Exactly why is it important that this particular structure can be additively manufactured? Typical additive processes can create essentially anything, exactly because there are no limitations steming from tooling geometry and workholding that are typical for traditional subtractive machining.
Sure, anything -- so long as it doesn't have geometric extent, fit, finish, accuracy, internal strain, material composition, or volume economic requirements within a couple orders of magnitude of the competing traditional processes.
In other words, it's nice to know that they were able to achieve these results on a 3D printer rather than a multimillion dollar MEMS facility.
Speaking as Stephenson/Doctorow fan as well as a member of ever-growing sector of the population that have had their technological paranoia continually proven right for the last fifteen years, improvements in additive manufacturing of miniaturised computation technology assists in keeping a small section of power with the larger population, rather than being forced to rely on hyperlarge gated conglomerates to parcel out materials to us.
I don't know why this is being down-voted. Anyone care to elaborate? If we don't want to rely on centralised manufacturing we need to be able to make computers in the privacy of our own homes. Otherwise, whoever controls the entities that manufacture our computers can put in backdoors. The government has straight-up said that they want backdoors into all encryption. Worrying about this, and making progress towards decentralised manufacture, doesn't seem crazy to me.
