A New Era with 3D Printing

Ok, so Boeing is 3-D printing airplane components now. What does it mean for you?

1. Printing 3-D objects is going to get cheaper (soon). But that's anybody's guess
2. Soon you'll be concerned about the cost and quantity of printing material your children are using for their homework and for playing
3. Traditional supply chain is going to enter a disruption phase. Even for Boeing - it's much easier to simply print a worn-out part for replacement

How about reducing material usage? Or playing with material properties in a hitherto unexplored way? Enter Metal Foams - with the only difference being that now it'll be possible to control exactly how porous the material will be at each load-bearing point. 

A whole new era of material sciences beckons!