What is 3D printing for a designer or entrepreneur and why should you care?

3D printing for a designer means an assistant in the design and manufacturing of your product, for an entrepreneur it can mean reduced manufacturing labor cost.

Just to give you a short history lesson, 3D printing was created by Chuck Hall in 1986, it is the process of creating a solid object from a digital file. The 3D printed object is created through an additive process by laying down many layers of material, similar to a printer, until an object is created. Engineers have been using 3D printers for years to create cool cheap prototypes, but as technology advanced 3D printers became the machines to create production grade plastics and metals.  

So what, you say?

The advancement of 3D printers created a revolution of affordable, small-medium sized 3D printers that can fit into any home, basement or office. The quality, mobility and affordability of these printers have created a demand to use 3D printers in the medical, arts/design, prototyping and the aerospace industry. 

3D printing technology also means an increase of domestic made products. With no need to ship production materials abroad, the printer gives the opportunity to for entrepreneurs to be their own private designer and manufacturer.  Manufactures have taken note and are now using 3D printers while gaining the benefits of less assembly time, less manual labor and reduce production cost. 

What is 3D printing for a designer or entrepreneur, it is added control over your product, a mobile time saver and best of all it can save you money. If you are an entrepreneur or designer looking to create the next big thing or add to a preexisting project, while lowering your production cost, 3D printing maybe for you.