Motorola’s highly ambitious Project Ara has found itself a new partner, and a pretty significant one at that. Shortly after Motorola announced that both the company and another modular smartphone movement, Phonebloks, will be collaborating on Project Ara, 3D printing company 3D Systems have announced that they will be the manufacturing partner for Project Ara.
The company released a press statement to announce that 3D Systems will be developing “advanced manufacturing and fulfillment platforms” in support of Project Ara. Interestingly, the partnership will see the inventors of the cell phone teaming up with the inventor of the 3D printer on a movement that can radically shift the mobile industry.
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More importantly, the partnership means that Project Ara is increasingly gaining traction. 3D printing has been touted as the future of manufacturing processes, and isn’t an expensive manufacturing option. With 3D printing powering Project Ara, parts of the modular device would then be cheaper to manufacture, thus lowering the price of customizing a device, breaking another potential barrier to the dream of a truly modular smartphone.
(Source: The Verge)
