Skeptical about all the hype around 3D printing technology? We ain’t seen nothin’ yet, says SearchCIO columnist Harvey Koeppel.
The buzz about 3D printing comes with the usual pontification that occurs every time a new technology passes the novelty stage into the realm where real money can be made. Canalys, a market research firm, predicts the global market for 3D printers and services will grow from $2.5 billion in 2013 to $16.2 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 45.7%.
Thirty-two years after Charles Hull created the first functional 3D printer, pundits are hailing the “new” technology as everything from disruptive innovation to the next Industrial Revolution. But you won’t find me badmouthing the Johnny-come-lately labels. Personally, I believe the current descriptions vastly underestimate the potential impact of 3D printing technology and its inevitable derivative technologies.