3D Printing Moving Into The Mainstream With Everyday Applications, Panelists Say

An executive with one of the top 3D printing companies in the U.S. gave a long list of exciting products and applications on Thursday that are now entering the marketplace using this advanced manufacturing technology.

Wallace Patterson, Enterprise Exec for New York-based Makerbot, gave a 45-minute presentation during the second day of the Arkansas Innovation Manufacturing Summit where he offered attendees several ways they can apply and introduce 3D printing technology into their workplaces.

“There are lot of things we do to allow you to bring your ideas to market,” said Wallace. “We provide everything within the 3D printing ecosystem.”

By definition, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. MakerBot, based in Brooklyn, New York, is widely known for its Replicator 3D printing line, and has grown more than 600% over the past two years as the technology becomes more widely used in both commercial, education and workplace settings.

Founded in 2009, Wallace said the company has gone through the initial startup phase of where investors provided millions of dollars to get the company to its current development stage. Now, he said, the company is the leading player in the 3D ecosystem, involved in every area of the business from hardware to desktop software and mobile apps.

For example, MakerBot announced a deal last month that it had started selling the company’s Replicator mini compact printer at more than 300 Sam’s Club retail locations across the U.S. The retail 3D printer is an educational and compact model can be used in the office, classroom or at home, company officials said.

“I truly believe that having the opportunity to learn about 3D printing first-hand is a big step towards a better understanding of the technology,” Frank Alfano, acting CEO of MakerBot, said on March 26 after the deal with Bentonville-based Sam’s Club. “By expanding our retail presence into Sam’s Club, we’re providing opportunities to reach professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners and show them the power of 3D printing.”

Wallace said the company has grown steadily over the past six years to the point where it offers most products and services related to the advanced technology, from 3D printing and scanning hardware to desktop software, firmware and other services.

During his presentation, Wallace talked about a wide range of players in the business world that are now using the company’s 3D printing technology. That list include Fortune 500 companies like defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, who is involved in “rapid product prototyping,” to startups like Hammerhead, Clug and Oregon Pint Glass, and Dash Wireless Headphones that are using the technology to help with design, printing and manufacturing.

Starting with about a half million dollars in initial funding, Oregon Pint designed and developed a unique hand-blown line of beer mug and pint glasses with an actual mini-scale replica of Mt. Hood rising up from the bottom of the drinking stein. In less than two years, Dash Wireless was able to design and get to market its 3D-printed wireless headphones that fit in the user’s ear with just over $3 million in initial funding.

“Think about the hundreds of millions of dollars it would have taken them to get to market otherwise,” Wallace said.

Following Wallace’s presentation, Barbara Miller-Web, a sales executive at St. Louis-based D3 Technologies, gave an overview on the history and current market applications of 3D printing technology.

Miller-Web told the attendees that 3D printers currently range in cost from below $1,000 to more than $1 million. She also said that the advanced technology is also now moving into the food and clothing sectors, along with other new applications and prototypes that are being developed nearly every day.

“There are so many areas out there, there is a printer for every need, and it is really continuing to grow,” she said. “The industry is trying to make it easy and palatable to everyone.”