OREANDA-NEWS. December 01, 2015. “Company structures will evolve rapidly, leading to new business, new innovation, and new jobs that are more localized, skilled, craft-oriented—and more human in scale,” says Robert H. Brown. “Whether cosmetics companies that test new products on 3D-printed skin instead of animals, or precision finishing of 3D-printed aerospace parts, or craft breweries that refine their creativity and scale their growth by using automated production processes, it will be critical to understand the connected thread of these issues.” Excerpts:

“3D printing offers great potential opportunities for the European marketplace, especially in Germany.

Among other things, “Deutschland GmbH” as a brand is known for is export-driven approach to high precision manufacturing. Additionally, 1.5 million apprenticeships are filled annually, paving the way for strong, proactive, and sustained training on new techniques. Coupled with the sizeable German SME sector across multiple industries, it stands to benefit from digital 3D printing in a major way. 

Recent innovative examples in industries such as automotive, healthcare and architecture demonstrate the power of the technology. Crucially, 3D printing does not necessarily lend itself to mass production, but it allows for cost-effective production of, for example, prototypes or replacement parts, even prosthetic limbs for children and animals.

The German “Mittelstand” has an excellent chance of winning in the 3D revolution. 3D printing may herald a renaissance of localized production, especially for industries such as healthcare, where the individual cost of products is not as inflexible as quality, durability and short-term availability.

These developments are playing out against a connected backdrop of forces impacting the future of work in Germany, Europe, and the world at large. 

Whether it is 3D printing, robots, machine learning, artificial intelligence, smart homes, smart cars or the Internet of Things (IoT), there are many expressions that effectively point to the same theme: processes are becoming digital, instrumented, analyzed, and increasingly operated by smart machines and code in conjunction with clever, more skilled humans.

Creating incentives for companies, municipalities and regions, stakeholders, and business systems will be critical. It is vital to get the basics right and for all participants to seize the emerging opportunities to thrive in the digital manufacturing age.”