Additive manufacturing is a huge current manufacturing trend. You will likely know additive manufacturing by its most common form: 3D printing. In additive manufacturing, a product is designed using 3D imaging software, then literally printed, layer by layer, in different kinds of plastics and materials.
Additive manufacturing is such a big deal, it’s even being called part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
It’s easy to imagine how disruptive this technology could be should it become widely available. Imagine you drop a bowl in your kitchen and it smashes. Instead of going to the store to get a new one, what if you could print one from the comfort of your own home? There is much debate over how this sort of alternative manufacturing process could change the way products are consumed and made.
That side of additive manufacturing is still yet to be seen. But what is clear is that additive manufacturing has already become part of many manufacturing processes. Though many members of the public have yet to directly come in contact with a 3D printer, the machines are not nearly as rare as they once were. Additive manufacturing processes are already used in many sectors like aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods.
With some 3D printers costing as little as $500, additive manufacturing is becoming a big part of many businesses. 3D printers are used to make parts, to prototype, and to facilitate innovation and creative processes. If you want to be on the ground floor of this new developing technology, there are many jobs in the manufacturing sector in eastern Ontario where you can work with 3D printers, build 3D printers, or design using 3D printers.
External links are provided as informational resources only and are not necessarily endorsed by Ontario East.
https://www.economist.com/special-report/2012/04/21/a-third-industrial-revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQ5KwFwW_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKr_zCCkEKs