Rachel sent me a lead for an article on 3D printing in Jamaica. Explicatively titled “3D Printing Comes to Jamaica” the original piece appeared on the online version of local newspaper The Gleaner, established in 1834. It summarises, in just a couple of paragraphs, the current status of the global 3D printing industry, as the author sees it, to then proceed to zoom in on the specific Jamaican situation.
Richard Browne, the article’s author, mentions two specific examples of 3D printing starting to make its way into Jamaica. Pear Tree Press Limited, a local offset and digital 2D printing service, has purchased a Cube 3D printer to familiarize itself with the technology and begin trying to get a feel for local demand of 3D print jobs.
The other example comes from The University of the West Indies’ Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI) and Michael Evelyn, who is MGI’s business development consultant, who is actively considering the acquisition of a desktop unit. “It could be used” he explains “for production of topography maps, site layouts and architectural and town models, but current external demand, though existent, is low at best”.
My first thought was why don’t they just build a RepRap machine with local parts but then I realized that finding the right components for RepRap printers (even if you did manage to build one) is extremely difficult even here in Italy, let alone on an island in the middle of the Caribbean with a population of less than three million people.
Then again, that is exactly why 3D printing is perfect for Jamaica! Michael Evelyn agrees. “Long-term commercial printing is the only option that we see as feasible – he said. For large projects, more sophisticated printers would have a large advantage where goods would otherwise be sourced abroad. With jobs done overseas and shipped to Jamaica, the risk is damage to the product during shipping. The protective packaging adds to the costs. Where technology allows for design files to be transferred and printed on site, then obviously, the shipping problems are removed.”
However, before that happens, prices of industrial 3D printers will have to come down and technologies evolve to the point where on-site production of immediately useful items becomes economically feasible. Adam Hyde, managing director of Pear Tree Press and of the Caribbean’s very first 3D print shop is much more optimistic. To the point that he organized a 3D and digital printing showcase in New Kingston.
In fact Hyde goes as far as to imagine increasing demand for personalized items such a cell phone covers and souvenirs, even though, as of this moment, he has not had any new orders.
It will not happen overnight, but Jamaica’s interest in 3D printing – even in this still early phase of its development, shows that, in all likelihood, 3D printing technology will one day help to truly localize and democratize production, giving those who live in remote paradises access to anything they need in a more sustainable way than current means of production and distribution.
“It seems to me we are on the cusp of something huge, almost beyond imagination,” Browne told me. “It is something Jamaica should embrace as quickly as possible so that it can become part of this revolution.” He went on to explain: “Jamaica imports just about everything and has a small and struggling manufacturing industry. 3D printing could make current industry dynamics obsolete and eliminate the need to import so much.”
Browne thinks manufacturing of car parts could probably be a good place to start, to allow Jamaicans to use their cars longer and also allow the island a greater degree of self sufficiency. Risks factor include an increase in unemployment due to less manufacturing jobs.
Which is precisely the reason why all people need to learn to master this technology and learn to make it do what they want it to do. After all Jamaicans have already demonstrated they can turn anything into a success, even bobsledding, with a little help from technology and a good sense of humour.
