Print the Legend (2014)

By Dan Clendenin

           This documentary film is a "Netflix Original" about the revolution and disruptions caused by 3D printing. It premiered at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. You learn a little about 3D printing, but the real focus of the film is on the competitive mashup of four key players in the 3D space. 3D Systems pioneered the technology in 1989 under CEO Avi Reichental, but those were big and expensive machines for industrial customers. The real revolution started in 2009 with Makerbot and its founder Bre Pettis, the poster boy for mass market, consumer-oriented 3D printers. Enter Max Lobovsky who started Formlabs, and then the anarchist Cody Wilson who printed guns via open source software and a hugely popular YouTube video. This is an interesting film about the ruthless world of start ups and the unintended consequences and opportunities of new technologies. I watched it on Netflix Streaming.