London is hosting an international 3D print show - attracting the latest technology and innovation for the industry. Bloomberg's Ryan Chilcote headed down to investigate how 3D printers intend to revolutionize your life.This past month there were 3D Printshows in London and Paris, and up next is New York City in February 2014. We are still a ways away from mass 3D manufacturing, but the applications are already astounding: from car bodies and anatomical models, to fashion design and film costumes. But development and evolution tend to make technology smaller, faster and cheaper, so we have reason to expect a future when things we own are things we printed.
A small manufacturing company in the north of England is hoping to revolutionize the world of prosthetics. Bloomberg's Ryan Chilcote reports on how 3D printers are being used to - literally - print eyes.At the present: Prosthetic eyeballs take 6 weeks to make by hand, and cost $10,000. In the future: 12 hours, and $160 (after economies of scale). Such phenomenal lifts in the numbers alone. I imagine healthcare systems are keeping a close eye, literally, on such technology, because it can be a game changer in the increasingly competitive landscape they're in.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
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