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3D printing on Sky News
2 of 2
3D printing on Sky News
A Sky News report on 3D printing featuring an interview with Professor Richard Hague, Director of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Additive Manufacturing (which will be led by the University of Nottingham from July 1st) recently became the latest mainstream coverage. The piece demonstrated how 3D printing is used in the process of design optimisation.
Using time-lapse photography, a classic car model is shown being printed layer-by-layer on an Objet30 Desktop 3D printer, provided by Objet UK distributor OPS. “I’d like the Sky News viewers to understand some of the incredible capabilities of 3D printing,” comments Professor Hague. “In particular, my focus with the research we do at the EPSRC Centre is on multi-functional 3D printing, 3D printing with metals and the design freedoms that can be achieved with these processes. The time-lapse footage demonstrates the concept of 3D printing very simply. Then, to illustrate the multi-functional aspect, I use – amongst others – parts printed with the Objet Connex multi-material 3D printer which have been embedded with conductive, optical or biological tracks – so viewers can imagine the real-life and potential applications made possible by this technology.”
Generally mainstream coverage has blurred the lines between the different processes, different applications and different price ranges across the gamut of technologies that fall under the umbrella of 3D printing. While this piece generally sticks to the (admittedly limited) facts, it still carries the level of hype we've come to know and love from producers around the world. Or am I being cynical again?
