3D Printing The Effect on Industry
3D printing is advancing with each passing day, and more complex items are now printable; albeit some will still require basic assembly once their core parts have been printed.
The further we advance the more industry will lose ground with various mass produced items that will eventually be easily printable from home, and stores will need to adapt to items that will no longer need to be stocked; the future ahead will lead to the decline of fixed based shops and maybe even storage areas for those mass previously massed produced items. Instead certain stores will solely be based online and the only stores that may exist for certain items, will most likely be a shop with a small floor space of large LCD screens where customers can choose an item, pay and have it printed there and then.
A paradigm shift will see most small things printable from home that will be available online; no need for click and collect, but rather click and print and a home-style printer integrated or stand-alone unit will print off the items available if the 3D printer has the capability of printing them.
There have also been advancements in printing organic materials, which so far has been limited to certain food items. Printing of complex human or animal organs is in the mix and at some point in the not so distant future they would have perfected it, and people will be receiving organs that can be coded to their DNA so there will be no need for anti-rejection immune suppressant drugs; there would no longer be waiting lists for compatible organs and more lives can be saved and improved.