Ms. Lewis

e-works：As I know, 3D printing technology appeared in 1980s. However in China, it was in recent years that it aroused wide attention. What do you think the reason is for this?
Cathy：There are probably a few reasons for the recent timing of China's interest in 3D printing. In the beginning the early adopters were the world's largest, most well-funded companies who invested time and resources using our 3D printing technology to revolutionize their product development processes. This created a competitive advantage and opened the door to global manufacturing. Over time through continued innovation, 3D Systems delivered similar 3D printing capabilities with push button simplicity and lower price points allowing us to engage thousands of mid-size and smaller companies. Simultaneously we began to help our customers manufacture real end-use parts and one-of-a-kind products using 3D printing. This direct manufacturing capability has further accelerated the interest and adoption of our technology. Finally, the introduction of desktop 3D printing has awakened a whole new world of personal manufacturing. We believe that this combination of highly capable, affordable, push-button technology is creating the demand for 3D printing beyond concept models and prototypes to a growing number of end-use products. With China's massive stake in manufacturing capacity and its rapidly growing class of consumers we believe they will find our technology compelling and we are honored to participate in this interview.

e-works：It is widely believed that 3D printing technology will have a huge impact on manufacturing and trigger an industrial revolution of production model. What's your view on this point?
Cathy：We do share a very positive view of the potential for 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing as we know it today. However, let me state that we do not see traditional manufacturing being replaced by 3D printing – we see the opportunity to augment and enhance current techniques and deliver new capabilities in direct, 3D printed manufacturing. More importantly, we see 3D printing and its ability to 'democratize creativity' as having the greatest, most positive impact on all of us! This ability for each of us to create and make in 3D will represent the true Industrial Revolution.

e-works：Can 3D printer print anything we want in the future? What are the key factors restricting its development?
Cathy：With continued innovation by companies like 3D Systems we will ultimately be able to print almost anything in the future. Most of us have read about the printing of human organs, bone scaffolding, etc., and while this is currently taking place in the laboratory only, one day it may become commonplace. The barriers are fairly straightforward but let me point out a few.The most important barrier is the incentive to innovate, another is the selection of materials which will be essential to what can be printed and the economic model is also a key consideration. Companies like 3D Systems have invested heavily in 3D printing technology and we own and manage a portfolio of Intellectual property that has real market value. It is this IP that allows us to deliver the latest technology time and time again to the market. Part of innovation includes the development of materials – today we have plastics, metals, elastomers, wax materials and some Class VI Bio-Compatible materials. Future printing of new applications will depend on the continued development of new materials to complement those we offer today. Now let me comment on the importance of economics as a barrier perhaps, but certainly as a consideration. 3D printing offers the ability to create organic shapes normally found only in nature, to provide extreme complexity at no cost that makes a product or part stronger or customized, and to combine what would have been an assembly of multiple parts into a single component that may be printed on-demand without any tooling, special supply chain involvement or inventory constraints. All of these factors make for the optimum use of 3D printing; however, if you intend to manufacture tens of thousands of the same item, say a widget, the economics do not favor 3D printing. This widget should be manufactured in a traditional way in a typical factory.

e-works：Please introduce 3D Systems' 3D printer product line.
Cathy：We are fortunate in that we offer the widest range of 3D printing technologies in the world. Let me introduce our products by category:
Consumer 3D Printer: Cube® 3D printer – available online at Cubify.com
Personal 3D Printers: 3DTouch^TM, ProJet® 1000 & 1500 – affordable, color, durable plastic parts. Available through global reseller channel, including China – 3Dsystems.com
Professional 3D Printers: ProJet® 3500, 5000, 6000 & 7000 – high definition, durable plastic parts, with a wide variety of material options including high temperature, flexible, Class VI, clear plastics, and waxes for investment, jewelry and micro-casting applications.
ZPrinter® Full Color and Monochrome 3D Printers; ZPrinter Models 150, 250, 350, 450, 650 and 850 - high definition, compelling full color or white parts that create the most effective concept, architectural or geospatial models, figurines and collectibles available – fast and affordably. Available through global reseller channel, including China – 3Dsystems.com
Production 3D Printers: iPro 8000 and 9000 Stereolithography, SLA® solutions, sPro 60 and 140/230 Selective Laser Sintering, SLS® solutions, SLM® 125 / 250 Selective Laser Melting solutions. High definition, smoothest surface finish plus light weight, direct part manufacturing capabilities. Materials include a wide range of plastics, elastomers and metals. Available through qualified agents and direct sales professionals worldwide at 3Dsystems.com.
We also offer a full array of 3D authoring tools from content creation with Alibre® CAD design to content capture, inspection and reverse engineering with our Rapidform® portfolio.
Finally, we offer a complete 'ideation to production' parts service – Quickparts®– that will be coming to the Asia-Pacific region soon.
 

3D Systems' 3D printer product

e-works：As the 3D printing technology leader around the global, what's the competitive advantage of 3D Systems?
Cathy：First of all we operate and offer solutions across the full ideation to production value chain – in other words we offer complete 3D content-to-print solutions. We offer a complete set of tools for any application – from concept models to prototypes to production – all through unique capabilities designed for your specific business challenge. We know from experience that a single technology – or even two – will not satisfy all of the applications requirements, which is why we offer 7 unique printing technologies. And we continue to invest in the development of new technologies, materials, content capture and authoring tools and services on an ongoing basis. We also are committed to offering these solutions on a global basis, seamlessly – for all of our customers.

e-works：Chinese manufacturers are paying close attention on 3D printing technology. Can you introduce the application of 3D printing technology in manufacturing and the effects?
Cathy：I hope throughout this interview it is apparent that we value and respect the Chinese people and the potential of this amazing marketplace. 3D printing is not a replacement for manufacturing – it is a wonderful way to augment and complement traditional manufacturing. That said 3D printing can bring customization and personalization to products that make them more compelling and valuable to the end customer. Imagine getting a knee replacement that is custom fit to your body – along with a surgical guide and toolkit just for your surgical procedure. The surgeon will have all the required tools in advance, the patient experience and outcomes will be superior and at the end of the process the operating theatre is immediately sterile and ready for the next patient. Think about in-ear hearing aids – these are all custom manufactured using 3D printers today and we see a growing number of dental opportunities as well. Healthcare is a perfect application for 3D printing, it's growing rapidly and will ultimately save our economies billions of dollars along with providing greater comfort, a better fit and an improved experience for the patient.

In the case of aerospace and defense you have millions of parts requirements that need to be managed over several decades – so more and more of these high value but low volume applications are going to 3D printing. When you can reduce a complex assembly to a single part that is just as durable, but lighter in weight and stored as a digital file instead of hundreds of expensive parts and tooling, we save billions of dollars over the life of that weapon or transportation system. These types of applications are exceptional uses of 3D printing versus traditional manufacturing and, as such, are experiencing very strong growth.

e-works：Do you have a strategy specialized for Chinese market?
Cathy：We believe that China is an important market and one of the largest for our technologies from both an industrial and a personal application perspective. We have had a presence in China for many years but we are working hard to expand our coverage today through partnerships and direct 3D Systems involvement. We want to ensure that more of your people can gain access to our technologies, our services and our support.


e-works： Do you think the limited printer materials will be the restrictions for 3D printer's development?
Cathy：We believe that a greater understanding of the power of those materials along with our unique use of waxes and plastic patterns and molds can advance the state of the art in China as it is doing all over the world. We should all remember that a significant number of the products we use today are made of plastic and work together to begin to explore the use of 3D printing with these materials.

e-works：What do you think of the prospect of 3D printing technology?
Cathy：After almost 27 years in 3D printing we are more excited than ever. We believe that the only real barrier to achieving the full potential of 3D printing may be the limits of our imaginations. In fact I like to think of it this way, in the first two decades about a half million to a million people actually used 3D printing technology directly. In the next decade we hope to engage 100's of millions to billions of people enabling them to create and make in 3D – and we can promise you that what they will do with 3D printing will amaze us all!