Index Of The Blog
Trends in 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing
HP conducted a survey among more than two thousand representatives of the field of industrial 3D printing. The results became the basis of the HP Digital Manufacturing Trends Report that tells about major trends that will change the production landscape and influence additive manufacturing in the short run: from the growing demand for personalized products to developments of the materials of the future.
1. Growing Demand for Personalized Products
The wide availability of 3D printing and its ability to meet various consumer demands in very different fields grant the companies the way to increase the level of product personalization. And manufacture unique things at affordable prices.
91% of respondents that participated in the HP Digital Manufacturing Trends Report mentioned the desire to offer personalized products manufactured using 3D printing. And the participants include the representative of various economic sectors — from SmileDirectClub orthodontic startup that offer transparent 3D printed mouthguards to Cobra Golf company that sells the first personalized golf club that uses metal 3D printed parts that allowed for weight reduction and better center of gravity detection for more accurate swings.
2. Innovations in the Field of Software and Data Processing
In the last years, there is a rapid development of software solutions in additive manufacturing. New tools and IT infrastructure offer to the developers an ability to operatively scale digital manufacturing which in turn will lead to production growth. 55% of respondents think that increases in software development speed will provide noticeable results over the course of the next 5 years, 52% confirmed that improved software and data processing algorithms will significantly optimize the manufacturing process.
3. Innovations in Medicine and Health Industry
Medicine was one of the first fields that used the abilities of 3D printing. In 2021, the wellness industry with an annual turnover of $50 billion will continue to dynamically integrate 3D technologies, manufacturing the products based on the biomechanical analysis of client data. There is nothing more individual than a human body, so manufacturing personalized products such as footwear or prostheses has a large potential. 55% of respondents think that the health industry will become one of the leading fields in additive manufacturing innovations over the course of the next 5 years.
4. Acceleration of Overall Economic Growth
As the interest of the private business sector in digital manufacturing technologies grows, the economy is naturally stimulated. Almost all respondents (99%) think that digital technologies influence economic growth acceleration. They prove it with their own actions: 85%t of participants noted that their companies are planning to increase investments in 3D printing, while 71% of respondents are planning to invest in additive manufacturing by the middle of 2021.
5. Forming Alliances for Intersectoral Partnerships and Exchange of Experience
The companies will form new alliances and partnerships trying to increase the value of their services. For example, 85% of respondents think that intersectoral partnerships will play a crucial role in the future of digital manufacturing. This will increase the number of experts and will increase the level of their qualifications due to the intersectoral exchange of experience. At the same time, around two-thirds of respondents (or 64%) stated that the business needs to expand the ways to train the specialists in digital design and manufacturing.
6. Business Moving towards a Circular Economy
Steady development becomes one of the key indicators of effective and responsible business. Since government structures and corporations often evaluate and monitor the way their activity influences the environment, it’s expected that additive technologies will play a leading role in reducing the negative impact of business on ecology. 3D printing makes it possible to localize and optimize manufacturing: it reduces waste, reduces CO2 emissions, and simplifies traditional logistical chains. It also makes it possible to recycle and save material, which is the main benchmark of the circular economy.
88% of respondents think that forming a steady system requires active government involvement. In particular, the introduction of measures for investment stimulation and development of socially and ecologically important additive technologies.
7. Development of New Methods and Materials
According to the report results, the majority of innovations are expected in the direction of the development of thermoactive 4D printing. Almost a half (48%) of respondents think that this “smart” technology has the largest potential among the digital manufacturing methods. Printing of the future will make it possible to “enliven” 3D objects, making them receptive to environmental conditions (humidity, temperature, pressure). The object will change its structure and shape under the influence of such factors.
The most obvious advantage of 4D printing is that calculations make producing objects larger than the printers in one go possible. This is a real revolution that opens up new opportunities and abilities to use “smart” materials in the additive manufacturing sector
“Advanced 3D printing solutions play an important role in economic growth. Integration of additive technologies allows the companies to produce parts and components on their own sites, shortening the production chain and reducing the costs. This makes a business more flexible, ecological, and crisis-resistant, while steadily creating new opportunities in different industrial sectors,” says Alexey Voronkov, Vice President and Managing Director, Eastern Europe at HP Inc.
