A new type of 3D printing may bring it into the mainstream
It is to the old version as the printing press is to the pen
EARLY FORMS of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing as it is popularly called, began to emerge in the 1980s. But it took more than a decade for the technology to start taking off. Initially, it was used to make prototypes. Now, intricate components are routinely 3D-printed in plastic and metal, for use in products ranging from jet engines and robots to cars.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “A Gutenberg moment”
From the March 19th 2022 edition
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