One way to stir up business is make outrageous claims that get you plenty of notice. Perhaps that's why Roger Spielman, vice president of direct manufacturing at Tangible Express, says European manufacturers are quickly closing in on their American counterparts in terms of additive technology and might soon leave the U.S. playing catch-up. In ...

New, so-called direct manufacturing methods will soon let individuals make products at home using high-tech, smaller versions of industrial equipment. Smaller tool and die shops are now using laser sintering machines, previously the province only of large manufacturers, to ''print'' or build 3D parts directly from CAD models. Rust ...