Industry of 3D printers, main manufacturers and upcoming investments plus uses of 3D printers in schools and science.Like all my presentations, it has to be downloaded before viewing to appreciate effect of transitions- In its raw state, text and images overlap.

1. An In-depth Analysis On: 3D
Printing
The Roman Ridge School
Team Lower 6

2. Welcome To The Future
3D printing is the future of technology and
frankly, the future is now because 3D printers
have officially arrived. From the first going
prices of $20,000 to less than $1000 ,3D
printers are slowly worming their way into the
global market leaving most people with the
question of fad or necessity?

3. It is remarkably high-tech, it is practical and it is
innovative, especially in the fields of scientific study
especially in the field of medicine, biology and even
archaeology.
 Tags to track fish
 Prosthetics including legs
and arms
 Embryonic stem cell
 DIY engine parts
 Automobile parts
 Skin Grafting
 Organ synthesizing
 Bacteria Culture
 Prototyping
USES
o Toy manufacturing
o Small arms manufacturing
o Archaeology , anthropology
and bone reconstruction
o And many items in
manufacturing such as cups,
phone cases, light frames
etc.

4. Bacteria culture (for
3D printing bacterial
communities), from
pys.org
3D printed kidneys
courtesy of dvice.com
Prosthetic hand and
vertebrae extracted form
blog.tego.com
Skin grafting derived from
3dprintworld.com
Enlarged insect models from
gadget.ndtv.com

5. 3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as
Steel, Half the Weight, and
Nearing Production
Jim Kor‟s dream has been realized
with the first ever fully 3d printed car.
The car is very lightweight, built at
Redeye, it takes about 2500 hours
but the „Urvee‟ moves likes a dream
and its lightweight attributes makes is
a very efficient fuel consumer
the Urvee : courtesy of wired.com

6. 3D Printers in Our Schools
 Education is feeling a financial squeeze, as in any sector in this time period. 3D printers
present an option for providing all sorts of low cost tools and equipment which can be
repaired and created locally without expensive third party intervention.
 With 3D printers, rare, delicate and expensive artifacts can be cheaply reproduced,
giving even the youngest students the opportunity to not just see, but to feel what
things are like. Especially in the case of Ghana, where there are close to no museums
and show cases, a 3D printer would create an opportunity for students to see artifacts,
replicas and prototypes of extinct organisms, archaic tools and other models that they
learn about in school right in the classroom.
 It makes the learning environment more engaging. As students create objects and
receive hands on experience by touching and seeing how things work, lessons
become active and involving, and learning takes place effectively.

7. School for the
Blind and 3D
printing
3D printers can be used in schools
for the blind, where students have
never seen any of the objects
they learn about and hear about.
By implementing 3D printers into
these schools, disabled students
can feel these objects,
broadening their educational,
imaginary and creative scope.
Yahoo! Japan created a 3D printer which is
connected to the internet research database
containing many design templates. All you have to
do is “tell” the printer the object you would like
printed and it prints it. This printer was implemented
in Special Needs School for the Visually Impaired in
Tsukuba, where the students are now able to touch
all the things they have been studying about.
Picture from edudemic.com

8. 3D
2D
VS
 3D has new, attractive technology
However, since we are
and can even print documents.
However it would take an dealing with innovation,
unnecessarily longer time when 2d
hybrid printer could be
printers are already available.
a
created that would
combine both printers into seemingly archaic when
 Although
compared to the 3D printer, 2D
one unit and give
printers will always be cheaper and
consumers the opportunity to use. Printing and
simpler
photocopying will always be part of
to have 2D and 3D at their
the workplace. Just like the argument
will
of eBooks over hardcopies, paper
never gets old.

9. printing mission: Make it just
like 2D printing
 With Windows 8.1, 3D printing is getting two things it desperately
needs: standards and simplicity.
 Not only is Microsoft integrating 3D printing into Windows 8.1on
a system-level, but it’s even gone so far as to create its own 3D
printing format, which it hopes will solve some of the more
pressing issues with the technology.
 The format, called “3D manufacturing format,” or “3MF,” was
the direct result of feedback from Microsoft’s hardware and
software partners, many of whom wanted a common 3D
printing format that offered more supported
features, particularly with color and materials support.
 The process of sending a design file to a 3D printer looks to be
as seamless as sending your resume to the inkjet printer you
own right now.
Picture from;
Venturebusiness.com

10. Why are costs reducing?
 Continuous mass production of 3D printers caused prices to fall. Advancements in the design tools
and materials continues to reduce the cost of building 3D printers and encourages mass production
of the product, thus, leading to reduced prices.
 Improved general levels of technology also lead to this increase in supply of 3D printers, and its price
reductions. As compared to the 1980‟s, when this product was first introduced, levels of technology
have shot up. This encourages increased supply of the product and consequently reduced prices.
Improvements in technology made entry into the market easier for other smaller firms (like ExOne and
Voxeljet), or more attractive to other suppliers. As more suppliers entered the marketplace,
competition between the companies increased too, forcing some of them to respond to this by
reducing prices, in order to attain a larger market share.
 Some companies are purposely reducing prices below natural equilibrium as a pricing and marketing
strategy to increase demand and revenue. The $200 Makerbot 3D printer, for example, attempts to
simplify 3D printing for a more consumer-friendly experience, by lowering the price and reducing the
complexity of assembling the devices and minting objects. Amateurs, basement inventors and
hobbyists with no experience printing in 3D will immediately be attracted and start experimenting with
minimal investment.

11. A simple graph demonstrating how
increased supply lead to reduced
prices of 3d printers
s1
Price
d
s2
p1
p2
d
q1
q2
Quantity
The supply of 3D printers, after having
increased recently due to reduced cost of
production and improvements in levels of
technology, shifted the first supply curve s1
to the right. The increased supply
consequently reduced prices from p1 to p2,
thus, resulting in a downward movement
along the demand curve, labelled d. The
initial high price for 3D printers indicate high
prices in the 1980‟s. The fall to price p2 shows
that the cost of 3D printers has decreased
dramatically since about 2010, with
machines that used to cost $20,000 costing
less than $1,000.

12. HP Getting
In on The
Game
According to smartplanet.com tells us
that the world’s leading producer in
2D printers HP has taken it upon
themselves to break into the 3D
market. It is reported that they will
soon have their own 3D printer by
early 2014. Hewlett-Packard are
known for their many hardware
innovations especially computers and
printers, they have promised to take
3D printers to the next level mainly
focusing on reducing costs and
increase printing speeds. Since 3D
printers available now takes over 20
minutes to print an object and hovers
around the $1000 to $20000 price
range, this strategy is sure to impact
the marketplace strongly.

13. Marketing
strategies:
3D Systems
 3D Systems are the pioneers of 3d printing with the most
recognized name in the field and with an impeccable
reputation.
 It was founded in 1986 in Valencia, California, by Chuck Hull, the
inventor and patent-holder of the first stereo lithography rapid
prototyping system. The 3D printing market in the 80‟s and 90‟s
was very specialized but has seen rapid growth in the past 5
years , on its way to becoming a household product
 3D systems has ingeniously acquired Geomagic Inc., a leading
global provider of 3D authoring solutions including design, sculpt
and scan software tools that are used to create 3D content and
inspect products throughout the entire design and
manufacturing process. In fact, some of the world‟s leading
companies and research organizations use Geomagic software,
including Ford, BMW, Boeing, Harley
Davidson, Timberland, Mattel/Fisher Price, Lego, Pratt &
Whitney, NASA, Schneider Electronic,
3M, Danaher and Invisalign.
picture from:
Reviews.cnet.com
 Also in the bag is Acu-Cast, that offers precision parts made on
a wide range of traditional and additive manufacturing systems
including rapid prototyping, SLA, SLS, aluminum and zinc
coating, urethane casting, and high-speed CNC machining.
And in an alternative 3D systems has also launched 3D Proparts
which they say will be largest prototyping and parts
manufacturing service.
 The company also announced that it is expanding its merger
with Canon Marketing which will allow it sell and deliver finished
goods straight to Japan, increasing the companies outreach in
the global market.

14. Marketing
strategies:
Stratasys
Recently Stratasys acquired Makerbot, the most widely
recognized name in 3D printers that makes printers for
less than $2000, a move sure to boost their demand and
ultimately their profit.
Stratasys has also launched RedEye on Demand, a rapid
prototyping service targeted at industries and service
bureaus. It is aimed at providing a 3D printing service to
individuals who do not own a printer or do not want to
own a printer but occasionally need a 3D printed object.
Last year, it merged with Israel-based Objet to optimize
value chains and cross-sell products. Last week, they also
made a public offering of 4.3 million to raise funds for
“working capital and mergers & acquisitions.” they also
acquired Solid Scape, another 3D printing faction aimed
at promoting 3D printing and making it as user friendly as
possible to the masses.
Picture from:
Stratasys.blog.com

15. Thank you so
much for your
The End
time
Team lower 6 members
Daisy Sowah
Amina Seini
Kofi Opuni-Frimpong
Leiya Salis
3D printers are here to stay in the
market, they facilitate easy and cost
effective ways of replicating and
manufacturing items whiles more
recently, 3d printers come in a trendy
and less bulky hardware ( you can now
get it straight from the box). It is simply
following the new technological trend
of initial rejection and finally to the
ultimate peak of demand the “I can‟t
live without it” stage. But then again,
time will tell.
Team Lower 6