I’m sure you’ve all heard of 3D printing by now and since many of you are in the technology sector, you might have a 3D printer at your house. In this article, I will touch on the state of the 3D printing industry, current innovations and where it may lead to regarding the food and beverage industry.
What Is 3D Printing?
It is a process for making a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down many successive thin layers of a material. The materials used to make the physical object can include plastics, carbon, metals and organic products like food.
It all starts by making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file. The CAD file is created using a 3D modeling application or with a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). A 3D scanner can make a 3D digital copy of an object. Once this process is complete, the CAD file is uploaded to the printer and the print job can be initiated.
What Are The Latest Innovations?
One of the biggest stories I’ve read this year is the one about a 3D-printed kidney-on-a-chip from Harvard’s Wyss Institute. The 3D printed tubule fibers which make up a kidney allowed researchers to test how a real human kidney might react to substances in the body. The hope is that the process developed at this molecular-level will be scaled-up to produce a whole, functioning kidney that is suitable for transplants. There has already been a 3D printed artery, liver tissue and bones, as well as the successful implant of a 3D printed vein segment into living monkey.
3D printing is also becoming a big deal in schools. The U.K. is leading the way in deploying printers in schools to teach students how to engineer an object from scratch. Maybe we will build homes from giant 3D printers in the future, so we will need people to run those machines, and it makes sense to train this generation.
These are all very promising developments in the 3D printing world.
3D Printing Statistics
(from Forbes and First American Plastics)
100 percent: Estimated growth in 3D printing in just the consumer market during the last year, according to Business Insider. This is a technology that’s revolutionized manufacturing and is now spreading into the consumer realm. Consumers are excited about the effects 3D printing has had on manufacturing, and they’re eager to see what else it can do.
95 percent: The rate at which 3D printer shipments are expected to grow through 2017, per analysts at Gartner. From printing hard-to-find parts to reducing waste, manufacturers are seeing serious cost-saving potential from 3D printing. The staggering rate of growth in printer shipments is simply one testament to that fact.
82 percent: The anticipated increase in revenue generated from 3D printer sales in the next three years, Gartner says. And that’s just for suppliers. A boom in revenue on this scale speaks volumes for the potential cost-savings businesses are seeing from 3D printing. And what’s good for the manufacturer is good for the consumer.
18 percent: The growth in 3D printing in dental applications alone. While dental represents the largest share in the medical field to benefit from 3D printing, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Business Insider predicts hip and knee replacements to see huge developments resulting from 3D printing in coming years.
$2.2 Billion: The value of the global market for 3D printers and services, according to a 2013 Economist article. The market size is growing at a significant rate, with a 30 percent increase between 2011 and 2012. That’s an impressive jump for a manufacturing industry recovering from recession, and it’s a sign that manufacturers think 3D printing capabilities are worth the investment.
$868 Million: The expected size of the 3D printing market for the medical and dental sectors by 2025, according to ID TechEx. And while they’re currently among the biggest drivers for 3D printing, they’re certainly not the only ones.
50,000: The number of people worldwide who benefit from customized surgical equipment made from 3D printing, per Modern Healthcare. Innovation and success stories will almost certainly drive those numbers up in the near future.
118: The number of Kickstarter projects directly related to 3D printing innovation. It’s an impressive number that shows the level of consumer interest in putting this type of technology to use in ways we hadn’t imagined before.
30: Years 3D printing has been around. That’s three decades of constant improvements in efficiency and precision. And it’s worth noting that the last few years have seen a tremendous spike in interest in this field, meaning you can expect even more innovation in the years ahead.
Endless: The number of new innovations resulting from 3D printing. From consumer, health care, dental and now food & beverage, this is a technology that is changing the world, one sector at a time.
Impact of 3D Printing on the F&B Industry
You’re probably thinking that 3D printing in the food & beverage space is a long way out, however, there are printers on the market printing candy, organic products and other foods as I write this article. To my knowledge, they haven’t quite made it into the kitchens of any casinos, but I am sure there’s an executive chef in the gaming community who is floating the idea around.
The great thing about 3D printing is that it has the capacity to take the Culinary Arts to a whole new level. Restaurant operators will have the capacity to design better garnishes, desserts, ornaments, silverware and more. As the printers become faster and able to produce more printed objects per hour, we will likely see them used in many restaurants around the world.
Let’s not forget that with all this hi-tech equipment, there will be a need for people to support it. There could be a scenario where the Information Technology department is tasked to maintain the equipment for the restaurants. This may sound like a bunch more work for some, but I look at it like an opportunity with further job security. Becoming more familiar with this technology might not be a bad idea if you work in IT and you have restaurants on property. Heck, you might even be the person who introduces the concept to the chef.