Still work to do on home 3D printers

Tim Allen, director of Locus Research

The evolution of 3D printing and its increasing presence in the mainstream has been partly driven by the lapsing of a number of key intellectual property patents, says Simon Crane of Locus Research.

The first 3D printer which utilised stereolithography technology was developed in 1984 by Chuck Hull, who founded one of the biggest 3D printing companies today, 3D Systems.

The other major player, Stratasys, was founded in 1989 by S Scott Crump after his invention of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printers.

"These patents held the key to the market for years, with printers being extremely expensive, allowing little exposure to the consumer and prosumer market," said Mr Crane.

When the FDM patent expired in 2009, the boom began and, during the past five years, FDM printers have dropped dramatically in price. Key patents around selective laser sintering and stereolithography technology are also expiring soon.

But the idea that 3D home printer would be creating all your household wares was just not true at this stage, said Mr Crane.

Locus Research managing director Tim Allan said it could be five to 10 years before complex products could be printed off at home by consumers.

"There is still a lot of shagging about to get stuff printing well," said Mr Allan, whose company uses a 3D plastics printer for prototyping. "It's not like putting a pie in a microwave."

However, Mr Allan said the technology posed a threat for companies involved in injection moulding and metals casting manufacturing.

"A tipping point will come for 3D manufacturing and it will move fast," he said. "A lot of established manufacturers should be buying printers now and trying stuff out, because if they don't have a toe in the water now they will be left high and dry."