That's how many times faster a new 3D printer from HP is going to operate versus existing technology, the company said this week. The new machine, meant to be sold to businesses, is expected to be released in 2016. It will be able to digitally print items in different colors and manipulate their form, texture, strength, elasticity, friction, as well control their electrical and thermal properties. Current printers use a technology called selective laser sintering (which prints objects point by point), while HP will use fused deposition modeling (which lays down plastic in toothpaste-like layers). Unlike its competitors, HP's machine will prints parts by whole layers at a time. It says to print 1,000 gears using the new printer would take 3 hours, while using laser sintering it would take 38 hours to do the same job. Could be a game changer - with a big impact on supply chains.

Number of robotics companies now operating in China, as such firms are "coming up like mushrooms," according to the CEO of one firm. That is in large part because the Chinese government is aggressively pushing the use of robotics in manufacturing, as its labor hourly costs continue to rise, and some officials estimating Chinese productivity has actually fallen a bit since 2009. In 2013, China overtook Japan to become the largest buyers of robotics (37,000), though some 75% of the machines still come from non-Chinese companies, a situation the government wants to change. In addition to the rapid rise of robot manufacturers, more than 30 industrial parks devoted to robotics are being built or were already functioning around the country, with many now saying there is a "robot bubble" in China that will soon burst.