In the alluring "Mission Impossible 4", Agent Essen made use of 3D printing technology to create a mask that looks exactly like his face in a short period of time. Many fans were amazed by the scene, and it seems that in the mythical story "Mystery", It is within easy reach of a realistic brushstroke.
With 3D printing, consumers can purchase absolutely personalized products. The significance of digital era is that people can choose between mass production and personalized production. But in fact whether consumers will buy "personalized" products? Can 3D printing, together with other digital production models, promote the third industrial revolution? Will it lead to a new road to wealth for the makers, or just a by-product of the combination of the Internet and manufacturing?
1
Manufacturer "not caught"
Low productivity, high cost
Although the cost of 3D printers has dropped, the cost of manufacturing a single product has still not been solved.
Using a 3D printer to make a product, there is no difference between the cost and the 10,000. The cost of manufacturing a single product alone is much higher than the cost of apportioning each product after the large manufacturing company manufactures 10,000 items.
Why don't consumers choose the one with lower price and more guarantee? Moreover, 3D printing requires a large amount of investment in the early stage, but the profit is very poor and it cannot be scaled up. It is difficult to attract large-scale capital investment.
In the foreseeable future, 3D printing technology cannot completely replace traditional machining.
2
Consumers do not buy it
Personalized or "legend"
3D printing manufacturing requires modeling, design is too far away from production, long production cycles will collapse a large group of consumers. Even with rapid response, a group of consumers has to be eliminated compared to the high cost and rough accuracy of similar products. What is important is that impulsive consumers sometimes do not know what they need.
Although 3D printing facilitates personalization and customization, if large-scale demand is late, manufacturers are prone to die because of funding disruptions.
The industrial society is characterized by economies of scale, but personalized production is a way to counter economies of scale, and only large platforms such as Taobao and Tmall, which have huge users and resources, can make a difference. Ordinary Chinese manufacturing is hard to keep up with, and the business imagination that can keep up is limited. If you are willing to be a small seller, you may have a chance, but who is willing?
3
Consumables determine the future
Labor-intensive processes will be replaced first
The expansion of consumables determines the capabilities of the 3D printer. At present, the consumables for 3D printing are very limited. The consumables in the current market are mostly plasters, plastics, bondable powder particles, photosensitive resins, sandy soil, etc., and the manufacturing precision, complexity, strength, and texture do not meet the high requirements. There are some applications in some light industrial civilian products, but they are still far from the “printing†cars and kidneys. And even if consumables are successfully developed, large-scale production and material rationing are all problems.
However, the United States, which has two giant 3D printer manufacturers in the world, is now stepping up research and development of 3D technology. There are also industry insiders expect that by 2020, 3D printers can engage in small-scale production, manufacturing of labor-intensive handicrafts and commodities in the past.
4
Policymakers want to "scratch their heads"
Patent system into a new management problem
Although the future created by 3D printing is full of imagination, in order to implement a wide range of commercial applications of 3D printing, some existing business rules must be adjusted and changed in time.
3D printing will challenge the existing patent system. If you print a smart phone at home, the data needed range from chip to battery companies. The existing patent system will allow expensive negotiations with each company when printing something. Followed by management challenges. If the printed helmet is not suitable, who is responsible for it? Is the designer? Still responsible for printing? Or a raw material supplier? What if people bought a 3D printer and printed guns and drugs at home? All these problems require policymakers to quickly come up with solutions to solve the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and businesses.
5
Investors are still waiting
"Money" has trouble
The Chinese Inventors Association once organized a group of companies to visit the Beijing Computing Center to visit the 3D printers in 2012. However, to everyone's surprise, there was only one company that was present to be interested in it. The purpose was actually to be a Shanzhuang brand.
Compared to 3D printing industrial applications for up to 20 years, starting a business with a 3D printer and even allowing consumers to use home, 3D printing is still in its infancy. Immature became synonymous with the field, and investors' attitudes towards industry and entrepreneurship also formed a strong contrast. At one end, industrial capital has entered a large number, while the other side is watching and watching.
For those looking for “future-type†companies, entrepreneurial enthusiasm is not enough to shake up their investment standards. When entrepreneurship becomes a "hand-workshop," what does entrepreneurial significance mean?
(Editor)