The really interesting work in 3D printing today is *Freeform Injection Moulding. the development of soluble printing resins for doing complex injection moulds. At present, 3D printingis very cheap & fast with great freedom in geometry, but a limited range of materials, while injection moulding gives a huge choice of material, but the mould making process is complex, expensive and is limited by the geometry.
Combine these two processes and you get somewhere near the perfect mix of fast, cheap and a huge choice of material.
Have a look at
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asan example of what we are doing now.