3-D printing to produce hundreds of wiring harness
assemblies in between design completion and mass
production readiness. 4. The future of 3-D printing
The promise of 3-D printing is based on custom
products that are made to order , such as dental
and medical devices, and low-turnover replace-
ments parts. These goods are typically ordered in
unique configurations and in very small quantities. A
significant advantage of 3-D printing is a firm’s
ability to quickly and cost-effectively supply low-
demand parts without the risk of carrying an unsold
finished goods inventory . Since items are made only
when ordered and paid for , designers are able to
undertake risks they would not otherwise pursue. With 3-D printing, the risk of a poor design is
based on wasted design time rather than inventory
investment. A major advantage of 3-D printing is the separa-
tion of product design from manufacturing capabili-
ties. Since design and manufacturing can be easily
outsourced in 3-D printing, designers can contract
with firms such as Shapeways to produce, ship, and
collect proceeds for goods based on their designs. Alternatively , a consumer can download a CAD soft-
ware design for a replacement part online– —as easily
as he/she would download digital music– —and then
download and print the part on his/her 3-D printer . A number of issues relating to cost, accuracy , and
strength of 3-D products need to be overcome be-
fore this technology can achieve widespread adop-
tion. For instance, in terms of cost, materials
suitable for 3-D printing can run 10 to 100 times
more than typical injection molding thermoplastics
(Sherman, 2009). Material choices, colors, and sur-
face finishes suitable for 3-D printing are also more
limited than with typical mass-production process-
es. According to a vice-president at Stratasys, a
manufacturer of 3-D printers: ‘‘The industry doesn’t
have a catalogue of 20,000 materials available to-
day . Right now , I’d say it sits around 50’’ (Alpern,
2010, p.