DUBLIN, VA—Volvo Trucks North America is using 3D printing technology to produce tools and fixtures for its assembly plant here.

Most people associate additive manufacturing with plastics. However, a slew of new materials and processes are now available that enable engineers to print a variety of metal components.

Necessity is the mother of invention, or so the proverb goes. Such was the case recently at The Langen Group, a manufacturer of automated packaging equipment in Mississauga, ON.

What do rockets, ski boots and submarines have in common? They can all be assembled with plastic-printed components.

New technology is often a paradox—offering increased capability but at great expense with a long ROI.

Depending on who you listen to, 3D printing (or, as it’s more formally known, additive manufacturing) is either the biggest thing to hit the manufacturing world since the screw or the biggest tech fad since the fax machine. It’s actually a little of each.