Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Viewpoint
April 21, 2016 02:00 AM

In the future, will everyone be a plastics processor?

Don Loepp
Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Rich Williams

    3-D printing may “rock the world,” but how will it impact the plastics industry?

    That was the main question I had when I read an interesting book last week, “3D Printing Will Rock the World,” by John Hornick, a Washington-based lawyer who specializes in intellectual property issues.

    (A style note for those who are wondering: Plastics News hyphenates “3-D” because that's Associated Press style. Many companies in the 3-D printing world do not. It's just a little awkward.)

    Hornick calls 3-D printers “the most powerful machines humans have ever invented because they can make finished products, with all their parts, fully assembled.”

    That's a bold assertion. And at first I thought Hornick was a little over the top in some predictions about how this technology will impact … well, everything: manufacturing, design, distribution. My thinking, I admit, is colored by how the popular press has discovered the technology and made some misleading claims about its current capabilities.

    But by the time I finished the 364-page book (including extensive footnotes), I was intrigued.

    There have been lots of off-the-wall predictions about what 3-D printing will be able to do in the future. Imagine machines like the replicators on Star Trek, capable of making anything we desire — even replacements for functioning body parts.

    Most of today's 3-D printers make prototypes and low-volume specialty products. But Hornick expects that to change very soon. In fact, he writes that those replicators may be “just around the corner.”

    Already 3-D printing is disrupting the aerospace and health care sectors. And, citing a 2014 story from 3D Printing Industry News, Hornick writes that one big consumer products company “is actively looking at swapping out plastic injection molding systems” and replacing them with 3-D printers. The company is working on how industrial design will change when it shifts from molding to printing products.

    Hornick is not claiming that 3-D printing will replace injection molding. Instead, he makes the point that the two technologies work well together, citing the ability to make printed tools from metal that can be rapidly fabricated for use in injection presses. That hints at an era where tooling will be cheaper and more accessible, lowering a barrier that currently keeps some new products from reaching the market.

    I think the marriage of 3-D printing, molding, toolmaking and industrial design is already happening. Our reporters see it when we visit companies. Many firms have their own 3-D printing machine, and they're starting to tinker with how they can use the new capability.

    Democratization of manufacturing

    But Hornick is looking far beyond what's happening today. He's predicting a new industrial revolution that will spark a manufacturing renaissance. He is particularly excited about how consumers — especially young people — will use the technology.

    Think of it this way: For most people, the only time they've been able to make a plastic product was when they visited a museum or zoo as a kid and put some coins in one of those cool Mold-A-Rama machines. You remember, the ones that hummed and smelled like burning plastic, and spit out brightly colored dinosaurs or other toys?

    If that still sounds like fun, imagine what you could do with a machine in your home that could print anything — a toy, a spare part for a broken appliance, a new cup or plate to match your incomplete set, just as examples.

    And young people will take the technology to places that we can't really imagine at this point. The fact that today's 3-D printers are severely limited in their capabilities will actually be a great stimulus to future leaps in the technology, because people will be frustrated by the low-end machines and invent amazing new ones.

    Given Hornick's specialty, he devotes a lot of the book to some potential legal pitfalls for 3-D printing, primarily questions about intellectual property. For example, think about that broken appliance part example. Won't appliance companies want to prevent consumers from printing replacement parts, instead of buying them from the OEM?

    Hornick argues that manufacturers would be better off adapting to the new technology instead of trying to protect their IP via the courts. He suggests manufacturers and OEMs try something more like the iTunes model. Instead of selling a physical part, go virtual instead: offer home users of 3-D printers the precise electronic blueprints for parts, so they can make more accurate parts at home. It may require a change in thinking, but he thinks it's inevitably going to happen.

    Where is 3-D printing headed?

    According to the Wohlers Report — the authority on 3-D printing —the global market for additive manufacturing and 3-D printing in 2015 was $5.16 billion. (That's from the recently released report, not the book, although Hornick extensively quotes Terry Wohlers and his reports.)

    To put that number into some perspective, consider that 2015 North American shipments of primary plastics machinery were valued at $1.29 billion. It's not an apples-to-applies comparison, because the Wohlers number includes manufacturing, products and services, not just machines.

    But I'm sure plastics machinery makers — and plastics processors — would love to see their business grow at an annual rate of 33.8 percent, like additive manufacturing has the past three years.

    Are we headed to an era when many consumers will have a 3-D printer in their home, self-manufacturing products? Hornick says don't bet against it. And to skeptics, he points out that, not long ago, people didn't think most consumers would have a need for a smartphone, or even a home computer.

     

    Loepp is editor of Plastics News and author of “The Plastics Blog.” Follow him on Twitter @donloepp.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Safety, industry image lead 2023 agenda
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Tornadoes, severe weather impact Texas resin plants
    2
    Eastman posts lower profit, plans job cuts
    3
    Plastics firms work to eliminate PFAS use as pressure mounts
    4
    OSHA: Worker died at plastics firm after duct tape covered safety guards
    5
    Georgia home to new PET chemical recycling plant
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified