Boeing sees the Future in 3D Printing

Boeing has been conducting research and development in the area of additive manufacturing since 1997, but the company wants to scale up its processes in the years ahead so it can use the technology to build larger, structural components that can be widely incorporated into military and commercial aircraft.

Boeing’s use of 3D printing may seem unconventional because of the growing attention on the technology’s consumer applications for things like toys, figurines and sculptures. But it’s not. 

Using 3D Printing would allow for material development and forming complex mechanisms and components directly from the computer, which reduces weight ans costs by unitization and structural efficiency. Also it significantly reduces the time between design and the actual manufacturing, which can usually take more than a year. The ability to make this process more dynamic gives designer the opportunity to test the prototypes and refine their designs much more rapidly than before

3D Printers and small businesses

A ball. A cup. A gear. Even an electric car. 3-D printers can't print money, but they can produce prototypes for almost anything else. And as prices for the desktop devices drop, entrepreneurs are seeing them kick out something more: tangible business results.

Huntington Beach, Calif.-based company olloclip has used 3-D printing to make a big name for itself with its little iPhone accessory. The snap-on camera lens has garnered rave reviews and is one of the few peripherals stocked in every Apple Store

Olloclip has invested $50,000 in 3-D printing, not only to prototype its own products, but also to create mock-ups of rumored iPhones so that lenses can be designed quickly each time Apple releases a new version. "We can literally sketch an idea in the morning, model it in the afternoon, pop it in the printer and have a sample made that evening," says olloclip design director Chong Pak. Fast turnaround is key for companies in this space; olloclip finished and validated an iPhone 5 version of its product within days of the handset's announcement.

But olloclip's biggest challenge is in fending off counterfeiters in China. Poorly made fake olloclips flood Asian markets. Thanks to 3-D printing, olloclip can keep its computer-aided design files in-house and safe, rather than having samples produced through rapid prototyping service bureaus, which have been known to leak blueprints.

Still, investing in 3-D printing isn't for everyone. That's where providers like New York City-based Shapeways come in. It offers 3-D printing in more than 30 materials--including plastic, glass, metal and ceramic--and an online marketplace where anyone can sell products. It offers 8,000 shop owners a low barrier to entry by charging only for materials used in production, plus a 3.5 percent transaction fee. Clients include designers of jewelry, tech gadgets and housewares; Shapeways enables them to produce and sell their creations in limited numbers but in a cost-effective way.