Some major sports teams have official products, such as an official drink or service. But why not have an official 3D printer?
It could make sense; imagine an american football team that has custom-printed pads, each precisely fitting the players. They could be made onsite and on demand. Pro teams typically spare no expense for equipment, so any additional cost due to 3D printing wouldn’t be noticed. In fact, the equipment might even be donated by the manufacturer in exchange for the publicity of being the “official 3D printer” of the team.
Why hasn’t this happened yet? We think it’s because there’s a missing link between the printers and the application. Today, even if a manufacturer made such an offer, someone would have to create the software, tools and designs to make the “custom pads” or other products used by a team. Today that isn’t the case.
But it could be, if someone took up the challenge. We suspect they’d easily partner with any of the major 3D printing companies.