i3 - January/February 2016 - 24

MONEY FOLLOWS INNOVATION
The belief among those on the ground floor of this emerging
technology is that the next generation of printing could change
the way we manufacture everything from jets to IKEA furniture.
According to a new market research report, 4D Printing Market, published by MarketsandMarkets, the value for 4D printing
is expected to reach more than $530 million by 2025.
In addition to the profit predictions, both 3D and 4D printing also cut
back on waste. Because it is additive rather than subtractive, creations are
built from scratch rather than carved out of materials. But if the 3D printing
marketplace offers any sign about what we might expect from this next-level
technology, the truth is that the industry has never been as flush as it is today
with established leaders like Stratysys, and Aleph Objects, and startups Matter Hackers and Robo 3D, all vying to make the leap into the consumer world
in a big way. (All of these companies are also exhibiting at CES 2016.)
In fact, as 3D printing has become more sophisticated by helping to build
prototypes for medical, aerospace, engineering and automotive giants, and
as the digital technology is pinpointed for especially creative endeavors
ranging from art to fashion, the price points have been making 3D printing
more affordable for the average person. But like most emerging technologies (remember when not everyone owned a photo printer or digital music
player?), its usefulness in the industrial world doesn't necessarily guarantee
its "cool factor" among consumers...at least not yet. You may find maker
workshops at the local Barnes & Noble and demos at Home Depot, but it's
still just the beginning of 3D printing for the average Joe.
But when it comes to big business, leaders are lining up to get in the 4D
door early. For example, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in Germany
recently introduced its newest printer with 4D capabilities-the Jetmaster
Dimension 250. The company got into the 4D segment about a year ago
to develop cost-effective technology based on inkjet and robotics. To drive
home the potential for suppliers, the company worked with a food startup to
personalize holiday packaging.
"4D printing based on inkjet technology paves the way for high-quality,
cost-efficient customized surface finishing of mass-produced consumer
goods, even in small quantities," says Jason Oliver, head of digital at Heidelberg. He says the company is planning a new solution that opens up opportunities for industrial users "in particular such as those in the automotive
industry."
U.S. tech giant Hewlett Packard also recently opened an R&D center in
Spain that's focused on driving innovation of both 3D and 4D printing. The
Leon Centre for Competence employs about 50 skilled employees with the
hope of creating a total of 100 jobs in the next year. The Spanish government
has helped fund the center to develop 3D and 4D printing technology. And HP
hired Steve Nigro, its former senior vice president of printing and imaging, to
lead its new printing group. The company, which is working with Shapeways
and Autodesk, is expected to launch its first in-house 3D printer, the Multi Jet
Fusion Technology-later this year.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

FACING OBSTACLES
Given its potential, why isn't 4D printing already
on the lips of every tech CEO? There are still a lot
of obstacles the technology needs to overcome for
it to become as widespread as its proponents hope.
Practically speaking, the process of having an object
mend into a new shape causes a lot of strain. This
means that while the cool chair that just assembled
itself may be interesting to look at, it may not be
able to hold up to normal wear and tear.
Experts also agree that materials used in the
4D-printing process can take a significant amount
of time to respond to a variety of stimuli. There's a
question of how to control the stimuli outside of a
lab. What happens when the temperature drops or
it rains? Does your object fail?
It also turns out that much-touted shape changing has been a slow process. It's one of the things
researchers are working on to lay the groundwork
for the technology to become more widespread.
Up until now the time lag has meant that even the
most sophisticated demonstrations of 4D printing
may not be suited to all applications. There's also
a question of whether an item can shift back to its
original shape like, for example, when it comes to
moving. Will the 4D-printed table that self-assembled be able to shift back into a flat package? Somewhere along the line the cost will need to catch up
to the innovation, which will need to appeal to big
business and, ultimately, real people.
"These are complex things built with complex
parts that come together in complex ways," explains
MIT's Tibbits, who during his TED Talk invited
leaders of all industries to come together to build on
this worthy idea, saying that 4D printing will (not
might) reimagine the world, "from the nanoscale to
the human scale," he said, "so that we can go from a
world like this (3D) to a world like this (4D)."

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Courtesy of n-e-r-v-s-o-u-s

jet engines using smart material that reacts to temperatures on
its wings.

https://www.alephobjects.com/ http://www.stratasys.com/‎ https://www.matterhackers.com/ http://robo3d.com/ https://www.matterhackers.com/ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ http://www.homedepot.com/ https://www.heidelberg.com/us/en/index.jsp http://www.hp.com

i3 - January/February 2016

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