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Series about the world of work from vast corporations to modest volunteers

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In Business: New Dimension

Factual

New Dimension

28/07/2011

BBC Radio 4 - In Business, New Dimension

Peter Day finds out how Three D printing will revolutionise manufacturing industry.

3D printing may revolutionise the manufacturing industry. Peter day asks if 100 years of mass production is running out of steam.

Three-D printing may be the next revolution in manufacturing. It's being used to make things in a completely different way from the mass production we've been familiar with ever since Henry Ford introduced the production line more than 100 years ago. Ford made a succession of almost identical items and that's what mass production still does today. 3D printing --or additive manufacturing as it's also known -- means that every product can be individual. It's a completely different way of thinking about manufacturing and costs little more to customise than it does to mass produce. This could potentially revolutionise manufacturing and businesses from top to bottom. Peter Day investigates.
Producer: Caroline Bayley.

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