PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | March 13, 2015
Proc. SPIE. 9398, Measuring, Modeling, and Reproducing Material Appearance 2015
KEYWORDS: Roads, Data modeling, Manufacturing, 3D modeling, 3D printing, Printing, Solids, Rapid manufacturing, Intellectual property, Fused deposition modeling
The advent of 3D printing is giving us new production opportunities but is creating new economic and social assets. In
the paper we will analyze the new conditions we will live in.
The current industrial production scenario will be analyzed to see how it works and how 3D printing is being introduced
into it: where the traditional production comes from and how it actually works, from the historical, technological, social
and economic point of view, including transports of materials and products.
This asset is being “polluted” and possibly transformed by 3D printing: what is it, how it works, but most important, how
this technology is transforming our personal approach to industrial products.
This technological innovation will transform our lives, possibly even more than how movable type printing did: we will
see the opportunities offered to adopt this innovation not only for our everyday life, but also looking forward for
environmental issues, (e)commerce reorganization and social quality improvement.
In the final part we will also see what will be the keys to open a new kind of developing path, where technology will take
an important part, what relationship with it humans will have, and which will be the keys to succeed in this challenge,
identifying in knowledge, awareness and culture of innovation those keys.