The long-awaited merger between Stratasys and Objet holds the potential to push the 3-D-printing industry "over its last development hurdles," Travis Hessman says.

Hessman, a technology writer for sister publication IndustryWeek, discusses the merger and its implications for the industry in a recent article.

"Buried in the details of the deal, the real gift to the industry and to the customers of any additive manufacturing company is the incredible R&D powerhouse the expanded Stratasys is about to become," Hessman writes.

For more, read "Additive Manufacturing's Newest Giant."