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costs $10,000 at minimum. This initial investment can be amortized only by
a relatively large number of sales. More importantly, this overhead creates an
“innovation friction” that prevents small ideas from ever being tested until
the overhead has been recovered. But as any evolutionary biologist will tell
you, big breakthrough innovations are often composed of a succession of lots
of small ideas.
With 3D printing, trying out lots of small ideas becomes possible. A small
company or individuals assume less inancial risk if they can make and sell an
untested product in small volumes to see how the market responds.By start-
ing small using 3D printed production, a new venture does not have to invest
in the machinery and infrastructure associated with today's manufacturing
environments.
Scale up from one: don't quit your day job
Innovation friction is not just a matter of concern for large companies; it
is especially pertinent to individual inventors. New business models in any
industry are activated by the democratizing of tools of production. Personal
manufacturing tools liberate entrepreneurs from intensive capital resources
and skill. Future entrepreneurs will be able to experiment with more new
products and more new business models than ever before with almost no
upfront inancial investment.
Mark Kendrick designs and sells unique model train parts in stainless steel.
This is a 3D printed “cow-catcher” sold on Shapeways.
