3D printing to focus on unique items like kidneys (2)

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Hobbyist market

But just because 3D printers have become more affordable does not mean many consumers will take to them. Wharton practice professor David Robertson is not convinced it will be widely adopted by the general public.

“I’m not sure it will penetrate past the hobbyist market,” he says. Robertson, who teaches innovation and product development, should know. He owns two Makerbot 3D printers that cost a few thousand dollars each. The printers enable him to make such things as a Sumo robot toy for his son and sleeves for a lamp that broke. But he notes that 3D printing is better suited to special jobs rather than run-of-the-mill creations.

“The technology will be used in production in cases where demand is sporadic or where true customization is required,” notes Karl Ulrich, Wharton’s vice dean of innovation and professor of operations and information management.

One may not need a custom-made ice cream spoon, but customization will come in handy for a patient who needs a hip replacement, he says.

Engine parts and kidneys

3D printing is making a big impact in a variety of industries. These printers have been used to make chocolate, synthetic scaffolds for organ transplants, detailed prosthetic legs, aircraft, high-concept cars and even NASA rocket engine parts.

On July 24, the space agency announced the hot-fire test results of its two 3D-printed subscale injectors: They withstood 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit of heat without melting. While traditional injectors typically take six months to make and cost US$10,000, NASA said the printed injectors took three weeks to make and cost less than US$5,000.

3D printing has even been used to make a human kidney.

Surgeon Anthony Atala from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine showed off a printed kidney at a 2011 TED conference. The 3D printer used living cells.

Atala had used similar technology 10 years earlier to successfully create a working bladder for Luke Massella, a spina bifida sufferer whose kidneys were failing. Massella joined Atala on the TED stage, testifying that his life has improved greatly since the transplant.

Adapted from Knowledge@Wharton, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/. To read the original version, please visit: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3322

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