Along with digitization, AI and robotization, manufacturing companies in Germany, the US and Japan see 3D printing as an important manufacturing trend. Companies that already use additive manufacturing expect these activities to double in the coming year. In the next five years, growth will mainly take place in the in-house printing activities and only slightly in the outsourcing of AM. This is evident from research that Materialize has conducted among manufacturing companies.
Manufacturing companies recognize the possibilities and benefits of 3D printing. They are investigating the strategic use of the technology, according to a study commissioned by Materialize. The survey was conducted among 327 manufacturing companies in the US, Germany and Japan. 59% of them already use 3D printing, 31% are considering it and 9% reject the technology.
US leading the way in 3D printing of end applications
Tipping point reached due to supply chain disruptions
Prototypes and final products each make up about half of 3D printed products. According to Materialize, this points to an important turning point in the use of the technology. “Years of supply chain disruptions have caused companies to reevaluate their offshore production strategies and prioritize local production, closer to demand,” said Fried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise. However, the research shows significant differences by country. In the US, 60% of respondents use 3D printing to produce end products, compared to 43% in Germany and only 36% in Japan. Japan’s reticence could put the country at a disadvantage as other manufacturing centers embrace digital manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing as part of a strategy to modernize their manufacturing capabilities.
What is holding companies back?
The companies that are already 3D printing are seeing the benefits, such as speeding up production, low-cost prototypes, independence from supply chains and personalization of mass-produced products. However, the lack of trained employees and the expertise to integrate 3D printing into existing production processes may affect its future application. Almost all companies (98%) have difficulty introducing the technology and scaling up production. More than one in three companies (36%) cite the difficulty of finding skilled employees as the main barrier; lack of knowledge and experience is mentioned by 33%. One in five sees integration into existing production technologies as an obstacle. Surprisingly, aspects directly related to 3D printing technology are at the bottom of the list of challenges: the cost of the printers (25%), the running costs (25%) and the speed (23%).
Assignment for the 3D printing industry: make it easier
Demand shift
Fried Vancraen sees in these results an important shift in the question of the manufacturing companies: this shifts from the why to the how? This focus on “why?” will now shift to “how?” as manufacturers are familiar with the benefits but lack the knowledge and expertise to successfully deploy and scale the technology. “As companies increasingly focus on these technologies, the 3D printing industry will need to make additional efforts to address the challenges they face, including training and workforce development, identifying new business models and easier-to-use software and hardware.”
Trend to produce closer to home
The CEO of Materialize also sees in the results of the survey how a shift is emerging in the supply chains. “Key production centers, including the EU and the United States, have announced plans to modernize and re-shore their production,” says Vancraen. “Smart, digital technologies, such as 3D printing, are enabling such a shift to decentralized manufacturing, with multiple smaller-scale manufacturing sites located closer to customers.” This trend, coupled with the barriers companies see, is all the more reason why the 3D printing industry needs to invest in training, material availability, ease of use and cost reduction.
Materialize’s Mindware team has developed a tool that allows companies to assess for themselves how far they are in adopting 3D printing. This is determined on the basis of a nine-step adoption process.