Will 3D printing revolutionise manufacturing? By Peter Day With the creation of many products, including building materials, now possible at the touch of a button, will 3D printing sound the death knell for mass production? In a way there is nothing new about 3D printing. For several decades it has been called "rapid prototyping": a quick way of making one-off items from fused plastic or metal powder, using expensive computer-controlled lasers that are at the heart of the "printers". But now 3D printing is coming into its own, and is being taken seriously as a manufacturing process by very big corporations. Read the entire article here .