General Electric Plans to Launch the Mother Lode of Big Metal 3D Printers in 2018

General Electric Plans to Launch the Mother Lode of Big Metal 3D Printers in 2018

General Electric (NYSE: GE) announced at the Paris Airshow last month that it's developing what appears to be the world's largest laser-based powder-bed fusion metal 3D printer. The machine will be tailored to the aerospace industry, though it will also be suitable for applications in the automotive, power, and oil and gas industries. 

Metal 3D printing is the fastest-growing space in the 3D printing industry, and powder bed-based technologies that use lasers predominate in the metal 3D printer realm. So this could be good news for the digital industrial giant, which entered the 3D printing supply market late last year, but could portend trouble for other players in the metal 3D printer market, including 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD).

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Source: Fool.com