Why 3D printing is also communication

Personalized product design must be communicated in an understandable way as value creation. A brief insight shows how new technologies could be successfully communicated.

Communication with production
Until today, most production processes of three-dimensional, physical parts are disconnected from the common communication and ordering tools. Or to put it another way: any personalized requests are executed by separate production processes and the corresponding systems.

Personalized configuration processes
That will change pretty quickly. Because 3D printers can already be used to "produce" some interesting product or accessory parts directly from the customer. Clever communication and configuration platforms can show customers their products or product parts (through online rendering and 360-degree views). Once the customer has defined his part, he also triggers the production process with the order process.

The customer becomes the inventor and licensee
In the new Smart, there is a plastic accessory that is intended for smokers. However, the insert part could be configured in such a way that it would be useful for another use. The part is exactly the size that 3D printers in the price segment of about 20,000 francs could produce. So the customer creates the product, puts it on the web, and a partner produces the part to order - all via one click and without preliminary consultation, but just in time.

Social networks as an advertising platform and augmented reality as a catalog
Groups on the social platforms recommend and rate the parts and - to put it somewhat exaggeratedly - trigger recommendations and production processes. Whether parts fit into an environment or a decoration can be easily checked using augmented reality. Since the files for 3D printing will be typical construction files, which a 3D rendering program also needs (from CAD applications), the data can be used for both processes.

The technical service produces its parts itself
Technical services, furnishing houses and service people can start configuration processes on site, adjust parameters and start production of the new or spare parts. This could mean that in the future, development and construction can be even more customer-specific; without storage costs or time-consuming intermediate steps.

Have you constructed your house yet?
Various universities are already working on groundbreaking projects in which buildings are to be created using the principle of 3D printing. Shapes are possible that were hardly conceivable. Ornaments and other style elements can be easily integrated and thus become affordable. The infrastructure channels are all integrated in the structure as well - everything accurate to the centimeter according to CAD drawings.

Those who communicate cleverly produce
The proximity of communication and production will enable completely new processes and business models; the first steps have already been taken. And fab labs around the world are already exploring the many possibilities of 3D printing. Hansres Emch

Interesting links:
http://luzern.fablab.ch/
http://www.heise.de/artikel-archiv/tr/2011/4/62_kiosk
http://www.ponoko.com/
http://www.irisvanherpen.com/site/about
http://www.makerbot.com
http://www.3d-printers.com.au/