Printing the machines of the future
I think I am not alone when I tell you that I am fascinated by 3D printing. The concept that you can use a printer to make a product that before required skilled and labour intensive methods such as machining, fabrication, welding, etc, really is incredible. Clearly, 3D printers don’t solve every issue or manufacturing need, but it is remarkable to see the range of applications they already have. As they grow as an industry, they also give rise to a series of related business and technical opportunities. This week, at a meeting in Brussels, I have come across a company called Innomaq21, which is based in Spain, in Terrassa (Catalonia). These guys have developed an atomising technology which allows them to make a metal powder with exceptional properties for 3D printing. As a result, one can now print extremely complex metal products, by using a metal 3D printer and these powders, much faster and with much greater detail and quality than before. One of their principal current app...