(Although the ‘voice’ is former vice president Al Gore’s, there are a 150 pages of notes at the end attributing his sources.)
“Humankind’s new ability to manipulate atoms and molecules is also leading toward the disruptive revolution in manufacturing known as 3D printing. Also known as additive manufacturing, the new process builds objects from a three-dimensional digital file by laying down an ultrathin layer of whatever material or materials the object is to be made of, and then adds each additional ultrathin layer –one by one – until the object is formed in three-dimensional space. More than one different kind of material can be used. Although this new technology is still early in its development period, the advantages it brings to manufacturing are difficult to overstate. Already,, some of the results are startling…
“For example, the designs for new aircraft are often prototyped as 3D models for wind tunnel testing… one Colorado firm, LGM, that prototypes buildings for architects, has already made dramatic changes. The company’s founder, Charles Overy, told The New York Times, ‘We used to take two months to build $100,000 models.’ Instead, he now builds $2,000 models and completes them overnight…
“The emerging potential for using 3D printing is illuminating some of the inefficiencies in mass production: the stockpiling of components and the profligate waste of materials, and of course the expense of employing large numbers of people…”
