3D Printing: What Could Happen to Products Liability When Users (and Everyone Else in Between) Become Manufacturers

Abstract

3D printing is quite possibly the next greatest chapter in the industrial revolution, and the technology is moving rapidly. In his 2013 State-of-the-Union Address, President Obama observed that ?3D printing . . . has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.?1 3D printing, also known by the more technical term ?additive manufacturing,? has been around since the 1980s.2 In the past few years, however, the technology has developed rapidly as the prices of 3D printers have dropped substantially.3 3D printing is already in the process of becoming a significant industry with tremendous innovative potential for many applications, from dental4 and medical,5 to automotive,6