Ben Preiss
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At $5,000 Desktop Factory’s 3D printer isn’t going to be on everybody’s desktop anytime real soon but until recently 3D printers cost several times that amount. All of us can remember when flat screen TVs were a luxury item, so it won’t be that all long before the early adopters among us are printing out D&D figurines.  The 3-D printing industry is about 20 years old, and in the past two years alone, it has sold around 8,000 machines, or 36% of the industry's two-decade world-wide sales total of 22,000, according to consulting firm Wohlers Associates.
And sales are likely to increase further: A Pasadena, Calif., venture called Desktop Factory Inc. has already taken 350 pre-orders for a $5,000 3-D printer it plans to roll out next year, says Cathy Lewis, CEO of the company. About 40% of those orders are from universities and 35% from small businesses, she says. The company predicts printers could start finding their way into homes in five years or so.
"The costs have come down and the technology is much more stable and reliable now," says Sivam Krish, chief executive of Genometri, which will use Z Corp. printers to make picture frames; he later hopes to expand to custom toys and jewelry. "We're looking at new product possibilities that are manufactured quickly according to customer requirements."
(online.wsj)References: uncrate, online.wsj Filed In: |
