Additive Manufacturing: The U.S. Government’s Hopes for 3D Printing

Markeplace Tech: Additive Manufacturing: The U.S. Government's Hopes for 3D Printing

Not long ago I saw what looked like a big computer printer squirting not ink onto paper but plastic, to make actual harmonicas. It's called "Additive Manufacturing." There's a snappier name for it: 3D Printing.

Til now we've tended to make objects by cutting, grinding, chiseling away at metal or wood. Now we are entering the age of  making things by adding, not subtracting. The Obama administration thinks this sort of thing creates jobs, and wants to get 3D printing to a place near you. Marketplace's tech reporter Queena Kim spent a day at University of California-Irvine. Why?

"It's sort of like a big brainstorming session," said Kim. "And there's an official from the Obama Administration here–they want to come up with a billion dollars to fund 15 centers at universities where academics and business people can get together to figure out what the future of manufacturing will look like."

To many, that future looks like 3D printing. …