With 3D TV, 3D is very much in fashion these days but the next step is 3D printers. For instance a new 3D printer is now available. This one is amazing enough to challenge the business model of the machine tool as well as many other industries: it can print in 3 D a tool or any other object with moving parts.
Why bother storing or transporting parts when it takes a few minutes to remotely print them? This is an amazing technology that can radically change the way many industries run their support operation, often a key ingredient of their business model.
For those who are not impressed enough, 3D printers can produce even more impressive products: food! There are scientists working on a 3D printer that can “print” three-dimensional food (including cookies or chocolate): http://www.fabathome.org/
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More details are on page 34 of “Science et avenir” magazine, February 2011.
In addition to the work of the Computational Sythesis Lab at Cornell University (which seems more ambitious) the article also mentions the following link http://web.media.mit.edu/~marcelo/cornucopia/
This technology obviously opens amazing applications for the food industry but I believe 3D printing is going to create phenomenal opportunities while challenging many traditional business models.
Raphael H Cohen