Tag Archives: industry
Dental Labs Redefine Personal Care with Onsite 3D Printing
The world of dentistry and tooth repair dates back about 9000 years to the Indus Valley Civilization where evidence of tooth drilling has been found in a Neolithic graveyard. In 1840, the first dental school opened in the US, and over the last 160 years, preventative dental care has advanced signficantly.
Now modern dentistry is on the verge of a revolution with help from 3D printing and related technologies.
Imagine walking into your dentist’s office. She says: “You need a new crown.” She pulls over a machine that takes a 3D digital scan of your teeth and annotates that scan in her computer. Instructions are then sent to a 3D printer located in the dental office, which prints your crown onsite in 60 seconds. Your dentist can finish the job without you leaving the chair to get a magazine.
This real-world application is a good example of how 3D printing will be the catalyst for major change in the medical arena, leading to explosive growth and a $5 billion 3D printing industry by 2020.
Read more about dental advances at Today’s Medical Developments.
3D Printing Industry in Explosive Growth – $3.1 Billion by 2016
$3.1 billion by 2016 and $5.2 billion by 2020 — those are the estimates made by Forbes for the size of the emerging 3D printing industry.
Given that the field is nearly 30 years old, it looks like 3D printing is finally ready to hit an inflection point.
Forbes cites a quote from research by industry guru Terry Wohlers:
“Low-cost 3D printers affect both the professional and consumer markets. The increased sale of these machines over the past few years has taken additive manufacturing (AM) mainstream more than any other single development. 3D printers have helped spread the technology and made it more accessible to students, researchers, do-it-yourself enthusiasts, hobbyists, inventors, and entrepreneurs.”
But hobbyists and researchers are clearly not the only sources of growth. Here are some other examples:
- Medical: Dental practices are employing 3D printing to construct perfect-fit crowns in tooth repair procedures.
- Mechanical engineering: CAD models can now be edited in your web browser, untethering expert designers from their desks and expensive software.
- Global: Consumers in the US and Europe are buying 3D printed goods based on designs created by individuals in China, South Africa and India.
Will 3D printing grow from a quaint hobby to a $5 billion market in 8 years? Most certainly.
Broad stripes and stars image used under Creative Commons from Jason Samfield.
