3D printing comes to Jamaica
Published:Sunday | March 16, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Richard Browne, Business Reporter
It's now possible to print your food, some body parts, and even weaponry as innovators test the limits of 3D printing technology.
The concept has now reached Jamaica, courtesy of Pear Tree Press Limited, which has been operating its own small desktop 3D printer since last year, though it is yet to generate any firm orders.
And at least one other Jamaican company is considering investing in the fast-developing technology.
3D printers can be used to produce a very wide range of objects - from the replication of human body parts to the creation of car parts and even a working gun.
Earlier this month, it was reported that a man in Britain successfully had his facial features reconstructed with the use of 3D printing - giving far better results than could ever have been otherwise achieved.
Scientists are said to produced kidneys, ears, and even blood vessels using the technology.
An American man, Cody Wilson, successfully printed and test-fired a plastic gun. The FBI is said to have tried but failed to replicate it.
And, it's now possible to print edible Oreo cookies, chocolate, pizza, and other food, some of which may not yet be edible.
The technology is itself not new. It has been around since 1984 when Charles 'Chuck' Hull invented it for the use of digital data to create real 3D objects.
Since then, developments have brought down the cost of the machines so that a simple model can now cost as little as US$1,200 - though prices can go up to US$1 million or more.
TESTING THE WATERS
Pear Tree aims to be among the companies in the forefront as the technology takes hold. The Kingston-based operation is already moving away from traditional offset printing and into digital printing and is already testing the waters for 3D printing demand in Jamaica.
"The key is to get on it, get uncomfortable, and embrace the change," said managing director of Pear Tree Press, Adam Hyde.
"You want to be on the crest of that wave and not underneath it," he said.
To help the market along, Hyde hosted a 3D and digital printing showcase in New Kingston last month. Out of that forum has come increased "off-
the-cuff interest", Hyde said, but still no new orders.
"We've had people come in and request one-off prototypes," he said.
Meanwhile, over at the University of the West Indies, the Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI) is also planning to get in on the 3D revolution.
MGI is "actively investigating acquisition of desktop unit", said Michael Evelyn, business development consultant at MGI.
"New units on the market are smaller and quite affordable," he said. "It is the commercial units that are still at prohibitive costs."
LOW EXTERNAL DEMAND
MGI sees some scope for 3D printing in its business, including production of items like topography maps, site layouts, architectural or town models. But external demand, though existent, is low at best.
"We have had only one request for a 3D print job in the last year," said Evelyn.
The same is true for Pear Tree Press. The company has had its printer since last year but has only had one expression of interest for an architectural model.
Hyde is confident, however, that interest will increase and sees future demand for a range of items, including the creation of personalised items like cell phone covers or wedding souvenirs.
Pear Tree's 3D printing cost structure has not yet been finalised, but prices for personalised items are likely to be very competitive with more readily available mass-produced items, Hyde said.
But at this point, the kind of capability offered by a small 3D printer is "probably a fad", Evelyn said, as the desktop printers "only allow small items like cups, bowls, tools, and yes, guns".
Long-term "commercial printing is the only option that we see as feasible", the MGI consultant said.
For large projects, more sophisticated printers would have a large advantage where goods would otherwise be sourced abroad.
"With jobs done overseas and shipped to Jamaica, the risk is damage to the product during shipping," Evelyn said. "The protective packaging adds to the costs. Where technology allows for design files to be transferred and printed on site, then obviously, the shipping problems are removed."
But MGI doesn't intend to get into that commercial side of the market anytime soon.
"There does not seem to be sufficient demand locally - so from a business point of view, we are not lagging behind as it would be uneconomic to import a large unit until the demand exists," Evelyn said.
At such an early stage of development in Jamaica, there are not any laws yet on 3D printers, Evelyn said.
"There is no regulation. Even the US does not have regulations - this despite the well-known case of the working resin gun being printed there."
The regulators have adopted a "wait-and-see approach to see how wide the demand is for 3D products and services", he said.
Meanwhile, as 3D printers start to take off on a global scale, Chuck Hull, the inventor of 3D printing and founder and CTO of 3D Systems, is to be recognised for his pioneering work on May 21 when he will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the US.