3D printing has moved from the margins to the mainstream and it is design and manufacturing companies that are really starting to benefit from the unique characteristics of additive technologies, enabling them to reduce the time it takes to bring products to market, says Matthew Aldridge, igus’ managing director.
For many years, 3D printing was viewed as something of a technological curiosity. The nature of additive manufacturing was so different to traditional subtractive technologies that it quickly caught the public’s imagination. 3D printing was everywhere: on TV, at exhibitions, in the national press. But after the initial fascination fell away, one primary question was being asked: 3D printing might represent a new way of making products, but when would it ever be used?
