Since the industrial revolution, the manufacturing of products has been synonymous with big production machines, assembly tools, and grinding and finishing equipment.
However, with the advent of 3D printing, the production of objects can now take place without going through the lengthy factory manufacturing process, in the comfort of your home using a 3D printer.
How will 3D printing change the future of the manufacturing and IT industries?
"The creation of 3D printed objects, which is achieved by using additive processes, will reshape the future of product development, manufacturing and the IT industry," says Bernhard Vogt, CEO at SA 3D technology company CAD House.
The fact that more people are now able to print 3-dimensional objects ranging from mobile phone cases, coffee mugs, prosthetic limbs, toys, and camera lenses to 3D printed fabrics will change the face of the manufacturing industry for the better, he says.
"Many people are afraid that 3D printing will take away jobs. Contrary to that, it will create more jobs. It has already started creating jobs within the 3D printing field for designers. The jewellery industry, for instance, is one of our biggest industries because 90% of jewellery made in SA today is made using a 3D printer.
"Jewellery was traditionally designed by hand, now we are seeing a new generation of young designers who are not making things by hand anymore but rather using a computer to design the piece of jewellery", he explained.
He says because 3D printing is inter-connected to many other industries it will create opportunities which are yet to be discovered. CAD House offers five-day training courses in various fields such as geomagic design, hardware, 3D design jewellery and more.
The company says it will establish recycling hubs next year where children will be encouraged to bring their own plastic which will be melted and turned into filament, the material mainly used to make 3D printing objects. This filament will then be used to create chairs, tables, cups and plates.
Rick Treweek, creative director at Robobeast, a 3D printing and distribution company, says 3D printing, which has long been used for rapid prototyping, is being applied in a number of industries today, including aerospace and defence; automotive; and healthcare industries.
"Our company is exploring how 3D printing will change the future of the toy industry. We are currently creating 3D animation digital files that will produce custom-made toys so that children will be walking around with toys that nobody else owns. These unique designs can be downloaded on our Web site and then printed on a 3D printing machine.
"At the moment we have a client who invented rowing gym equipment and he needed specific parts which were not easy to manufacture. Traditionally, he would have had to find a factory with big tooling equipment, wait a month for them to manufacture the part, and then they would have had to run a series of tests to ensure that it was of good standard," he continued.
Robobeast was able to produce the part using a 3D printer and complete the entire process in only a few days.
According to Robobeast, anybody can buy and own a printing machine within a day. Desktop 3D printing manufacturing technology can be done at home, the office, a hospital or at school.
Elsabe Booyens, corporate communications for Sahara Systems majority shareholder of CAD House, says there is no doubt that 3D printing will create more jobs - only with a different set of skills such as design capability, machine management, operation and maintenance.
"3D printing will re-energise both the manufacturing and IT industries. You don't need all of the capital involved in the creation of things anymore. You now need to do a short course, buy a machine and even start your own business," she asserts.
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