"I imagine not only the patients wanting it because it's going to be better for them immediately, but also not needing the reparative surgeries that follow on from having something that doesn't work as well," Dean said. "That will save money in the long run even if the technology is initially more expensive."

Bridging the valley of death

But private companies can't create the 3D printing revolution in U.S. manufacturing all by themselves. Much of the technology still lacks the level of strength, quality and precision needed to make gears or devices that can reliably work inside complicated, expensive machines or devices with possible life-or-death consequences.

"Manufacturing is much more demanding and complex," said Ralph Resnick, acting director for NAMII. "We need to have projects that have material properties that can meet the necessary requirements, that can be repeatable, and that can be identical from machine to machine, day to day — especially in demanding industries such as aerospace and defense."

That's where the NAMII, the new manufacturing institute, comes into play. It uses government funding as the proverbial carrot on a stick to get companies to work together with universities and nonprofits on helping 3D printing technology for manufacturing cross the so-called "valley of death" — the period of development between a lab's proof-of-concept and commercial product when private funding is often lacking.

The U.S. Department of Defense has headed the government charge by contributing the lion's share of the $30 million for the new additive manufacturing institute. NAMII takes its inspiration from the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, an organization first funded 10 years ago and currently led by Resnick, which has saved more than $500 million for the U.S. military.

Forging the future

Much still needs to be done. NAMII just officially opened its doors in August and issued its first call for projects in late November. The institute has an office at a business incubator in Youngstown, Ohio, where 3D printers donated by companies are available for use by NAMII partners. Many partners hail from former Rust Belt cities transformed into "Tech Belt" cities stretching from Toledo, Ohio, to Bethlehem, Pa.

If NAMII proves successful and perhaps even financially self-sustaining by the time its federal funding is used up within three years, the U.S. government could use its lessons to build the rest of a $1 billion manufacturing innovation network proposed by the Obama administration.

Back in the Case Western lab, students seemed not to feel the weight of such responsibility on their shoulders as they chattered and worked on their projects. A sense of fun pervades even the lab's décor — three wall clocks showed the same time as they sat above signs bearing the names of Tech Belt cities such as Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown (all three cities are in the U.S. Eastern time zone).

McGuffin-Cawley said that he wants to add Pittsburgh to the clocks to better reflect the broader Tech Belt region. But the hands of the clocks won't have to change — they'll simply continue their synchronized march into the future, one minute at a time.

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7 Comments

1. 1. RDH 04:28 PM 12/6/12

   One needs a world-class 3D solids modeling software package to produce files that 3D printers can use. Fortunately just such a package developed here in the U.S. exists. Most of these printers support STL file formats that Solid Edge can produce.
   
   And Siemens supplies Solid Edge free to college students and professors as well as high school students (never too early to start your high-tech education).
   
   There is also Local Motors (see e.g., www.localmotors.com) that provides a way for auto-design collaboration using Solid Edge. So it is possible for a college course to use Solid Edge to not just design and do 3D printing, but to get innovative designs incorporated in an automobile.
   
   Here is a site for the free college edition.
   
   https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/goplm/arc/se-academic/solid-edge-student.cfm?
   
   For high school students:
   
   https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/goplm/arc/se-academic/educator/high-school-download.cfm?

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2. 2. gesimsek 06:24 PM 12/6/12

   This is also good news for software companies. They will sell applications for do-it-yourself personal accessory designing programs

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3. 3. RSchmidt 07:47 PM 12/6/12

   Tremendous possibilities here. I first looked at it in the 90's as a way to extract dinosaur fossils from the matrix in which they were encased. Much cheaper than doing it by hand.
   
   Prior to the industrial age we had artisans that created a small number of custom products. The industrial age gave us the mass production of generic products. The digital age and 3D printing will give us mass customization. It is also a first step towards machines than can build themselves. 3D printing will also bring us printed human organs. This is a world changing technology.

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4. 4. dxs11 10:36 AM 12/10/12

   3D printing offers designers unprecedented flexibility. Many traditional fabrication methods such as forging and casting are often limited by the need to extract the part from a steel tool. 3D printing eliminates the need for costly tooling. While amenable to small batches, machining has limited capabilities in producing parts with internal features. 3D printing offers a new paradigm in design and fabrication of complex parts and while work still needs to be done to meet the quality required of some aerospace and medical applications, the potential is definitely there.

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5. 5. Daniel35 11:08 PM 12/13/12

   I'm not hearing much about what the leading edge of 3D printing is like today, and soon. I assume some printers can print one item in different colors of plastic, but how about with widely varying materials, maybe ceramics or steel in fine pellets to be fused together later? Could they print for instance interlocking parts, of whatever material, separated by a gel that would be washed away to free the individual parts? "Printer, scan yourself and duplicate, but with space for further additions."

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6. 6. bucketofsquid in reply to Daniel35 05:00 PM 12/18/12

   The simple answer to your complex question is "yes". A variety of metals, ceramics, resins and plastics are currently available, depending on your price range. There are a variety of software packages including an open source package I seem to have forgotten the name of. The very expensive high end 3D printers can create very intricate multisubstance items.
   
   I've begun buying shares of certain companies involved in 3D printing. I watched Brocade and Juniper do very well in the network gear market when I had no cash to invest. I'm not missing out on the latest wave of significant innovation this time around.

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7. 7. muqtada321 07:51 AM 12/20/12

   It has a market capitalization of approximately $3 billion, making it the largest 3D printing company in the world, surpassing 3D Systems’ market capitalization of $2.4 billion.
   
   Regards
   <a href="http://www.printingfairy.com/labels-printing/" rel="follow">labels printing</a>

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