Startups are now creating specialized 3-D printers capable of producing everything from synthetic hamburgers to multi-story apartment buildings.
I'm an investor in MakerBot, which is a good example of the 'thingiverse'. The idea of applying collaboration and rapid iteration to things that we interact with and hold in our hands every day is super revolutionary.
Similar to computer technology in the '60s, 3-D printing is a universal technology that has the potential to revolutionize our life by enabling individuals to design and manufacture things.
The next episode of 3D printing will involve printing entirely new kinds of materials. Eventually we will print complete products - circuits, motors, and batteries already included. At that point, all bets are off.
Basically, any material you can squeeze, melt or generate into a powder, you can print.
3D printing is already shaking our age-old notions of what can and can't be made.
3D printing has digitized the entire manufacturing process.
We're now able to 3D print in 200 different materials, from titanium to rubber, plastic, glass, ceramic, leathers, and even chocolate.
The 3D-printing technology has been developing at a very rapid pace.
I believe in the near future we will 3D print our buildings and houses.
Unlike a pressed or blown-glass part, which traditionally has smooth internal surface features, a printed part can have complex surface features on the inside as well as the outside.
Creating life at the speed of light is part of a new industrial revolution. Manufacturing will shift from centralised factories to a distributed, domestic manufacturing future, thanks to the rise of 3D printer technology.
We're on the brink of the next industrial revolution. Instead of buying things, you can make them on a printer. When you have a 3D printer, you can iterate more - what used to take months, now takes hours.
We wanted people to 3-D-print anything, not just more 3-D printers.
We have always moved with this approach of sharing and educating people with what they can unlock with 3D printing.
How can we reinterpret 3-D printing in a way that suggests a new design language?
3D printing will massively reduce the cost of certain products as the cost of labor is removed.
Customized jewelry is one of my targets with Bold Machines.
You can go from creating the design on your iPad to making the object on your MakerBot.
We started MakerBot in 2009 and made a conscious decision to educate people with the possibilities they could do with 3D printing and share with people what is possible.
I think the designs and creativity are limitless with 3-D-printed clothing.
Even a small village in the middle of Africa with a 3D printer will have access to any good it can download. The world of the 'Star Trek' replicator is not far away.
