The Open Source 3D Printing Revolution!
Posted July 19, 2013 & filed under Job Search
Evolution or revolution? That’s the question I posed in my last article about 3D printing technology and, as with any example of disruptive technology, the answer is not so cut and dry. Though additive manufacturing is beginning to establish a greater foothold in traditional manufacturing fleets, there are some who view the technology as the harbinger of a less centralized manufacturing world.
These futurists predict that the technology, once introduced on the household level, could erode the advantage of large-scale manufacturers and remove the reliance of small shops, aspiring entrepreneurs, and even industrious, DIY-minded consumers on these massive mechanisms. Manufacturing power will then be in the hands of the many and innovation will spiral off in unimaginable new directions. Too far-fetched or just around the corner? The growth of the maker community might provide us with an interesting answer.
3D printing has made impressive strides by opening up the technology to hobbyists and small shops through the release of the desktop 3D printer. Layer by layer, a viable community has grown as the number of devices by Makerbot, 3DSystems, and others have proliferated throughout the market. The members of the DIY maker community have embraced the open source model and are using communal idea building to do incredible things. In one instance, two men connect across to create a mechanical, prosthetic hand design that has gone viral on Thingiverse, undergone improvements, and improved the lives of both children and adults all over.
Lane Roney, cofounder of the budding 3D printer resource Additive Habitat, sees collaboration like this as the greatest potential for the 3D printing community. Additive Habitat acts an additive manufacturing ecosystem where members of the open source community and manufacturers can connect, advancing their respective interests and the technology in revolutionary ways.
“The maker community is this root system that supports the growth of the industry as a whole. We feel that by connecting and strengthening the small satellite operations of these individual makers that inevitably the overall tree, which is comparative to the industry, can grow,” Roney says. He points to other instances of disruptive technology to get an idea of things to come.
Mobile phone applications and open source operating systems originally reached breakout ideas through incremental work provided by scores of people. From there, large scale manufacturers took those ideas and leveraged their major resources to maximize innovations into a finished product that was bigger and better than before. So, a healthy, deeply rooted open source community might just guarantee that the manufacturing industry remains vibrant and continues to bear rich fruit.
That’s why additive manufacturing is not an either/or technology that will only see one side, either large scale manufacturing or small scale inventors, through to the future. “3D printing is not the sole source of all manufacturing but is a process that businesses of all sizes, from local manufacturers and orthodontists making crown to companies like GE & Boeing can integrate into their current processes to get better and add value,” Roney says. This is where the greatest values lies and the way 3D printing will make the greatest mark on the world.
By James Walsh
