In the PBS video below, the 3D printing industry is profiled.

3D Printing is heralded as a revolutionary and disruptive technology, but how will these printers truly affect our society? Beyond an initial novelty, 3D Printing could have a game-changing impact on consumer culture, copyright and patent law, and even the very concept of scarcity on which our economy is based. From at-home repairs to new businesses, from medical to ecological developments, 3D Printing has an undeniably wide range of possibilities which could profoundly change our world.

The video includes interviews with:

• Sam Cervantes from Solidoodle on innovation
• Carine Carmy from Shapeways on supply chain disruption
• Michael Weinberg from Public Knowledge on copyright and IP
• Joseph Flaherty from Wired.com on bioprinting and more

Watch the full video below.

The Economist has published an in-depth special report on 3D printing and the macro-economic impact this technology will have on our global supply chain. The introduction of this report reads:

The first industrial revolution began in Britain in the late 18th century, with the mechanisation of the textile industry. Tasks previously done laboriously by hand in hundreds of weavers’ cottages were brought together in a single cotton mill, and the factory was born. The second industrial revolution came in the early 20th century, when Henry Ford mastered the moving assembly line and ushered in the age of mass production. The first two industrial revolutions made people richer and more urban. Now a third revolution is under way. Manufacturing is going digital. As this week’s special report argues, this could change not just business, but much else besides.

The report features include:

• A third industrial revolution
• Back to making stuff
• The boomerang effect
• Forging ahead
• Solid print
• Layer by layer
• All together now
• Making the future

Be sure to read all of this great analysis by The Economist.