Additive manufacturing has already transformed the way that products are designed and produced in a wide variety of industries. The technology is now starting to be used by appliance engineers to assemble coffee makers, ovens, refrigerators and other household products.

3D printing technology is everywhere, from medical implants to aerostructures, and recently it's made its way to the Olympics. USA Luge teamed up with Stratasys, a supplier of additive manufacturing technology, to build customized racing sleds.

Medical devices represent both a challenge and an opportunity for plastics manufacturers.

Catheters, pacemakers, ventilators and dialysis filters are vastly different products. But, they all have one thing in common: they must be checked for leaks, whether into, or out of, an assembly.

Additive manufacturing is the hottest thing to hit the medical device industry since the first pacemaker was implanted in a patient 60 years ago. The technology has transformed the way that engineers design numerous products. Now, it’s starting to move beyond prototyping into production.

Bringing a medical device to market is a daunting prospect for even the largest manufacturers. There's nurturing a concept from prototype to finished product; determining how and where to manufacture it; conducting trials for safety and efficacy; and getting FDA approval.

Medical device housings can crack, discolor, and become brittle or sticky after repeated exposure to aggressive disinfectants. The choice of plastic can therefore have a significant impact on the service life of a medical device.

In January 2017, students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands unveiled the world’s first car made almost entirely from bio-based materials.