3D打印黄金时代迟到的5大原因

    斯图尔特说：“过去三年里3D打印机的表现已经到了一个极限，它们已有大幅改进。”但是它们还是没法打出芯片来，而且可能永远也做不到。人们每年在芯片上要花大概5000美元，但大多数时候都没有意识到这一点，而无法打出电子产品就意味着所谓的“家庭工厂”的概念将永远局限在有限的领域。

5. 就算3D打印市场翻了两番，它的规模也还是微不足道。

    斯图尔特表示，没有理由不对3D打印领域所蕴含的潜力抱有乐观的预期。他和Smartech的盖思曼都对肯尼思•王的判断深信不疑——这个目前市值约20亿美元的市场到2018年价值将达约60亿美元。相关公司一定会实现增长，而客户群也可能会快速扩张。但斯图尔特也说了，跟汽车零部件、灯泡或民用飞机市场相比，60亿美元不过就是60亿美元，不值一提。而这个市场之所以能快速增长的原因之一就在于它本身太小了。

    斯图尔特说：“3D打印行业到2018年将翻两番，这看起来真是个巨大的增长。但是跟全球那些巨无霸般的制造业相比，这只不过是九牛一毛而已。”（财富中文网）

    译者：清远  

    "In every kind of way a 3-D printer could've gotten better in the last three years, they have improved," Stewart says. But they still can't make silicon chips, and they probably never will be able to. People spend roughly $5,000 per year on chips, largely without realizing it, and the inability to produce electronics means the concept of the "factory for the home" will remain limited in scope.

5. Even if the 3-D printing market triples, it's still a really small market

    There's no reason not to be optimistic about the growth potential in the 3-D printing space, Stewart says. Both he and Smartech's Gasman believe Wong's assessment is correct -- the market, currently valued at around $2 billion, will be worth roughly $6 billion by 2018. The companies in the space are poised to grow, and the customer base will likely continue its rapid expansion. But a $6 billion industry is still just a $6 billion industry when compared to something like automotive parts or light bulbs or airliners, Stewart says. One reason 3-D printing is able to grow so fast is because it's so small.

    "When you look at the 3-D industry tripling by 2018, that's enormous growth," he says. "But it remains a drop in the bucket compared to the global industry of making things."