Is 3D printing just a fad – or is the best yet to come?

By Jamie Carter

Introduction and hype

Is it anyone’s fault if the industry they work for gets overhyped, saddled with huge expectations for immediate profit, consequently overvalued, and then suffers a mini-crash as investors realise it’s not quite the overnight sensation they had hoped for?

Nowhere is there more convincing evidence of a ‘tech bubble’ than in 3D printing, which hasn’t revolutionised every factory on the planet, and nor has it found its way into homes. Investors’ loss of patience has led to declining share prices for 3D printing companies throughout 2015, and staff lay-offs.

High expectations

The reason for the drop in confidence in 3D printing? Expectations were way, way too high, and a market realignment was inevitable, say some. “People expect 3D printing to be the start of some kind of ‘sci-fi’ lifestyle [and] assume that in the future they will be able to 3D print everything in their lives,” says Peter Wallace, Managing Director of Instant Print W1. Sadly, this really isn’t the case at all. “Some of the greatest 3D printing jobs have been …read more

Source:: techradar.com – Computing Components