Glancing at the Future of 3D Printing
Over the years, with the increased usage of technology, Additive Manufacturing is taking hold of the manufacturing industry. The growing number of users and demonstrated business benefits are proving that additive manufacturing can be used as a mainstream manufacturing technology. Moreover, several industries such as automotive, aerospace, and healthcare have been experiencing impactful production and business transformations within key areas of their business due to the maturation of additive technologies and material-supply chains.
According to a survey, the percentage of companies using additive technologies to manufacture production parts rose from 27 percent to 52, bridge production increased from 23 percent to 39, and the repair went from 14 percent to 38. Furthermore, a report by Smithers Pira predicts that the additive manufacturing industry will be worth $55.8 billion by 2027. With the promising growth of additive manufacturing, the future of the 3D printing industry also seems propitious. According to a survey, 80% of enterprises say that 3D printing is enabling them to innovate faster.
Adaptability from Rapid Prototyping to Production
The use of 3D printing for bridge production has grown immensely in the past few years. In that time, transportation, automotive, and heavy equipment industries have been the most frequent users of 3D printing technology for this purpose. Easy scalability from rapid prototyping to full-scale manufacturing is enabled by additive manufacturing. Moreover, additive manufacturing delivers more effective life-cycle management, which lacks in prototyping without vision and expertise to go into full-scale production.
Furthermore, additive manufacturing is essential when production volume is relatively low. A part developed using additive manufacturing can seamlessly transition to rate production equipment with the right level of planning, engineering, and material development. Apart from this, special purpose production using 3D printing enables manufacturers to print parts as needed, instead of pulling that part from a supply warehouse. This on-demand production will help companies in reducing inventory and storage costs. According to a report from MIT, the spare parts inventory could be reduced by 90 percent with 3D printing. In the future, 3D printing will be able to support all facets of new product information, where scaling volume to achieve price points will lose importance.
Normalizing Digitization and Restructuring the Supply Chain
Additive manufacturing is leading the way in the digital transformation of industry 4.0 and 3D printing is the first step on the journey to digital transformation. These manufacturing processes eliminate the need of stocking a warehouse full of parts that might become obsolete and mass quantities of spare parts that may or may not be in demand. Instead of this, additive manufacturing condenses the piles of boxes eating up physical space into digital files that can be stored in the cloud and easily accessed if they are ever needed. Apart from digital inventory, distributed manufacturing is also changing how companies are incorporating 3D printing into their digital strategy. Instead of a centralized solution, distributed manufacturing enables companies to decentralize production so they can manufacture the final product closer to the customer.
In the near future, the hybrid version of manufacturing will include large factories as well as a larger number of smaller sites with 3D print farms. It will also include printers being deployed in alternative locations like service and support centers, distribution centers, or even in people’s houses. 3D printing will become simple enough that most households will be able to pull files and print a product with just a few clicks and hence is expected to empower more customers in the future.
Increased Flexibility and Personalized Designs
The desire for personalization is a successful consumer trend that has been noticed across several industries. Presently, customers are more inclined towards a product that is created for them specifically and which gratifies their personal preferences rather than opting for a mass-produced item. This customization is enabled by additive manufacturing’s ability to offer low-volume production. 3D printing provides manufacturers with flexibility in responsive design. Manufacturers can afford to produce smaller batches, allowing designers and engineers to adjust product design and innovate in a cost-effective manner, instead of having to hoist large quantities of identical objects onto the public.
Significance of Materials
Substantial investments in the additive manufacturing ecosystem are fuelling growth. However, the significance of the materials cannot be overstated. Apart from the high cost of equipment, the next big barrier is materials and the closed ecosystem which has blocked the industry’s growth. Out of numerous types of 3D printing materials, very few are advanced enough to meet the quality and regulatory requirements of every industry. Furthermore, with the current challenges surrounding volumes in most industries, the suppliers and manufacturers are not motivated to create the materials necessary for new applications. However, the future of 3D printing lies in specifically engineered and application-specific materials. The different industries will require custom solutions to their problems in the future. Thus, integrating new engineered materials will transform a new generation of applications.
More Sustainable Future with 3D Printing
Sustainability and conservation are two of the key aspects of additive manufacturing. Simon Ford and Melanie Despeisse, in their essay “Additive Manufacturing and Sustainability: An Exploratory Study of the Advantages and Challenges,” assert that additive manufacturing mimics biological processes by creating objects layer by layer, rather than producing a hulking item that must be whittled and chunks carved out to achieve the desired shape. They further write, “It is inherently less wasteful than traditional subtractive methods of production and holds the potential to decouple social and economic value creation from the environmental impact of business activities.”
Apart from reducing waste, 3D printing also conserves energy. A study listed 17 steps to manufacture a truck gear using subtractive manufacturing versus six steps it takes to accomplish the same task with additive manufacturing. It concluded that with 3D printing, the same product took less than half the energy. Furthermore, 3D printing also reduces the need for transporting products and materials, thereby reducing the quantity of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Thus, the future of 3D printing will lead to a more sustainable future overall.
To conclude, according to a survey by Jabil, over the next few years, 86 percent of the companies expect their use of 3D printing to at least double, and just less than 40 percent expect the usage to increase by five times or more. As the world adopts additive manufacturing, companies will be able to do smaller batch sizes, realize faster NPI and development, and use it as a full serial production tool. The distributed manufacturing model will be adopted globally and there is no doubt that the future is promising for 3D printing.
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