufacturing capabilities making standardization obsolete? Could we possibly be on the verge
of replacing mass production altogether? Are we teetering on the edge of the next industrial revolution?
Like any new development, 3D printing will only drive a revolution if it can offer clear and significant benefits
over existing technologies and industrial practices.
It is still probably too early to describe the emergence of 3D printing as a new industrial revolution, but as the
technology becomes faster, cheaper, and more sophisticated, moving from rapid prototyping to advanced manufacturing,
there's little doubt it will have wide-reaching impacts on industry and the global economy.
A more efficient 3D printing process will allow industry an opportunity it never had before: Production on the
small-scale becoming as efficient as that on a large scale. That is a revolution in and of itself.
References
[i] US Libraries Begin Offering Free 3D Printing to Public Amidst
Learning Curves and Legal Questions, Bridget Butler Millsaps, Jan
2015.
https://3dprint.com/40170/library-3d-printing-services/
[ii]3D Printing: The next Revolution in Industrial
Manufacturing, Consumer Technology Association and United Parcel
Service.
https://pressroom.ups.com/mobile0c9a66/assets/pdf/pressroom/infographic/UPS_3D_Printing_executive%20summary.pdf
Sylvie Barak is a contributing writer for Mouser
Electronics, a regular speaker on the tech conference circuit, and a Senior Director at FTI Consulting, Sylvie Barak
is an authority on the electronics space, social media in a b2b context, digital content creation and distribution.
She has a passion for gadgets, electronics, and science fiction.
