March, 2016 | Supercharg3d

Air New Zealand prints 3D cocktail trays

Air New Zealand is getting set to explore the innovative possibilities of 3D printing.

The Auckland-based carrier announced last week that the process could be ideal for cutting manufacturing costs and controlling replacement stock.

For the moment Air New Zealand, in collaboration with the Auckland University of Technology, has settled on producing cocktail trays for its business class passengers.

The technology typically uses a digital process to produce a completely integrated part-combination object as a single finished product by creating ‘layers’ of material.

What IT admins need to know about 3D printing technology

3D printing has made significant inroads in the enterprise. It offers an efficient way to prototype ideas, generate samples and build products, but it presents new challenges for admins.

3D printing technology is still relatively young, and it comes with a unique set of challenges — along with a hefty price tag. But as prices drop and technology improves, 3D printing opens the door to new opportunities for innovating and conducting business.

Industrial 3D printing in oil and gas sectors on the rise, Gartner reveals

Though hobbyists, researchers and manufacturers are all quite optimistic about the 3D printing revolution in the near future, Gartner has proven itself to be one of the most reliable sources out there when it comes to market growth. Their previous prediction that 10% of people in the developed world will own 3D printed products by 2019 is therefore quite promising. But as Gartner’s Research Director Morgan Eldred just revealed at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Dubai, industrial 3D printing is also on the rise. Especially oil and gas companies are set to profit from the technology, it is revealed, and Gartner predicts that ten percent of all O&G companies will partially rely on 3D printing manufacturing by 2019.

Gartner, of course, is the world’s leading information technology research and market advisory company, and are known for their detailed and often correct interpretations of market mechanisms. With 3D printing quickly becoming a crucial innovative technology, it has been the subject of several specialized reports already, of which Impact of 3D Printing for Oil and Gas Industry IT Leaders is the latest. At the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Dubai (1-3 March 2016), Morgan Eldred also discusses the opportunities and challenges this technology brings to the oil and gas sector – one of the largest industries in the world.