3D Printing: Viability for Company's Business Expansion Report

This report assesses the potential of 3D printing for business diversification, focusing on a medium-sized manufacturing company in Australia. It explores the technology's applications in various sectors, including body parts, toys, clothing, food, weapons, and construction, with a focus on how the company can leverage 3D printing in food production, toys, and clothing. The report analyzes the advantages of 3D printing, such as flexibility and cost reduction, alongside its disadvantages. It also discusses legal, social, and ethical considerations, culminating in recommendations for the company's strategic implementation of 3D printing to increase revenue and expand its online business presence. The research methodology includes literature reviews, interviews, and surveys to provide a comprehensive analysis of 3D printing's business prospects.

Running head: 3D PRINTING 1
3D Printing
Name:
Institution:
Date:

3D PRINTING 2
Executive Summary
The report is aimed at establishing the effectiveness of 3D printing in business perspective.
As the organization moves towards online business, the aim is to investigate the viability and
feasibility of 3D printing as we diversify the business. 3D printing makes objects that are of
any shape, geometry and size using digital data. The object is from a 3D model or any other
data electronically retrieved source thus building a 3D binder material by successfully adding
materials layer by layer. The investigation was done by constant research, interviews and
questioning of people and processes with relevant knowledge and skills on 3D printing. Most
companies that conduct and carry out 3D printing have used a lot of capital as it is capital
intensive. However 3D printing is the way to go. Additive manufacturing is globally causing
an interruption in digital printing and it is the way to go.
The first steps in the direction of high-speed printing have been taken, but it is
uncertain when and to what degree high speed / mass production with 3D printers is possible
in all industries. Perhaps in the not too distant future we will pay to print our products at
home with three-dimensional printers or in schools, more emphasis will be placed on the
development of 3D objects. However, the company should take a slow approach in the
products that it wishes to produce because to produce some of the items at the moment is so
costly.
Contents

3D PRINTING 3
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
1.1Brief Description of 3D Printing.......................................................................................5
1.2 Objective of the Report....................................................................................................5
2.0Applications that use 3D printing.........................................................................................5
2.1. Body parts and human prostheses:..................................................................................5
2.2. Toys:................................................................................................................................6
2.3. Clothing:..........................................................................................................................6
2.4. Food:................................................................................................................................6
2.5. Weapons:.........................................................................................................................6
2.6. Construction:...................................................................................................................7
3.0Applications that the company can move into in the next five years....................................7
4.0 The organization can use the application to expand in the following areas.........................8
5.0Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing.....................................................................9
5.1Advantages............................................................................................................................9
5.2Disadvantages:.................................................................................................................10
6.0Legal, social and ethical considerations..............................................................................11
7.0Conclusion...........................................................................................................................11
8.0 Recommendations .............................................................................................................12
9.0 References..........................................................................................................................13
1.0 Introduction
Our company is a medium sized manufacturing company is Australia. It wants to diversify
and 3D printing is a viable diversification avenue aimed at increasing revenues for the

3D PRINTING 4
organization. As the head of ICT department of the company, the main aim is to increase
profits through online businesses that are profit making. Advantages of 3D printing are easy
to get and make (Mikołajewska, Macko, Ziarnecki, & Mikołajewski,2014). They do not
require a lot of technicalities. At present, the achievements of scientific and technical
progress have been widely developed in various industries, including in the food industry.
The use of the achievements of fundamental research led to the development of new
machines and devices, technologies, methods and methods of creating products, the
widespread use of once revolutionary ideas in everyday life. The aim of the report is to help
the organization to get the best prospects of 3D printing in respect to global and international
requirements set and have a business initiative. Due to the growing business trends all geared
towards 3D printing, the company has decided to get those prospects. The issues in 3D
printing were investigated through thorough and comprehensive reports done by the ICT
department and 3D technology survey researchers. Questionnaires and interviews were also
some of the methods that were used in research and analysis of 3D printing (Chia &
Wu,2015). In the process of 3DP, one of the main functions is performed by a 3D printer-an
automated device that creates three-dimensional objects. Like a traditional printer, a 3D
printer receives an array of input digital data from the computer. The report was also
investigated through reading of journals and books that are useful in 3D printing.
1.1Brief Description of 3D Printing

3D PRINTING 5
According to the definition, a 3D-print (3D-print, 3BR) is an action or process of
creating a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, usually sequentially setting
a set of thin layers of material [4]. That is, 3B-printing is a production process by collecting
layers of source material to create a three-dimensional physical object from its digital model
van den (Akker,2017). To do this, you need to use computer software (CAD) - CAD
programs to create a 3D model that converts the object into the sum of thin sections (layers)
in the printing process, and a 3D printer that starts creating the object at the bottom of the
structure by sequentially applying layers of material until the object is completed. 3DP is also
understood as rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing (Laplume, Petersen & Pearce,
2016).
1.2 Objective of the Report
The report objective is to determine how favourable 3D printing is businesswise.
However, instead of printing the result on paper, the 3D printer creates a three-dimensional
model from the user material, and by additive layering (addition), which distinguishes it from
machines and devices that cut or remove material from the existing shape (work piece) by
clipping (subtraction).The printers deposit layers of usually plastic materials when making a
3D object from the data file on a computer.
2.0Applications that use 3D printing
3D printing can be used when manufacturing the following;
2.1. Body parts and human prostheses:
Disposable prostheses such as legs, arms, hands, pieces of bone and even face covers can be
made in case of deep wounds. In addition, parts of the human body of the exact size a patient
needs can be printed.

3D PRINTING 6
2.2. Toys:
It is already possible to create toys of children's taste, ranging from small figures of a simple
body to more complex and large structures formed by several smaller impressions.
2.3. Clothing:
New-Balance-printer-3D innovation in the field of fashion has a lot to do with the growing
demand for increasingly personalized clothing, using 3D printing you can create models of all
types of clothing tailored for each person as dresses, shirts and even underwear.
2.4. Food:
You can model desserts and sweets formed with a 3D printer, achieving artistic designs
impossible to do by hand. The most curious case of food printing, is the impression of meat
(vitro-meat they call it) by means of stem cells and animal tissue engineering. The process
today is so complicated and expensive, that making a hamburger through this system costs
more than 250,000 Australian dollars (Gross, Erkal, Lockwood, Chen, & Spence2014).
NASA also sees many possibilities for 3D food printing and is studying the possibility of
manufacturing food from nutritious cartridges that can maintain their properties for up to 30
years.
2.5. Weapons:
This can be a threat to citizen security in the short term as it will be impossible for public
institutions to control the arms market. Internet circulate many plans of how to manufacture
rifles and pistols for less than 30 Australian dollars , all or which has forced the US

3D PRINTING 7
government to reform its law of weapons possession (Muth, Vogt, Mengüç, Kolesky, &
Lewis,2014).
2.6. Construction:
There is already talk of the possibility of using giant 3D printers to build houses through a
mixture of cement with industrial waste such as glass and a special hardening agent in just 24
hours. This is done by printing prefabricated pieces that later allow the home to be assembled
in a very short time, reducing the waste generated by 50%.
3.0Applications that the company can move into in the next five years.
. One of the modern applied trends in the development of society is 3D printing (3D-printing,
3DP), which is a production process by collecting layers of source material to create a three-
dimensional physical object from its digital model. The main part of companies engaged in
3DP in the field of research and development, production, promotion of concept ideas and
implementation of models of operating printing machines, related consumables and software,
is concentrated mainly in the USA and EU countries (65.6% of the world market). This is a
big market for the firm to take advantage and increase revenues (Schubert, Van Langeveld, &
Donoso ,2014).
In the next five years, the company can move into the use of 3D printing technology in its
application in the following three areas.3D printers create objects from scratch, which is a
more efficient way of production, since less waste is produced than with the conventional
ways of manufacturing.
4.0 The organization can use the application to expand in the following areas
Food production.

3D PRINTING 8
The company can use these application to get into food production for example for
production of meat which will be a good thing to do due to the increasing population in the
world. It is shown that everything starts with an idea, then it is implemented, using a certain
set of knowledge in the field of food chemistry, food hygiene, processes and devices of food
production and information technology and ends with the end result of the food product. The
main method of food production through 3DP is layer-by-layer / fusion modeling (FDM),
which is related to the specificity of raw materials for the production of finished food
products (Petrick & Simpson,2013).
Currently, most 3D-printers for food products are presented either in conceptual models,
experimental or pre-sale samples, less often in commercially available devices. It is
established that 3DP in the food industry will progress, including through the further
development of existing printing principles and technologies, as well as the creation and
development of new futuristic ideas that are actively researched and developed by teams of
innovators. Therefore our firm should take advantage of this emerging technology to get into
the food production.
It can be assumed that the development of 3DP in the food industry will intensify; at the same
time, new knowledge will appear in this subject area, which will contribute to its subsequent
development. 3DP in the global food industry will undoubtedly progress, therefore, the
company should consider using 3D printing technology in this field including through the
further development of existing printing principles and technologies, as well as the creation
and development of new futuristic ideas that are actively researched and developed by teams
of innovators. The main method of food production through 3DP is layer-by-layer / fusion
modeling (FDM).3D printers are going to change the way we live, as we know it today and
we see it in printed (Shirazi, Gharehkhani,2015).

3D PRINTING 9
2. Toys:
Secondly, another area that the company can venture into is production of toys. It is already
possible to create toys of children's taste, ranging from small figures of a simple body to more
complex and large structures formed by several smaller impressions. Therefore, the company
should increase its revenues by producing toys.
3. Clothing:
New-Balance-printer-3d innovation in the field of fashion has a lot to do with the growing
demand for increasingly personalized clothing, using 3D printing you can create models of all
types of clothing tailored for each person as dresses, shirts and even underwear. The
organization should also move into this areas which has got a lot of potential for growth
(Lipson & Kurman,2013).
5.0Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing
It will bring many advantages and also several disadvantages, related to the creation of
products in an automated way using a 3D printer. It will be possible to make a replica of an
object, print or create an object from a file, or we can also design it ourselves.
5.1Advantages
3D printing has got many advantages. The company can make different products
using a single 3D printing. Manufacturing done currently is done with specific machines
which are limited to producing one type of product. If there is a production change, the
machine must be changed or readjusted which is sometimes costly. Second, it allows for
flexibility and rapid prototyping. It allows prototypes of products with ease, which can imply
an improvement in the design. 3D printing is important for cost reduction. The production
can be done from any place even home. Another advantage of 3DP is that products can be

3D PRINTING 10
personalized. The possibility of making products which have been personalized and exclusive
way such as clothes. 3D printing has a lot of ground to cover and more and more fields will
be applied. Many businesses will be widely favored, such as jewelers, because when they can
print the 3D printer in wax, when making rings, they simply make the mold in a file and the
technological device prints them (Weller, Kleer & Piller,2015).
For industrial designers create an industrial object, you can see it in a plastic prototype. Make
replicas of objects that we need. For example, designing a mechanical product to sell, and we
have a nail, but we need another one, we can create it. If we have broken a piece of an object,
we can create it to fix it. One can make objects with plastic, wax and rubber, probably at a
time other materials will be involved and the range of products that can be made will change
the way we live as we know it (Rayna & Striukova, 2016).
Companies instead of having an automation system to carry out a commercial product, 3D
printers can be at stake to reduce costs in terms of machinery, and so that the products do not
have errors in terms of design since they will be able to correct with the computer.
5.2Disadvantages:
Decrease in work position. The elaboration of the products themselves, and the
reduction of machinery can lead to fewer jobs in manufacturing which may lead to
redundancies in the company infringement of copyright. Malicious uses of technology.
Increase in useless products (MacDonald & Wicker,2016). The technology can be costly.
Many companies are going to benefit, many are going to be harmed because their business
can be lost. For example, companies that design and produce toys, or items for home
decoration. An article or prototype will be produced or printed in 3 dimensions in about 2
hours.

3D PRINTING 11
6.0Legal, social and ethical considerations
With time more companies and people will have access to 3D printers which brings about
both legal and ethical implications. Accessibility will enable people to print anything they
want , hence , if a company has a patent on a particular object that is useful to the people,
they may refuse to pay for it and instead print it (Norman, Madurawe &
Khairuzzaman,2017). This contravenes patent laws and infringes the right of the company to
reap from its creation or product. Ethically, 3D printing can be used to produce harmful
objects such as guns and consequently when they find themselves in the hands of the wrong
people might cause a lot of harm in the society. This are questions that are of concern to
companies especially when 3D printers is made available to the public.
7.0Conclusion
Currently the relationship between 3D printing and commerce is almost negligible,
compared to what can be achieved in the coming years. In 2016, the sales of 3D printers
doubled. An industry that already reaches six billion dollars. 3D printing on the one hand can
be a threat to world trade, but opens up further development for local production, so not all
producers or exporters could benefit (Mikołajewska, Macko, & Mikołajewski,2014). Once
3D printing becomes widely applicable and economically viable for mass production, local
production will increase with 3D printers at the expense of imports. With this prospect, the
organization should take advantage of this mode of production to buy 3D printers as we await
for the world to embrace this technology.
The first steps in the direction of high-speed printing have been taken, but it is
uncertain when and to what degree high speed / mass production with 3D printers is possible
in all industries. Perhaps in the not too distant future we will pay to print our products at
home with three-dimensional printers or in schools, more emphasis will be placed on the

3D PRINTING 12
development of 3D objects. However, the company should take a slow approach in the
products that it wishes to produce because to produce some of the items at the moment is so
costly (Espalin, Muse & Wicker,2014).
8.0 Recommendations
First, the company should consider production of items that are not expensive to buy. For
example production of toys and clothes will not take up a lot of resources unlike production
of drugs and food. The use of 3D printing technology is yet to be embraced in some
countries, therefore there may be a lot involved before printing such as research and
development in specific fields as well as getting the technical skills to be used.
Second, the company should patent the products that it has developed to enable them enjoy
all the benefits and rights of the product and therefore, increase revenues. Sensitization of this
method of production should be made to the public for acceptance of the products.
9.0 References
Chia, H. N., & Wu, B. M. (2015). Recent advances in 3D printing of biomaterials. Journal of
biological engineering, 9(1), 4.

3D PRINTING 13
Conner, B. P., Manogharan, G. P., Martof, A. N., Rodomsky, L. M., Rodomsky, C. M.,
Jordan, D. C., & Limperos, J. W. (2014). Making sense of 3-D printing:
Creating a map of additive manufacturing products and services. Additive
Manufacturing, 1, 64-76.
Espalin, D., Muse, D. W., MacDonald, E., & Wicker, R. B. (2014). 3D Printing
multifunctionality: structures with electronics. The International Journal
of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 72(5-8), 963-978.
Gross, B. C., Erkal, J. L., Lockwood, S. Y., Chen, C., & Spence, D. M. (2014). Evaluation of
3D printing and its potential impact on biotechnology and the chemical sciences.
Laplume, A. O., Petersen, B., & Pearce, J. M. (2016). Global value chains from a 3D printing
perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(5), 595-609.
Lipson, H., & Kurman, M. (2013). Fabricated: The new world of 3D printing. John Wiley &
Sons.
MacDonald, E., & Wicker, R. (2016). Multiprocess 3D printing for increasing component
functionality. Science, 353(6307), aaf2093.
Mikołajewska, E., Macko, M., Ziarnecki, Ł., Stańczak, S., Kawalec, P., & Mikołajewski, D.
(2014). 3D printing technologies in rehabilitation engineering.
Muth, J. T., Vogt, D. M., Truby, R. L., Mengüç, Y., Kolesky, D. B., Wood, R. J., & Lewis, J.
A. (2014). Embedded 3D printing of strain sensors within highly stretchable
elastomers. Advanced Materials, 26(36), 6307-6312.

3D PRINTING 14
Norman, J., Madurawe, R. D., Moore, C. M., Khan, M. A., & Khairuzzaman, A. (2017). A
new chapter in pharmaceutical manufacturing: 3D-printed drug
products. Advanced drug delivery reviews, 108, 39-50.
Petrick, I. J., & Simpson, T. W. (2013). 3D printing disrupts manufacturing: how economies
of one create new rules of competition. Research-Technology
Management, 56(6), 12-16.
Piller, F. T., Weller, C., & Kleer, R. (2015). Business models with additive manufacturing—
opportunities and challenges from the perspective of economics and
management. In Advances in Production Technology (pp. 39-48).
Springer, Cham.
Rayna, T., & Striukova, L. (2016). From rapid prototyping to home fabrication: How 3D
printing is changing business model innovation. Technological
Forecasting and Social Change, 102, 214-224.
Schubert, C., Van Langeveld, M. C., & Donoso, L. A. (2014). Innovations in 3D printing: a
3D overview from optics to organs. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 98(2), 159-
161.
Shirazi, S. F. S., Gharehkhani, S., Mehrali, M., Yarmand, H., Metselaar, H. S. C., Kadri, N.
A., & Osman, N. A. A. (2015). A review on powder-based additive
manufacturing for tissue engineering: selective laser sintering and inkjet
3D printing. Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, 16(3),
033502.

3D PRINTING 15
van den Akker, D. (2017). The development of a hybrid manufacturing system that combines
multimaterial 3D-printing with silicone casting for the development of
soft robotic parts
Weller, C., Kleer, R., & Piller, F. T. (2015). Economic implications of 3D printing: Market
structure models in light of additive manufacturing revisited. International
Journal of Production Economics, 164, 43-56.