????比如一臺(tái)3D打印機(jī)打印出來(lái)的圣誕樹(shù)首先是從底部開(kāi)始打印，然后從下往上一層層地添枝加葉——不管每一層有多復(fù)雜都不要緊。由于一棵樹(shù)的結(jié)構(gòu)很復(fù)雜，因此如果以傳統(tǒng)工藝生產(chǎn)圣誕樹(shù)的話，就得分別為樹(shù)干、樹(shù)枝和每一片樹(shù)葉都設(shè)計(jì)模具，然后把它們組裝起來(lái)。

????Shapeways公司的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)總監(jiān)卡琳?卡米表示，有了3D打印技術(shù)后，“沒(méi)有任何復(fù)雜性可言?！?/p>

????Shapeways工廠所用的打印機(jī)是由一家名叫EOS的公司生產(chǎn)的。這些打印機(jī)的大小跟一臺(tái)大型冰箱差不多，上面有一扇窗戶用于查看里面的情況。筆者進(jìn)入車(chē)間參觀時(shí)，看到了打印機(jī)里的好幾個(gè)正在生產(chǎn)的物品，不過(guò)由于是半成品，因此很難看出它們是什么東西。

????打印機(jī)旁邊有一臺(tái)磨石機(jī)，大小跟一個(gè)圓餐桌差不多，用來(lái)打磨剛打印好的物體的粗糙邊緣。這臺(tái)機(jī)器開(kāi)機(jī)后，噪音大得讓人想從房間里逃出去。

????最后是用來(lái)?yè)爝x產(chǎn)品的箱子。這個(gè)地方看起來(lái)相對(duì)冷清些，工廠里的其它地方也一樣，看來(lái)深冬季節(jié)的確不是個(gè)性化產(chǎn)品的銷(xiāo)售旺季。

????Shapeways公司CEO彼得?魏瑪肖森表示，2009年發(fā)布的Shapeways市場(chǎng)有點(diǎn)像蘋(píng)果的應(yīng)用商店，因?yàn)槎叨即龠M(jìn)了創(chuàng)新精神和創(chuàng)業(yè)精神。魏瑪肖森稱，去年，他的公司售出了120萬(wàn)件產(chǎn)品，他預(yù)計(jì)今年這個(gè)數(shù)額將增長(zhǎng)3倍。（但他拒絕透露營(yíng)業(yè)收入。）

????雖然3D打印的概念時(shí)下被炒得火熱，但是只要看看普通美國(guó)人的家里和辦公室里就能知道，這項(xiàng)工藝技術(shù)還沒(méi)有走進(jìn)千家萬(wàn)戶。但是美國(guó)的許多大制造商都已經(jīng)用上了這項(xiàng)技術(shù)，比如通用汽車(chē)（General Motors）和福特汽車(chē)公司（Ford）都使用了這項(xiàng)技術(shù)以加快設(shè)計(jì)流程和樣機(jī)制造流程。

????3D打印掀起的個(gè)性化制造浪潮讓很多人興奮不已。有些熱心于這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的預(yù)言家認(rèn)為，3D打印技術(shù)甚至可能會(huì)讓全球供應(yīng)鏈顛倒過(guò)來(lái)，甚至有可能導(dǎo)致地緣政治重新洗牌。另外它也可能讓醫(yī)療設(shè)備出現(xiàn)革命性的變革，等等。

????這項(xiàng)技術(shù)也吸了不少企業(yè)的興趣。去年Strasys公司收購(gòu)了MakerBot公司，后者主要生產(chǎn)一款價(jià)格相對(duì)便宜的臺(tái)式3D打印機(jī)。這筆交易最后的價(jià)值可能會(huì)超過(guò)6億美元。雖然Makerbot打印機(jī)理論上看有可能最終成為一款家用產(chǎn)品，但Shapeways公司走的是一條分散創(chuàng)意、集中生產(chǎn)的路子。Shapeways目前要做的是弄明白怎樣把那些獨(dú)特而漂亮的產(chǎn)品賣(mài)給那些并不熱衷于3D打印技術(shù)的消費(fèi)者。

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????For example, an artificial tree printed in 3-D would begin at the bottom and add parts of the trunk, branches, and leaves with each successive layer -- regardless of the complexity of each horizontal. Since the structure of a tree is so complex, an artificial tree produced with standard manufacturing technology might involve the creation of separate molds for the trunk, branches, and each individual leaf, and then require assembly.

????With 3-D printing there's "no cost of complexity," Carine Carmy, Shapeways' marketing director says.

????The printers at Shapeways' factory are produced by a company called EOS. The machines are the size of large refrigerators with a window on the front to peer inside. When the author glanced in during a tour of the space, he saw several items under construction -- though it was difficult to make out just what they might be.

????Beyond the printers is a rock tumbler the size of a round dinner table, used to smooth out the rough edges of a newly printed item. When it is turned on, the machine is so loud that you can't stand to be in the room with it.

????At the end of the line, there are bins for sorting. Like the rest of the factory it seemed relatively quiet during a recent visit, suggesting that mid-winter isn't the high season for individualized products.

????Shapeways chief executive Peter Weijmarshausen says the Shapeways marketplace, which launched in 2009, is like Apple's App Store in that both facilitate creative entrepreneurship. Weijmarshausen says his company sold 1.2 million pieces last year, and he expects volume to triple this year. (He declined to comment on revenue.)

????Despite the hype around 3-D printing, you need only look around the American home or office to see that this industrial process has not yet insinuated itself in daily life. But it's already in use by major U.S. manufacturers: General Motors and Ford, for example, both use the technology to speed up the design and prototyping process.

????The prospect of individualized manufacturing has lots of people excited. Some of the more feverish prognosticators say it could upend the global supply chain and reshuffle the geopolitics. It could revolutionize medical devices, and much else.

????And so the technology has attracted business interest. Last year Stratsys acquired MakerBot, which manufactures a relatively affordable desktop 3-D printer, in a deal that could ultimately be worth more than $600 million. While MakerBots could theoretically become household items, Shapeways is instead charting a path of decentralized creativity but centralized manufacturing. Shapeways must now figure out how to sell unique and beautiful items to consumers who don't fetishize the process of 3-D printing.