Are we ready for 3D printing?

Kaveh Pourvand, 10 July 2013

Future economic historians may judge this particular week to have been of seminal importance. This is the week the mass-market retailer Maplin announced that it would start selling a 3D printer, the Velleman K8200, for £700. A potentially revolutionary technology will be put in the hands of consumers. A 3D printer literally allows objects to be designed and printed in the same way as paper documents. It can print with anything that can be dispensed from a syringe and creates objects by a process of ‘sequentially layering’. Already 3D printers have been used to create items ranging from the object in the picture below to iPod cases to electrical circuits. There are even plans by a Dutch firm to create the world’s first 3D house.

Predicting technological change is a notoriously difficult and uncertain business. Nevertheless, 3D printing is the best candidate we have for the general purpose technology of the future which could revolutionise the economy as did innovations like the steam engine and internet before it. It may spell the end of the mass production model that has reigned supreme in manufacturing since the industrial revolution. Production will become customised and personalised. Economies of scale in manufacturing will start to be less important if one can design and print their own product cheaply at home. There won’t be the need to produce a standardised product in bulk volumes in order to make a profit. Barriers to entry in a host manufacturing sectors will fall precipitously as literally anyone can buy a 3D printer and start producing goods.

It may also spell profound changes in the global economy. 3D printing is likely to substantially reduce labour costs as a proportion of total production costs. (There is less for humans to do if printers are doing the work.) This removes a key reason for outsourcing to emerging markets. On the contrary, it becomes more important to locate production closer to your home market so you can better understand local tastes and customise products accordingly. This may well lead to a significant ‘reshoring’ of manufacturing capacity back to developed economies and make it more difficult for developing economies to use cheap labour as a springboard for industrialisation.

We can expect the £700 price tag of Maplin’s printer to fall over time. This will allow the technology to spread in the UK. It is good news that the government plans to invest £14.7m in 3D printing projects. We may be able to stay ahead of the curve with a critically important, emerging technology.

3D printing is certainly one to watch. Big changes lie ahead.