3D printing factory opens in New York City
October 20, 2012
(Credit: Shapeways)
Shapeways, a Netherlands-based online 3D printing company, has opened a “factory of the future” in Queens, New York that plans to house 50 high-resolution industrial 3D printers and print custom-designed products a year, Popular Science reports.
The company will allow customers to upload custom 3D designs, and then prints them using materials including acrylic, nylon, glass, gypsum, ceramic, and sandstone, and precious metals such as silver, and ships the objects within a few days. It plans to open in January 2013 and hire about 50 skilled employees.
“This is the future of our city,” said Mayor Bloomberg at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, using 3D-printed nylon scissors.
No word if Bloomberg will ban printing super-size objects weighing more than 16 ounces. :) — Ed.
Comments (43)
by Mark
Can someone 3D-print a bomb or a gun?
by hal
this rabbit hole leads to zero jobs and no work for human beings in the near future. by the way, what is the scientific definition of near. just wondering how long i must hang on to see what it is like to live like a pharaoh, sheik, king. czar, or emperor. A clone fanning me with palm leaves and a nonobot buzzing in with nachos.
by Tony Stender
Based on the cost of ink, it would seem like the source material and legal restrictions will be how those wanting to benefit from this idea will approach the fact that this is certainly a disruptive technology. Remember every printout is saved somewhere for the review of authorities. At this point of the development it has of yet not become obvious what will trigger the market for these devices. Or have I missed the obvious here.
by Snazster
Building the first 3d printer that can completely produce every part needed to assemble a second one out of cheap materials will likely be insanely expensive. Building the second one, however . . . .
As I submitted in the 1987-2037 Time Capsule Prediction blog item a few weeks ago, bear in mind that those with vested interests in more traditional methods will use every means available to combat DIY. They will cite zoning laws, claim OSHA violations, claim it causes environmental damage, change the laws to require expensive government inspections (for consumer safety), restrict how items made by DIY can be used and sold, attempt to throttle the supply or increase the cost of the supply of raw materials, and of course, unleash a never ending barrage of copyright, trademark, and patent violations on enormous numbers of people who are using DIY (and probably using AI or expert systems to help do it). In the long run they will probably lose but expect enormous ugliness starting from when they begin to feel threatened.
by Gorden Russell
Right, Snazster. They will go down fighting, but they will go down.
by Chris Jack
Before people get too carried away: bear in mind that there are limits to what can currently easily be printed on 3D printers. There are issues about precision, strength, and the range of materials that can be used – and anything complex, like a car, would still require significant assembly expertise.
by Mr.X
@Chris: Currently.People on this site discuss billion year plans… ;)
by Vin
I imagine a coordinated swarm of flying robots with print heads and recourse to a field of resin source flowers may be quite useful. Or it might be a bit of undigested potato causing me to hallucinate.
by Gorden Russell
No, Vin, you’re not Ebenezer Scrooge. Synthetic biology will one day give us the resin source flowers and great larch trees dripping with resin source. Just don’t park your car beneath one of these trees.
by blair
Shocked to see a single negative comment on this article…
by jokesonus
this tech belongs in every home, not sequestered off in factories Of course, despite the communist propaganda, people can’t really be trusted with the ‘means of production’ now can they? So here comes the biggest control freak on the planet trying to co-opt the future, and make sure freedom and innovation remains properly controlled… to be ‘managed’ down the same path fusion and other game-changing techs are ‘managed’
by Editor
OMG, commies with 3D printers taking over the country!!!! Dogs and cats living together… no, wait, that’s from Ghostbusters.
by Bri
It just poped into my head…… Yup!!!…. It’s the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. And an industrial sized one at that. Can’t print that at home.
by Editor
This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
by Bri
When is it not. Whether in film or in reality.
by zainea liviu
what 3D printing have to do with…communism propaganda?
by Mr.X
Well, means of production finally get into the hands of the producing/working classes. Jk.
by Marcos Marin
@jokes.onus
Now, calm down. Even commies will have to update their gear eventually or succumb to commpetitors(!!). THEN is when we catch them! They will have to sell those babies at a HUGE discount! Can you wait for Xmas?
by Gorden Russell
Don’t worry about it, jokesonus, when the printers can print more printers, they will be cheap enough for every repair shop to have one. They’ll be printing out mufflers, shocks, tie rods, McPherson struts, you name it.
Once they start printing out robots, all those skilled workers will lose their jobs. That’s what should concern you.
Robots and printers will replicate with the speed of bacteria, and it will be called “The Robot Plague.”
When a printer and a robot can be duped in a day, then in a month you will have over a billion robots.
Just check it out with your calculator. Enter “one times two,” then tap the “equals” key 30 times.
by Gorden Russell
That will make the unit price just a bit higher than the cost of feed stock and delivery. There will be a 3D printer in every garage and a robot housekeeper/gardener right next to it.
by Marcos Marin
All those workers will be relocated to mine the scrap metals to build all those robots.
by Timothy
That’s ridiculous. The fact that these machines are relegated to a ‘factory’ is simply because of cost, nothing else. Right now they’re too expensive for most people to afford, but there’s certainly no ban on buying them if you want. Home 3-D printers are at the dot-matrix stage (when you had to go to Kinko’s for color or laser printing, remember?).
Give it a few years and everyone will have a hi-res, multi-material 3-D printer in their house.
by Gorden Russell
It won’t be that long, Timothy, before you can go to Kinko’s or Staples and have a robot printed up for you. Of course, at first, that will have to be the limbs and shell. They will have a big box of little motors to plug in at the hips, shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists and ankles. The hands and feet will come in another box and just plug right in.
by Dwee
There I was thinking only intelligent people read this newsletter. How stupid of me.
by Dri Humor
Great Ed comment! Or at least objects used to create or hold too many French fries, onion rings, potato chips, mayonnaise, cream based soups, hollandaise sauce, etc.
by Editor
Did someone say french fries?
by Bri
It might have been the mysterious Mr. X. He’s making an army of Bri’s, out of stale Mc Donald’s fries.
by Mr.X
And you’re the alpha Bri.Congratulations, soldier!
by Bri
I’m the alpha and omega baby!!!! ( just think of Jack as you say that).
by Ryan
Isn’t “3D printing factory” a bizarre idea? Isn’t the whole idea of a 3D printer that you don’t need a factory? It’s like creating a portable sewing machine and then buying a building full of portable sewing machines and describing a future in which people will drive to this building and use these sewing machines. It’s the future! No, silly, the future is everyone having a sewing machine in their house.
by Editor
… except for industrial printers, which are too expensive for homes, and that allow for printing materials other than plastics.
by John
That’s right. Also, some may want to print things that won’t fit into your home, e.g. a tractor. The idea of 3D printing is not in mobility but in that it’s one step from design to production.
by Timothy
Correct. Also the fact that you aren’t held hostage to economies of scale. The first is as cheap as the last, and every one can be customized.
by Bri
You have super computers, server farms, PC’s, lap tops, note books, cell phones. I think we can have different scale 3D printing too.
by Gorden Russell
You hit the nail on the head, Ryan. The future is 3D printers for all of us. But that means the Bloods and the Crips, too. Did you see the news about the guy who printed up a scaled down assault rifle receiver? We’re looking at a future where every crack house has a printer making AK-47s. Did you hear about the grad student who came up with a printer for pharma? The first thing he printed up was an Ibuprofen. When the gangs of LA start printing out their own heroin and cocaine, it will drive the Colombian Cartel out of business. They are sure to fight this tooth-and-nail. The streets of the ‘hood will be flowing in blood up to the tops of the curbstones. The storm drains will back up with clotted gore.
But on the other hand, the police will be too busy to bother with potheads.
by Bri
These factories will sprout up like mushrooms. Within ten years they will sap all the strength from the Chinese economy. You have to view this one as a progenator. It may seem sophisticated, but it is very primitive. Home 3D printers will still be very attractive, and develope quickly too, but these factories will make the more complex items.
by Uri
so..can’t bring one home? :(
by Satan
print one out
by Mike
good one.
by Marcos Marin
I will print the whole factory! Skilled employees and all, and have it delivered at my doorstep by noon!
by Mr.X
Don’t forget the copyright issues.
by Aaron
Ugh…
by Gorden Russell
Don’t worry, Aaron. No need to “ugh.” Those with good designs will license them. It will get competitive and licensing fees will drop. And there will always be free-range open-source designs.