Almost unnoticed, revolutionary production technologies have emerged without any substantial input from big players. Instead, the initiatives came from researchers, small start-ups and tinkerers in their garages who experimented with printing three-dimensional material. As is often the case with technical revolutions, the “movement“ thrives on its early protagonists’ enthusiasm, in this case mostly middle-aged male tech aficionados and a complementary open-source community. These so-called “makers” advocate the trend toward personal production and the networking of things. Idealists dream of re-possessing the means of production by the “masses”, tech enthusiasts about the triumph of self-replicating machinery. The excitement of a new age together with gold rush-like optimism is obvious, notwithstanding that many young businesses soon will join the corporate world, fairly quickly abandoning their open-source ideals en route.

Still, 3D printing is not without history. Long before the internet changed the world, laser-based processes for industrial applications had been developed, e.g. for the manufacturing of prototypes and models to be used in the production of limited numbers of work pieces and building components. In contrast to standard injection molding processes, 3D printing bypasses the labor-intensive set-up of jigs, together with the various processes of cutting, lathing and drilling.

It’s an undeniable fact that the 3D revolution’s social and economic effects are noticeable. In times where the life cycle of products continues to decrease while the number and variety of products continually expands, the tirelessly working printing robots producing complex objects at precision levels unmatched by man-made efforts, are just what is needed now.

Especially in the field of tool system technology, construction component production, medical device technology and the consumer goods industry, 3D print technology is of great importance. For this reason, Messe Düsseldorf and the VDMA decided to launch the 3D fab+print in October 2013 during K 2013 (the international trade show for plastics and rubber). Under its umbrella, all relevant Düsseldorf trade shows will in the future bring together their respective exhibitors with the goal of bringing this topic closer to the trade audience’s focus. Theme related trade shows featuring 3D fab+print will be drupa (May 31 - June 10, 2016), COMPAMED (November 12 - 14, 2014) held concurrently with MEDICA (November 12 - November 15, 2014) as well as GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST (June 16 - 20, 2015).

Consequences of the 3D revolution

3D printing not only replaces, reconfigures and complements traditional processes, but accelerates innovation since an instant creation of solid prototypes and tangible templates has numerous benefits. In the consumer sphere, unit costs of mass-produced articles will always stay below those of customized manufactured ones, yet at the very margins, some share of the manufacturing process may well be taken over by the consuming public itself. It would hardly be a loss for the economy, since these unaffiliated manufacturers still need 3D technology besides materials and support….at the same time creating brand new lines of business, e.g. printing services for those who are reluctant to invest in a 3D printer themselves. We all recall the fantastic rates for a square foot of digital printing on fabrics back in its early years.