????斯圖爾特說：“過去三年里3D打印機的表現(xiàn)已經(jīng)到了一個極限，它們已有大幅改進(jìn)?！钡撬鼈冞€是沒法打出芯片來，而且可能永遠(yuǎn)也做不到。人們每年在芯片上要花大概5000美元，但大多數(shù)時候都沒有意識到這一點，而無法打出電子產(chǎn)品就意味著所謂的“家庭工廠”的概念將永遠(yuǎn)局限在有限的領(lǐng)域。

5. 就算3D打印市場翻了兩番，它的規(guī)模也還是微不足道。

????斯圖爾特表示，沒有理由不對3D打印領(lǐng)域所蘊含的潛力抱有樂觀的預(yù)期。他和Smartech的蓋思曼都對肯尼思?王的判斷深信不疑——這個目前市值約20億美元的市場到2018年價值將達(dá)約60億美元。相關(guān)公司一定會實現(xiàn)增長，而客戶群也可能會快速擴張。但斯圖爾特也說了，跟汽車零部件、燈泡或民用飛機市場相比，60億美元不過就是60億美元，不值一提。而這個市場之所以能快速增長的原因之一就在于它本身太小了。

????斯圖爾特說：“3D打印行業(yè)到2018年將翻兩番，這看起來真是個巨大的增長。但是跟全球那些巨無霸般的制造業(yè)相比，這只不過是九牛一毛而已?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)??

????"In every kind of way a 3-D printer could've gotten better in the last three years, they have improved," Stewart says. But they still can't make silicon chips, and they probably never will be able to. People spend roughly $5,000 per year on chips, largely without realizing it, and the inability to produce electronics means the concept of the "factory for the home" will remain limited in scope.

5. Even if the 3-D printing market triples, it's still a really small market

????There's no reason not to be optimistic about the growth potential in the 3-D printing space, Stewart says. Both he and Smartech's Gasman believe Wong's assessment is correct -- the market, currently valued at around $2 billion, will be worth roughly $6 billion by 2018. The companies in the space are poised to grow, and the customer base will likely continue its rapid expansion. But a $6 billion industry is still just a $6 billion industry when compared to something like automotive parts or light bulbs or airliners, Stewart says. One reason 3-D printing is able to grow so fast is because it's so small.

????"When you look at the 3-D industry tripling by 2018, that's enormous growth," he says. "But it remains a drop in the bucket compared to the global industry of making things."????