CONTEXT

CONTEXT ......................................................................................................................... 0

SYNOPSIS ........................................................................................................................ 1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 2

BODY OF DISCUSSION ................................................................................................ 4-5

Why this product is an innovative ................................................................................... 3

Whether SLS 3D Printer is revolutionary or evolutionary innovation ............................ 4-5

Relationship between the seven sources of innovation and SLS 3D Printer ................... 4

CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 5

REFERENCE LIST ............................................................................................................ 6

 YOUJIN JU

SYNOPSIS
Why 3D printers are innovative products and how can it be spread all over the
world. This report aimed to explore whether 3D printer is revolutionary innovation or
evolutionary innovation. For analysis, the approach of this research was written by
primary data from an interview and comments of customers on social media, and
secondary data from news articles, websites and journals.

Firstly, SLS 3D printer is one of innovative products. Any products cannot create
three-dimensional things so far. However, it is able to make three-dimensional
products. Moreover, it can make whatever people want and even elaborate things
such as organs and body parts. Secondly, SLS 3D printer can be both revolutionary
and evolutionary innovation. It is evolved by wood printing press with a movable type.
On the other hand, it is able to control over the composition of printed problem. This
is different to conventional printer’s manufacturing process, in which each part is
made of a single material. Finally, it is closely related to needs, demographic and
social changes, and new technology in seven sources of innovation. It helps to
satisfy people’s needs and to provide essential things in people’s lives as
demographic and social changes. Furthermore, new technologies usually help to
improve people’s lives and as it is mentioned earlier, it can be revolutionary
innovation. That is, it is a new technology which can improve people’s lives.

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INTRODUCTION
These days, advances in technology increased the efficiency of variety
industries. One time, printing pictures in colour was a luxury. Nowadays, taking those
pictures off the paper and bringing them to life is a reality. By simply taking a digital
model, 3D printer can create three dimensional solid objects of any shape through
an additive process (Men’s Health, 2014). The 3D Printer, or additive manufacturing
as it is also called, is the fastest rising products among various fields. It is exactly the
same mean with its name. As it is mentioned earlier, 3D Printer creates objects in
three dimensions and it can be used to create products in various industries such as
artificial organs, medical equipment and car parts. (Perepelkin, 2013). This 3D
printer builds items using heated polymers that fuse together when they cool. The
first functional 3D Printer was founded by Charles Chuck Hull in 1984 and is a
manufacturing process that has been developing steadily since then (Men’s Health,
2014). 3D printers can classify four different methods which are FDM, SLA, SLS and
DLP. Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a technique that uses laser as power source
to form solid 3D objects. This technique was developed by Carl Deckard, a student
of Texas University, and his professor Joe Beaman in 1980s. Later on they took part
in foundation of Desk Top Manufacturing (DTM) Corp., that was sold to its big
competitor 3D Systems in 2001. As was stated previously, 3D systems Inc.
developed stereolithography, which in some way is very similar to Selective Laser
Sintering. The primary difference between SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) and SLA
(stereolithography) is that it uses powered material in the pipe in place of liquid resin
as stereolithography does. SLS uses a laser to fine powders into 3D shapes. Slight
variations on this idea include Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Electron Beam
Melting (EBM), Selective Heat Sintering (SHS) and Power Bed and Inkjet Head 3D
printing. SLS can use a wide range of different material powders to produce items.
Anything from polymers such as nylon, to plasters a ceramics as well as metals
including steel, titanium and different alloy mixtures. Even flexible items can be
created with SLS, using a rubber like elastomer polymer (Perepelkin, 2013).

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BODY OF DISCUSSION

Why this product is an innovative

SLS 3D printer has been widely used to create prototypes for development of
new products, as well as the end products for customer’s use. Furthermore, it can
use the wide range of materials and create more complex shapes. The powder can
act as a support during the printing of the item, leading to creation of shapes that are
not possible with traditional manufacturing methods. One of great advantages is that
with this process’s flexible snaps and hinges can be made, leading to a more
complex end product. In addition, this process is fast and relatively economical. For
example, one of Dutch fashion designers, Iris Van Herpen, introduced the new
products which are made by SLS 3D printers in 2011-12 F/W Paris Haute Couture
collection (Kim, 2012). He showed possibility of the 3D printers to the public. Another
example is that SLS 3D printers can also be used in the medical industry. It is able to
create products of dental and medical devices, and surgical instruments.
(3DSYSTEMS, 2012). Moreover, the Gartner report which is market research reports
by Gartner Inc. and provide analysis and prediction into a market and its direction
(Tableau, 2016) predicted this 3D printers to affect on several industries, including
financial and insurance services, industrial and producing, transportation, medical
products, military and consumer products (Taylor, 2016). Therefore, it can have
impact on numerous industrial fields innovatively.

Whether SLS 3D Printer is revolutionary or evolutionary innovation (262)

This SLS 3D printer can be both revolutionary and evolutionary innovation.
Firstly, it can be said that it is evolutionary innovation. As 3D printing evolved constantly
over the past several decades, thus have the innovations that resulted from development in
the technology (Deloitte, 2016). The 3D printer was evolved from a wood printing press
with a movable type in China (Carter, 1955). After this first printing press, printers
were gradually evolved. The first photocopied document was produced in 1938, but
photocopiers did not make their way into offices around the globe until the late 1960s.
Meanwhile, 3D printing was first invented in 1983 and its adoption was seen by
businesses in the early 2000s. Moving faster into the mainstream that its

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predecessor, this new technology has quickly spread into the globe owing to new
printing technologies and it accesses easily to the SLS 3D printer (Ackerman, 2016).
On the other hand, it is able to be said that it is revolutionary innovation as well. This
can control over the composition of such printed matter. It is different to conventional
printer’s manufacturing method, in which each part is made of a single material. It
enables to make stuffs within stuffs and, weaving and embedding numerous stuffs
into complicated patterns. In addition, it is able to print soft and hard stuffs in patterns
that make new and unusual structure behaviours, like stuffs that expand from side to
side when drew endways. This flexibility can be defined that the public can print
whatever they want (Lipson, 2016).

Relationship between the seven sources of innovation and SLS 3D Printer

SLS 3D printer is closely related to several sources among seven sources of
innovation. It is relevant to needs, demographic and social changes, and new
technology. Firstly, it is necessary. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, basic safety and
shelter are core needs people as human seek. For example, people who live in third-
world-countries do not need to worry about their housing problem. It can solve the
problem even faster than man-made (Ito, 2015). In addition, people can even create
artificial organs, prosthetics, jaws and ears through using SLS 3D printers. It can
help people’s lives better as demographic and social changes. Due to the ageing of
society, people came to rely on medical industries. Thus, people started to create
organs and body parts using this printer to improve the quality of their lives. Finally, it
is a kind of new technologies. A new technology can improve the quality of people’s
lives by improving health outcomes (Gelijns & Halm, 1991). Any products could not
make three-dimensional things so far. However, SLS 3D printer is able to create it
due to the invention of SLS 3D printer.

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, SLS 3D printer is an innovative product. It makes almost three-
dimensional things whatever people want and it is both evolutionary and
revolutionary innovation. It is evolved from wood printing press with a movable type
in China but it made by different technology to conventional printers. It also related to
seven sources of innovation and especially has relation to needs, demographic and
social changes, and new technology among them. In addition, it gives many
advantages to people. It can make complex shapes that are not able to be
manufactured by any other means and cellular materials storing and stiff structures
that are also lightweight. It is also able to create all the complex parts without mould
thus It reduces much time between design iterations than man-made. SLS 3D printer
parts can be made out of a wide selection of materials. On the other hand, SLS 3D
printer provides critical advantages conventional producing processes, there are
intrinsic limitations in 3D printing processes that keep them from being a universal
method for every producing matter. Most processes of SLS 3D printers utilise
proprietary polymers that are not well characterised, and are more fragile than
conventional producing counterparts. Furthermore, in several processes of this,
owing to the layer-by-layer makeup, part strength does not become uniform; parts
are usually more fragile in the orientation of the build (Campbell, Williams, Ivanova,
& Garrett, 2011). Another limitation of SLS is that the produced parts are able to be
porous and have an uneven surface relying on the used stuffs. In addition, mainly for
polymer parts, is thermal distortion. It can lead to warping and shrinking produced
parts. Therefore, the process repeatability of SLS 3D printers is necessary to be
improved and the printer needs to be improved those problems.

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REFERENCE LIST
3DSYSTEMS,. (2012). Selective Laser Sintering (SLS®). 3D Systems. Retrieved
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laser-sintering/sls

Ackerman, K. (2016). History of 3D Printing | How 3D Printing Has

Evolved. Staples.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016, from
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articles/how-3d-printing-has-evolved.html

Campbell, T., Williams, C., Ivanova, O., & Garrett, B. (2011). Could 3D Printing
Change the World?.Atlantic Council. Retrieved 22 August 2016, from
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ng%20Change%20the%20World_April%202012.pdf

Carter, T. F. (1955). The invention of printing in China and its spread westward.

Deloitte,. (2016). Disruptive manufacturing: The effects of 3D printing (1st ed.).

Deloitte. Retrieved from
http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ca/Documents/insights-and-
issues/ca-en-insights-issues-disruptive-manufacturing.pdf

Gelijns, A. C., & Halm, E. A. (Eds.). (1991). The changing economics of medical
technology. National Academies Press.

Kim, Y. S. (2012). A Study on the Formation of a Style-Focusing on the Style of

Iris van Herpen. Fashion business, 16(2), 124-137.

Lipson, H. (2016). 3D printing: The technology that changes everything | New

Scientist.Newscientist.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016, from
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128236-100-3d-printing-the-
technology-that-changes-everything/

Men's Health,. (2014). 40 Greatest Product Innovations of the Modern

Age. Men's Health. Retrieved 20 August 2016, from
http://www.menshealth.com/techlust/product-innovations

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Perepelkin, P. (2013). 3D Printing Basics: Materials and Processes - Additive

Fashion. Additive Fashion. Retrieved 23 April 2013, from
http://www.additivefashion.com/3d-printing-basics-materials/

Tableau,. (2016). More from the Magic Quadrant. Get.tableau.com. Retrieved

2016, from http://get.tableau.com/gartner-magic-quadrant-2016.html

Taylor, S. (2016). Trend Evolution: 3D Printing Trends (Part

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