3D printing was recently considered as one of the top 10 technologies of the decade, this announcement itself talks a lot the kind of buzz around it. It has come a long way since 1986 when it the first patent was filed for Stereolithography, but we who follow the technology firmly believe that we are not even closer to finding its true potential

I was watching Westworld the Tv series and was amazed at the sight of robotic arms making humanoids, in one of the scenes they showed the robotic arms making the pupils of the eyes of these robots and it was really mesmerising. These robotic arms were just another kind of 3d printers trained to make robots, would we be ever able to achieve this amazing task? This purely depends on the will and time and not the skill for the 3D printing technology.

Metal 3D printing which is one of the branches of 3D printing is considered the holy grail for the industries as it cuts down a huge amount of time taken from the idea stage to the actual prototype. While there are manufacturers like EOS who have pioneered into this technology, their printers are huge in size, cumbersome to use and out of budget for small and medium size enterprises

But things seems to be changing faster than the blink of an eye, there are many companies who are experimenting with different techniques of 3d printing and materials to make desktop metal 3d printing a reality.

One such company is Desktop Metal which is run by Ric Fulop (the company's CEO) and Dr Yet-Ming Chiang. The company claims to be ready with a product which according to the company’s website would be available by 2017.

Over the years many companies have made tall claims about their 3D Printers but this one looks pretty genuine as they have received funding from Auto Giant BMW and the internet superstar Google Ventures.

BMW is not new to the field of 3d printing as they have already invested in Carbon 3D and with this strategic investment, they plan to have an upper hand over their competitors. With the launch of a working Desktop Metal Printer, the company would be able to make cost-effective test prototypes parts with ease and reap the benefits of additive manufacturing.

These are interesting times for the people involved in the manufacturing sector as it would be democratised with many individuals would have the ability to make their own products. Long live 3d printing !! Source: Autoblog