3D Printing Has Now Reached Critical Mass

October 8, 2012 Michael A. Robinson, Defense and Technology Specialist, Money Morning
As new high-tech advances go, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that will have as much impact as this.

3D printing has now reached critical mass, on its way to what I believe will become a $1 trillion industry in a few short years.

Along the way, it will change everything, from how airplanes and medical implants are made to how we build our homes...

And we can only guess what else.

Indeed, three recent breakthroughs in particular are pushing the sector in new directions.

They could affect the mass customization of consumer products and even lead to the day when doctors will "print" replacement organs on demand.

I first wrote to you about 3D printing last March (you can read that report here).

I explained that these printers are like "desktop factories" that could change our manufacturing model forever.

Here's how I described the technology itself:

"Technically, you don't really "print' a new product, though the process is similar. Rather than putting ink on paper, the system creates the product by adding thin layers of special polymers and some metals.

This is cutting-edge high tech that is destined to become big business.

I believe it is the 21st century equivalent of the laser printer and the dawn of desktop publishing in the 1980s that changed the entire print industry."

In recent weeks, I've become even more convinced that 3D printing will play a vital role in the Era of Radical Change.

The sector has produced a new series of amazing breakthroughs that will change the world around us.

Here are three you need to know about today...

experience more:

http://moneymorning.com/2012/10/08/3d-printing-has-now-reached-crit...

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image top:

http://cdn3.berryreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/3d_printed_g...