Three-dimensional printing has become very sexy. It’s all over a recent issue of Wired and Chris Anderson just published a new book where 3-D printing is featured prominently. (Note: These two events are not uncorrelated.) The Economist has discussed this recently as well as have many other outlets.
And this is all for good reason. Printing in three dimensions is awesome. Creating a complex object layer by layer, in numerous possible materials, is the stuff that science fiction is made of. But while we are all incredibly excited about it, not as many people are discussing some of the economics and the future of the industry. While much is made of MakerBot and its development of its new printers, perhaps this is the wrong focus. But to understand this, we need to use the analogy of 2-D printing.
via Wired
