Right nowPerhaps you already realise that 3d printing is not a game changerIt is disruptive but it is not yet disrupting

Why am I here? Why am I on this stageI help people to realise their dreams, goals and desired outcomesPeople say that I am a thought leader in the field of workplace computing.

I am a chartered Chemical Engineer. I grew up in manufacturing Now I work with service providers in most verticals; from bankers to doctors Engineering business change

Here's a good example of what game changing might look like:

A fully Digital Supply Chain and ‘PYOD’.

The rise of technologies such as 3D printing will revolutionise the supply chain. Once you can digitise, the pattern can be transferred, replicated and accessed globally.

IT equipment will be supplied through 3D printing, meaning that the supply chain will be digital reducing the need for stock and storage

BYOD - Bring You Own Device is the latest trend in end user computingPrint Your Own Device (PYOD) might not be with us before 2030 What an amazing trend that will be

In theory Additive manufacturing (the technical term for 3-D printing) promisesLow-volume production, Low-cost production, Responsiveness, Shorter supply chains, Optimised design and Democratisation of production.

I work for the largest Japanese employer in the UK which is the 3rd largest provider of IT equipment and services in the world. Globally Fujitsu has been assigned the most patents covering 3D printing technologies since 1980

Now years later we have little tangible benefit for a massive investment; Perhaps additive manufacturing is forever burdened with long lead times Maybe I am deliberately mixing up product life cycles with production cycles?

In May 2013 the Royal Academy of Engineering celebrated the MakerBot’s ability to print an empty compact cassette case using fused deposition modelling. It’s not like someone turned up with a rare Bob Dylan bootleg and dashed off 10 facsimiles; each capable of being played on the facsimile Cassette Player. Is it?

If you're not excited by 3-D printing it's because you're not thinking big enough, say some technology visionariesAccording to these futurists, 3-D printing will make life as we know it today barely recognisable in 50 to 75 years. I believe that 3-D printing's capacity for innovation should ultimately benefit society

Despite its increasingly dominant presence in highly specialised industries,

3-D printing technology will not meaningfully change the lives of the average person

in the foreseeable future.

I'm so sick of reading the hype,"

Like, 'we can press a button and make anything.'

Yes, that is the future and it's coming, but right now it's complicated.

Not every 3-D printer can generate every material.

Some guy in his garage is not going to be able to print Titanium.

The hype over 3-D printing, ignores the potential problems it will create. One significant problem is the legality and ethical ramifications of widespread public use.

Right now, addictive manufacturing is in its "Wild West" phase, meaning, the laws have not yet caught up with the technology.

3D printers are still potentially hazardous, wasteful machines They have some really dirty! secrets

1. 3D printers are energy hogs2. They create unhealthy air

emissions When they do become the source of the 21st century equivalent of asbestosis maybe we could print everyone a new pair of lungs

3. Create a reliance on plastics for home use

4. No one has got to grips with the IP controls and licensing of 3d copying: is it OK if I only copy 20% of the original?

5. Gun control loopholes have been widely reported

6. Where does liability rest between designers and manufacturers; who owns the CE mark?7. Bio-printing opens up massive ethical and regulation issues

Quality remains a major concern versus traditional manufacturing techniques 3d printing is crude - it results in cast iron like roughness - perhaps this is good for turbine bladesSo in most cases it incurs substantial additional finishing cost compared to CNC

Perhaps now you know that 3d printing is not a game changerI wonder when you think additive manufacturing will start to realise its game changing potential

End of part 1

Friends Romans Countrymen lend me your ears... And eventually I might be able to print you some new ones

3d printing is leading edge Gartner analysis suggests cost barriers prevent mainstream adoption of the technology

Despite all the temptations, the technologies that CIOs are looking at deploying in the near future are relatively uncontroversial pretty safe bets, in fact.

According to TechRepublic and Deloitte research, top CIO investment priorities over the next three years include security, mobile, big data and cloud.

Fashionable technologies like 3D printing and wearables find themselves at the bottom of the list; Additive manufacturing might remain at the bleeding edge for many more decades

Gartner states that business and medical applications will form the main market segment in the short-term, as cost barriers mean consumers will not have access to the technology.

The innovation encompasses a range of different technologies, and some of these are maturing faster than others. Some, such as 3D printing for prototyping, are already in general use.

Gartner, say 3D printing for prototyping may be used to support new manufacturing processes and can reduce new product development schedules

Who remembers wire wrap...and the joy of trouble shooting production systems when it failed?

Macro 3D printing of large structures and classroom 3D printing are more than ten years away from mainstream adoption due to the expense and the availability of competing technologies

In an article published on 1st April 2014 CNBC reported that 3d printing is set to grow by 500% in 5 years...so by then it will still be less than 0.05 percent of global manufacturing.

Really useful 3D printing might be more than 10 years away When do you think 3d printing will become a game changer?