3D Printing, the Future of Manufacturing Industry 3d printed

3D printing, also known as “add material manufacturing”, belongs to one of rapid prototyping technology. It is a new manufacturing technology based on digital model, using bindable materials such as powder metals or plastics, and adding materials layer by layer through the use of 3D printing equipment to produce three-dimensional objects. It is a close combination of information network technology, advanced material technology and digital manufacturing technology.
Compared with traditional casting technology, the biggest advantage of 3D printing technology is that it can manufacture products of various shapes without the need of dies. Therefore, 3D printing technology is especially suitable for products with difficult, complex shape and strong individuality. In addition, in traditional manufacturing technology, product molds need to be debugged many times, and the cost of research and development is high. And 3D printing technology can greatly shorten the R&D cycle and reduce the R&D cost.
3D printing technology first appeared in the United States in 1980, and began to rise in China in 2012. As an important part of advanced manufacturing industry, the state attaches great importance to 3d printed its development and has issued different policy support.
Although the growth rate has slowed down since 2015, the industrial scale still maintains the trend of annual growth. Especially in the past two years, through continuous independent research and development, China’s 3D printing industry gradually broke away from dependence on foreign technology and materials. Taking Zhejiang Xunshi Science and Technology as an example, since its establishment in 2013, through the recruitment of relevant technical personnel, Xunshi Science and Technology has now owned its own technical team and set up an academician workstation in cooperation with Academician Lu Bingheng of West Jiaotong University. Xunshi Technology has developed MoonRay series 3D printers and Resin high precision DLP photosensitive resin materials.
Compared with the continuous development of rapid technology, many other 3D printing companies are facing difficulties in the industry. Most of them do not have their own independent technical support, or rely too much on upstream materials, pure 3D printing output and difficult to survive. It can be seen that no matter what kind of industry, science and technology is the first productive force.
With the continuous development, the function of 3D printing technology is becoming more and more refined, and the application field is becoming more and more extensive.
As can be seen from the chart, 3D printing technology is widely used in military, aerospace, medical and industrial printing fields at this stage. Especially in the medical field, the application and gradual maturity of 3D printing technology will greatly change the traditional medical methods, and turn to rely on scientific and technological means to implement more accurate, less risky and difficult surgery. On April 15, 2019, researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel printed out the world’s first “complete” heart with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and atria in 3D using the patient’s own tissues as raw materials. This will surely be the gospel of heart disease patients and bring opportunities for the rehabilitation of more heart disease patients.
With the rise of “personal manufacturing”, the demand for desktop-level 3D printers will further increase, thus promoting the consumption of upstream printing materials. Therefore, in the field of personal consumption, the 3D printing industry is expected to maintain a relatively high growth rate.
In the field of industrial 3D printed consumption, due to the continuous development of 3D printing metal materials, 3D printing equipment with laser metal sintering as the main forming technology will achieve relatively rapid development in the future industrial applications.
At present, the main 3D printing enterprises generally exist in the form of material supply, equipment manufacturing and printing services. This is due to technology promotion and market scale limitation in the early stage of industrial development. In the long run, the various links of the industrial chain will produce the separation of specialization, professional material suppliers and printing enterprises will appear, product design services will be independent or transferred to downstream consumer enterprises.
At present, domestic 3D printing technology is still in its infancy, and there is a huge potential for development in both industrial applications and personal consumption. In terms of long-term demand growth, upstream printing materials and personal 3D printing equipment manufacturers will grow better. Because on the basis of the popularization of general technical standards, the development of specialized 3D printed material supply enterprises is the general trend. From personal consumption to industrial manufacturing, the demand for consumables is indispensable regardless of the rapid growth in any field.
At present, domestic 3D printing technology is still in its infancy, and there is a huge potential for development in both industrial applications and personal consumption. In terms of long-term demand growth, upstream printing materials and personal 3D printing equipment manufacturers will grow better. Because on the basis of the popularization of general technical standards, the development of specialized material supply enterprises is the general trend. From personal consumption to industrial manufacturing, the demand for consumables is indispensable regardless of the rapid growth in any field.