Can you Own a Shape? June 10, 2013 This month I wanted to expand on what I think is a rapidly de elopin!

and !ame "han!in! te"hnolo!y #or re erse lo!isti"s$3% printin!& In the news o# late, there ha e 'een (uite a #ew news arti"les re!ardin! the perils o# 3% printin!& The typi"al slant seems to "enter around why this new te"hnolo!y must 'e "ontrolled #or the prote"tion o# so"iety& In ea"h "ase the 'asis o# the "on"ern is 'e"ause someone mi!ht use the te"hnolo!y to manu#a"ture a #irearm or some other destru"ti e de i"e& )ll o# this "on"ern seems mispla"ed& In truth "omputer "ontrolled lathes and ma"hine tools ha e 'een widely a aila'le #or some time at a ery low "ost& These tools are #ar more "apa'le than any 3% printer usin! thermo plasti"& Today most 3% printers are used in some #orm rapid$prototypin! or #a'ri"ation& Outside o# a one$o## need, there is not mu"h use #or these produ"ts& I 'elie e that will "han!e, and soon& The ery #irst time I was aware o# 3% printin! was when I worked at the *eneral %ynami"s +li!ht Simulation ,a' in the late -0s& .a"k then the te"hnolo!y was "alled Stereo$,itho!raphy& It was a ery exoti" te"hnolo!y that used lasers and polymers in a pro"ess that when witnessed looked more like "on/urin! than en!ineerin!& Then in 200I was asked to speak at a te"hnolo!y #air in )ustin Texas& There I saw the 3% printer and "apture system "onstru"ted 'y Tom Owad& 0hat Tom 'uilt was ama1in!& 2ot only did he 'uild a 3% printer, 'ut he 'uild a 3% "apture system& The 3% "apture used a "ouple o# tape measures that had lasers with di##ra"tion !ratin!s to !enerate erti"al lines& Tom would then pla"e whate er he wanted to dupli"ate on an old re"ord$player&

)s the o'/e"t would spin, the laser lines would paint the shape o# the o'/e"t in li!ht& The we'"am would then "apture that in#ormation and render a 3% C)% #ile on his note'ook "omputer& So in this "ase on"e the "apture pro!ram was runnin! and the re"ord player was spinnin!, a C)% #ile o# that !reen die was !enerated automati"ally& I 'elie e this

total setup "ost a'out 340& .y the way, noti"e the le!o$stands, truly no expense was spared& Then that C)% +ile would 'e trans#erred to his 3% printer& This thin! was an amal!amation o# old #lat$'ed s"anners, plum'in! and hot$!lue !uns& .ut it worked and worked well&

The plasti" was melted and pumped out into whate er shape the C)% #ile re(uired& The sour"e o# the plasti" was simple weed$trimmer line& The "ommer"ial and e en kit 'ased 3% printers o# today are orders o# ma!nitude more ad an"ed and a""eleratin!& I tell you this little #irst hand story to #rame how sophisti"ated te"hnolo!y has 'e"ome and what the promise is& Consider that #or repair and re erse lo!isti"s today, #ew o# our parts demands are #rom ele"troni" parts& They are almost always #rom somethin! made o# plasti"& Think o# the pro'lems that repair parts demand pla"es on new produ"t manu#a"turin!& The re(uirement #or the manu#a"turer to !uess at how many parts to o er$order to support repair is ery waste#ul& In addition to the materials and in entory "ost #rom stora!e and #inally the ine ita'le write$o##s& Today 3% printin! te"hnolo!y is not ready to sol e repair parts "reation$ 'ut it will 'e& 5owe er, when the te"hnolo!y is ready, there are likely to 'e massi e road'lo"ks to the widespread use o# 3% printin!& The most si!ni#i"ant o# these will 'e I67 8intelle"tual property ri!hts9&

The pro'lem on the I67 #ront has really started in the medi"al #ield& One o# the #ast de elopin! se!ments o# medi"al resear"h is in protein #oldin!& In this te"hnolo!y lar!e "omputers model how amino a"ids "an 'e :#olded; to "reate proteins o# "ertain shapes& These protein shapes are "riti"al to de elopin! new disease treatments and dru!s& )s you "an !uess there is a whole se!ment o# I67 that !ets "laimed and reser ed #rom these #olded shapes& These same en!ineers and lawyers now look at 3% printin! and ha e asked the (uestion, :"an I own the "ir"le?;& I# not the "ir"le, "an the shape o# an i6od "ase ha e I67 held that would pre ent it;s printin!? .ut wait, it "an !et e en more stran!e& Today there are already "olors that are owned and li"ensed& 0hat i# you printed a part #or a repair and the shape was le!ally li"ensed 'ut not the "olor? 0ill all this 'e sol ed? I hope so& .ut "learly the solutions not likely to arri e until some 'i! players !et in ol ed and spread some money around& <eep an eye on the de elopments o# this te"hnolo!y& 0hen this matures and the le!al pro'lems !et sol ed$ wat"h out& =ntil then, I "all di's on the trian!le&