Episode 7: The Rise of Industrial 3D Printing — The Future of American Manufacturing

3D printing has been around longer than most people think first invented by an American engineer, Chuck Hull, in the early 1980s. Despite its nearly 40 year existence, 3D printing has yet to take off as a viable alternative to widely-accepted manufacturing processes like injection molding. The technology remains fraught with issues such as low yield and high material cost. In February 2011, The Economist ran a story called “Print me a Stradivarius” - and even then the idea of mass printing of physical objects still seemed out-of-reach. However, over the past few years, 3D printing has finally evolved beyond a mere hobbyist’s tool and is now at the cusp of becoming a scalable manufacturing process. Today, we interview Chris Prucha, founder of Origin, a company closing the gap between 3D Printing and what Chris identifies as the major three deficiencies preventing this technology from moving to the next stage. In our discussion we explore the current state of global manufacturing. Chris shares how his experience working with consumer products has translated into solutions for these three pain points from software innovation and cost-savings perspectives. Chris shares details about the technology Origin will be debuting to the market later this year and reasons for the approach they have taken compared to competitors. Finally, Chris shares his vision for 3d printing in creating “impossible geometry” and new classes of products in industries like high performance footwear for mass customization.