Forces of Change | 3D Printed Lighting

As if our lighting community needs more disruption, we are poised for a radical change in how we make, distribute and sell our products. We have experienced two digital revolutions already in communication and computation. We can communicate instantly across the globe at no charge and computers are integrated into our lives. Digital fabrication is the third digital revolution. When we can make our own lighting sources, heat sinks, optics and luminaires in our garage or locally at a store with a larger 3D printer (3D Kinkos?) then business as usual is over. Container loads from Asia, our sales and distribution network and other peripheral support processes cease when costs equalize though local 3D printing. This will happen incrementally at first then accelerate to exponential growth as we experienced with communication and computation. The revolution has already begun with choices of 3D printers available on Amazon Prime for under $200. The Lighting Research Center has expanded their LED Lighting Institute to include content on 3D printing. Nadarajah Narendran, Ph.D. is the Director of Research at the LRC and is the Professor teaching a hands-on 3D lighting class. He has been leading a team that conducts research and educational programs to accelerate the development and market transformation of lighting technologies. The seminar culminates with participants designing, building and evaluating their own lighting fixtures including custom 3D printed components. Please enjoy this conversation between Narendran and host Mark Lien on this timely issue impacting in our lighting community.

Dr. Narendran leads a team that conducts research and educational programs to accelerate the development and market transformation of solid-state lighting technology. He is the Professor, School of Architecture, as well as Director of Research at the Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society. Winner of Rensselaer’s William H. Wiley Distinguished Faculty Award, Taylor Technical Talent Award (Best Technical Paper), and PEW Teaching Leadership Award.