Business

Is There A 3D Printer In Your Future?

May 28, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Princeton University Creates A 3D Bionic Ear

The impact of 3D printers, predicted by the industry to be huge, has stuttered a little, mostly due to patent/intellectual property issues, but be assured it’s coming. The future almost certainly holds 3D applications that will affect individual users and the mass market in ways hard to imagine.

The technology involves using a three-dimensional “pattern” to guide a computer in laying down layers of materials in a process they have dubbed “additive manufacturing.” The expected uses range from the creation of small toys, jewelry, makeup and edible goods to body replacement parts and large-scale manufacturing of a host of items. To date, patents have been issued for 45 different materials intended for use in 3D printing, including ceramics, clay, palladium, paper, rubber, silver, titanium and wax.

The myriad anticipated uses are just coming into being. Likely to be in general use first are these applications:

Medical: Researchers already are using 3D printers to do bioprinting – creating of tiny strips of organ tissue and facial appendages including ears and noses. The predictions envision printed organs such as kidneys and livers. Initially, these printed organs will likely be used for testing drugs and vaccines. Ultimately, they could fill the huge gaps in the availability of viable human organs and the numbers of patients who need them.

Pete Basiliere, a leading analyst of 3D printing potential, predicts that the advances in organ printing will outpace the public’s understanding and acceptance of the technology. 3D organ printing, he assumes, will join similar medical advances, such as organ transplantation and use of stem cells to treat patients, in a learning curve before the public adopts the idea. The same ethical questions that have been raised about artificial hearts and other cutting-edge technologies are likely to be debated: Are humans trying to play God? Are new medical innovations creating “rich men’s remedies” that will exclude the poor? If the past is an indicator, the life-saving benefits of the new technologies will triumph, Basiliere expects.

Another potential medical use is creation of prosthetic limbs. A 13-year-old girl who lost an arm in a boating accident was fitted by students at Washington University with a 3D-created prosthesis that used about $200 worth of materials, a stark contrast to the $6,000 cost of similar devices created by current processes. Another girl from Illinois, who was born without fingers, was fitted with an operating set of plastic fingers at a cost of $5. A high school engineering class created the prosthesis. In Canada, researchers are working toward 3D printing processes to create prosthetic limbs for victims of civil war injuries in Uganda.

The fashion industry dressed models in outfits created by 3D in the New York Fashion Week shows in 2013. Such eminent performers as Lady Gaga have garbed themselves in 3D dresses. She wore the world’s first “flying dress” to the 20133 ArtRave. The world’s first 3D printed bikini, the N12, is named for the material a computer used to create it: Nylon 12.

Some organizations devoted to the war on global poverty see the potential for such things as solving water hygiene problems in Third World countries. They envision needy people using “mini factories” to create products that would provide them a living. 3D may provide simple answers to such pervasive problems as hand sanitation in refugee camps.

There’s a good chance that one of your next automobiles will be created through 3D printing. A prototype, the Urbee, has been designed by Kor Ecologic. The two-seater gets up to 200 miles per gallon of fuel. Estimated cost: about $20,000.

Personal 3D printers are likely to join the standard electronic equipment in the vast majority of American homes. At present, they’re generally expensive and hard to operate. Some require hand assembly. However, there is little doubt in the minds of those who know about such things that the problems will be resolved and that affordable 3D will be available. But there’s a long road ahead until such technology finds its logical and practical uses for most Americans.

3D Printing: What’s In The Future?

May 23, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Ipad stand manufactured with a 3D printer.

Ideas abound about possible applications of 3D printing: body replacement parts, building components, do-it-yourself cosmetics, jewelry, eyewear, wearing apparel, foods (how about broccoli shaped like a dinosaur for fussy toddlers?) etc. etc. You name it.

The concept of using computer-guided additive technology to build items layer by layer has been around since the 1980s, but the technology is still in its infancy. Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp. created the first 3D printer in 1984. The first application was prototyping. At the time, there were predictions that the technology eventually would be used in mass production and distributed manufacturing, but the predictions were made with a caveat: it would take time. Some of those production roles went into practical use in the 2010s, and the technology is gradually creeping into all sorts of applications.

Michelangelo would be astounded. The technique is just the opposite of his famed 1500s approach to sculpture: He posited that inside every block of stone there was a figure waiting to be found. 3D printing does it in reverse, building from the inside out, adding layer by layer of material in different shapes as the computer dictates. Widespread use of 3D printing could replace processes now in use, such as the cutting and drilling (subtractive) methods used in traditional machining.

Creation of a Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) for the desired product starts the process. The 3D scanner then translates the model into digital, three-dimensional measurements. The computer then directs layers of the material being used, conforming to the digital model. Layers are fused by heating, curing, centering, lamination or photo polymerization into a single object.

Sales of additive manufacturing equipment have skyrocketed since the turn of the century and prices are dropping as more companies pick up the technology. Wohlers Associates, a consultant, reported that the market generated $2.2 billion worldwide in 2012, an increase of 29 percent over 2011. The concept is gradually moving into architecture, construction, industrial design, automotive, aerospace, military, medical, GPS systems, foods and other applications.

In some applications, 3D is used alongside traditional subtractive processes, combined by the computer to make the best use of both approaches.

The 3D printing advances are good news for consumers, since the ability to mass produce items at less cost will reduce the price tag at the point of purchase. Use of 3D printers may offset capital costs for the producers and ideally the savings will be passed along to consumers. The process of getting products to the market has been complicated and slowed, the experts say, by a flood of complex patent issues. Some potential users have been reluctant to dive into the competition because they fear lawsuits, they conjecture.

Even so, as 2014 got into gear, at least 22 commercial applications of the technology in fields as diverse as construction, defense and foods were established. Obviously, the story of 3D Printing in modern life is in the early stages of Chapter One. Look for the announcement of new advances at an escalating rate.

It is conceivable that 3D desktop printers will join the computer as standard home equipment. Amazon advertises an 11-pound printer that fabricates objects using thermoplastic filament purchased separately. Finished products must stay within the size guidelines — 4.5 inches cubed, in this case. The price for this version is just below $600. But the potential could make every owner of a 3D printer an inventor, sculptor or chef, depending on objectives.

There is a downside. A 3D printer is capable of manufacturing items — think guns — that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. In 2013, a self-styled anarchist designed, created and printed a plastic gun using the technology. He shared the information with some 1000,000 interested individuals via the Internet before the U.S. government closed down the site. A Japanese man was arrested this year for possession of five 3D printed guns. What other illegal or dangerous uses could be made of the technology almost surely will be part of the ongoing story.

Your Zip Code Tells All

May 3, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Zip Codes can determine retirement communities and then market hearing aids to residents.

Zip codes do more than tell the postman where to deliver your mail.

Data companies and retailers use the zip to accumulate an amazing amount of personal data you thought only you and your hairdresser knew for sure. Such as your body type, your marital status, your health habits, educational level, how many children you have (including if you are expecting) and their age groups, if your home is for sale, your political preferences, if you are getting divorced, etc., etc., etc.

Acxiom, one of the country’s biggest data brokerages, for instance, reports that it has information generated by zip codes on 190 million Americans. The company’s largest competitors, Datalogix and CoreLogic, have similar databases.

These companies can tell, by combining the swipe of your credit card and your zip code, whether you are the Jane Doe who lives in Denver, or the Jane Doe who resides in Cascade, Montana. They can use the information to predict what you are likely to buy next. It’s called predictive analysis or predictive modeling. For instance, if you’re buying maternity clothes, the merchant knows that baby supplies are next. He can start bombarding you with specifically directed ads.

Those who use the data say it’s good business. It helps the merchant to target advertising to certain customers, saving advertising money and giving better service to those who buy. On the other side of the scales are those who argue that the trade-off in indiscriminate use of personal information is unacceptable.

Once the information gets into their databases, the users may swap among themselves so that you go from the merchant to the insurance salesman to the financial institutions, hotel chains, auto manufacturers and even Facebook. “Some of these data brokers know us better than we know ourselves,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum.

What makes it easier for retailers is of major concern to folks such as Dixon whose primary objective is to protect your privacy. They are concerned not only that your personal information is up for grabs, but at the prospect of what could happen if it gets into the wrong hands.

A growing number of merchants, including the grocery store and even the gas station, are asking for the customer’s zip code. You probably don’t have to give it. In Massachusetts, the Supreme Court ruled that zip codes are personal information that purchasers don’t have to share. California has a similar law. It’s possible to ask that the data brokers not share your information, but few people know that or act on the knowledge.

The Federal Trade Commission has become involved and is asking the nine major data brokers to explain how they collect, store and share the information they gather. Most of the companies report that they don’t reveal information such as Social Security or drivers license numbers. But the oversight agency wonders what would happen if the databases were hacked, opening a huge can of identity theft concerns.

With technology finding new and interesting ways to learn everything there is to know about everyone in every context, striking a balance between information and privacy is likely to get more attention.

Big Data About You Turns Into A Billion Dollar Industry

May 2, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

With our data, analysts can predict what we will do in the future with a high degree of accuracy.

Data brokers make a living by tracking the financial well-being of Americans and sharing the information with companies that specialize in services to those who are struggling.

It’s tricky. Sometimes the information is used by unscrupulous businesses that target the poor and elderly, including telemarketers who peddle scams via the telephone. Referring someone who already is in debt to a high-interest loan company for additional debt may not be doing them a favor. Lawmakers are wary and keeping an eye on the situation.

In its less worrisome guise, Big Data directs information to businesses that have legitimate interests in helping those who are in a bind. These include payday lenders, debt consolidation firms and other marketers.

Among the sources the brokers use to glean data are websites you browse, the credit cards you apply for and surveys to which you respond. Certain zip codes can suggest a high proportion of people who are in a financial bind. By tracking these and other sources, the brokers can then sell the information to the interested companies.

One data broker, List Connection, is adept at finding potential customers by learning who is at least 90 days in arrears on payments. According to its website, it can generate leads that are excellent prospects for payday loans, secured credit cards, debt consolidation, sub-prime credit and other financial assistance.

The List Connection data is intended for firms that are genuinely interested in helping people with bad credit, said Ken Wood, vice president for management.

Because of the potential for unscrupulous use of personal financial data, U.S. Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller, West Virginia, who heads the Senate Commerce Committee, has developed legislation that would allow customers to read and, if necessary, correct their information. The ability to opt out of the lists is included.

Rockefeller named one broker, Multimedia Lists, as one that offers such “get-rich-quick” schemes as questionable promotional offers, sweepstakes, contests and other dubious opportunities that might raise unreasonable expectations in those who are desperate.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits marketers from using sensitive credit information, such as credit scores, unless it is to make a firm offer of credit, such as a credit card or auto loan. But those who collect personal credit data argue that some information, such as whether you are facing foreclosure or have been denied a credit card, should be allowable information for their uses.

The delicate balance between legitimate uses of the data and the potential for misuse has become a serious issue for privacy advocates.

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Rearch Group, is one who believes in stronger safeguards. “We shouldn’t use our most private information for just any marketing purpose. We need additional protections,” he said. His group is pushing for more transparency as to who is buying information and how they are using it.

Some of the larger brokers, such as Epsilon, respond that they have built-in guidelines and assure that their clients use them. The Direct Marketing Association also insists that clients adhere to its guidelines and reports those that do no to the Federal Trade Commission.

As the debate heats up, it appears likely that more curbs may be put on the way your personal financial information can be used.

Finding the Right Business Idea For You

May 1, 2014 By Kevin Mercadante

The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people. SBA.gov — The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people.

A lot of people want to start their own business. There are a number of obstacles to doing so, but the first, biggest one is usually finding the right business idea. There is good reason for this concern – finding the right business idea is often the most basic difference between the success and failure of any upstart business venture. Go into the right business and you can be on an elevator ride to the top. But the wrong business can be a one-way ticket into bankruptcy court.

How do you go about finding the right business idea for you? The best ideas are always the simplest, so we should keep the searches as close to home as possible. It’s generally a mistake to think that a business venture has to be into something exotic. Quite the contrary – the more familiar you are with the idea, the easier it will be to make it a success.

Use the following as starting points to help you find the right business idea.

Converting what you do on your job into a business

Very often the best business ideas can be found in the job you’re in right now. If you can take what it is you’re doing for your employer, and convert it into an activity that you can sell to clients and outside customers, you may have landed on the best business idea possible.

There are a number of advantages to doing exactly this:

Since you are already doing on your job the kind of work you will do in your business, you probably won’t need to get any additional training.
Since you have experience and even a routine, you’ll have the kind of confidence in your work that all business owners need.
Converting your job to a business will be a lot less risky than plunging into something completely new.
If the new business venture fails, you can always go back to your old job or to a new one, with no break in your work experience.

An example of converting your job skills to a business will be someone who is working as a bookkeeper on their job, offering their services out to multiple clients and customers on a retail basis. Another example is a person who handles IT on the job, that offers his or her services out the general public.

See what skills you use on your job that you could sell to the public.

Doing what you know – but don’t do on your job

For some people the best skills they have are ones that they never use on the job. For example, you might be an accountant who is also a whiz with computers. You may not get much of an opportunity to use those computer skills on your job, but you may be able to take them and use them as the basis for starting side business. As the business grows, you can begin thinking about quitting your accounting job and making your computer business your full-time occupation.

Make a list of all of the skills that you have, but don’t forget to include those that you don’t use on your job. It may turn out to your best and most marketable skills – from a self-employment standpoint – are not at all related to the work that you are currently doing.

Doing what you love

This is more risky than converting your job skills to a business, but it can also be a major reason why your business will be more successful than you ever dreamed.

In most cases, our highest income earning capability will be found in doing work that we like best. While that may seem self-evident, most people take a job in order to meet financial obligations, then settle into it and make it a career. Whether or not they actually like the work never enters into the equation.

The typical outcome of that arrangement is either job burnout, or planning your career around retirement (usually early retirement). On the retirement side, the idea is often that you’ll begin doing work that you actually like once you retire, and can afford a pay cut.

But what if you didn’t wait until retirement to start doing what you really like to do? If you like the work enough, you may actually find that you no longer have interest in ever retiring at all! And once again, if you really like the work that you are doing in your own business, there’s a better than even chance that you will make more money than you ever have.

Doing work that you actually like to do is a greatly underestimated “secret” to business success. So along with inventorying your skills, spend an equal amount of time determining what it is you actually like to do.

Trying something entirely new

This is where the truly high risk business ideas come from. Since you are stepping out of your comfort zone – often well outside of it – the risks are increasing commensurately. For that reason, this is not the recommended course in determining the right business for you – even though it may be the main method people use to find business ideas.

But if you are going to go this route, there are some steps you can take to minimize the risks:

Thoroughly research any new business idea before taking a plunge into the business itself.
Find a mentor who could help you learn the business.
Apprentice into the business before entering it – a good example would be taking a part-time job in the kind of business you want to go into.
Start the business as a side venture, that way you have your full-time job in case the business fails.
Avoid putting serious money into the venture until you can prove that you can first generate a cash flow.
Make sure you have a well thought out back-up plan – failure is a definite possibility here.

If none of these suggestions look scientific, that’s because finding the right business idea has a definite hit-or-miss quality to it. Consider using each of these methods to come up with the right business idea, or better yet, blend two or three methods. If you find a business idea doing work that you love, where you already have tangible skills, your chances of succeeding in the business will multiply dramatically.