Aerospace sector embraces 3D printing.

• Position: From the National Defense Blog

Small, inexpensive 3D printers can create plastic toys, jewelry or other objects in a matter of hours. Now, the technology is being used by large aerospace companies.

Advanced, more expensive printers can now make parts for aircraft engines, said Hugh Evans, vice president of corporate development and ventures for 3D Systems, a Rock Hill, S.C.-based company. "It's going into aerospace at a very fast rate because you can 3D print aircraft engine parts and take weight out," Evans said.

Three-D printing is a subset of additive manufacturing processes, which are shaking up the traditional methods of making goods...