NEW YORK: What Michael Fuller pulls from his briefcase looks like a small piece of plumbing – like something that catches hairballs – but it may well represent a levelling of the playing field in manufacturing. “Because it costs the same to make here as it does in China,” he says.
Fuller’s gizmo is a heat exchanger – a device that is found in fridges, air-conditioners, power stations and, in this case, cars – and a product of 3D printing. Its internal geometry is so complex it can’t be made any other way.
3D printing, or metal additive manufacturing, will be part of utopia, albeit as a cottage industry. But it is set to revolutionise the building industry and reduce costs significantly…