Speaking of Precision

While it might be easy to shrug this off as mere 'rapid prototyping'- the fact is that this technology could enable direct design to manufacturing.

The question remains......given all the consumer gadget engineering why are we so far behind in this technology? I can see the day when the entire machinery infrastructure will be 'printed'.......that includes simple machines like cars and aircraft whose structural integrity would be far improved!

3D printing can't "currently" - produce the required casting metallurgical properties in most critical applications such as gas turbine blade, guide vanes, nozzles and ducts but 3D printing the sacrificial ceramic shell is an entirely different story.....

3d prototypes are usually more dimensionally accurate than the castings they represent so it's safe to assume the ceramic shells will be very accurate as well which will render the wax patterns, ceramic cores and pattern dies obsolete! $$

"You can just use the CAD model to play with your shell's shrink factor, gate size and placement until you get it right."

This is a huge deal because approximately 25% of the investment casting process goes away - but the process has to (1) work as advertised, (2) get approved and (3) be cheaper than the current method - which based on my experience will probably take about a decade to implement in the aerospace community although automotive may see it in a year or two.