3-D printing could remake U.S. manufacturing

RWIN, Pa. – About 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, the former heart of the nation's steel industry, a small company called ExOne is churning out a new generation of stainless steel boat propellers, oil pump parts and door knobs

$2 bn sales 3D printing 2011

Part production made up nearly a quarter of the $1.7 billion in sales of 3-D printing products and services last year

3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing

3D printing neutralizes China India

Experts say the technology can neutralize the low-cost labor advantage that countries such as China and India enjoy over the U.S. That, along with 3-D printing's ability to accommodate quick product launches, is expected to accelerate a nascent "reshoring" trend that has seen a growing number of manufacturers bring some production back to the U.S.

A third was printing 12 stove burners as part of an order of 500.

Eventually, Boeing expects to use 3-D to make an entire unmanned air vehicle and possibly even a commercial airliner, or at least a wing.

source: usatoday.com/money

ExOne The Americas

MID-ATLANTIC

127 Industry Boulevard

North Huntingdon, PA 15642 USA

+1 877 773 9663

+1 724 863 9663

exone.com

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Other 3-D printers follow different processes. Many plastic parts, for example, are shaped by squirting successive layers of melted plastic through a nozzle.