According to Simpson, the attitude toward 3D printing in manufacturing changed in 2012, when GE bought a company called Morris Technology, which specialized in additive manufacturing. Timothy Simpson is the Paul Morrow Professor in Engineering Design and Manufacturing at Penn State University and co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing Through Direct Digital Deposition, or CIMP-3D. But the perception was that 3D printing wasn't up to the challenge of serious manufacturing. It was something consumers might enjoy playing with, and it was good enough for creating prototypes. What is driving this increased interest in 3D printing? One part to rule them allįor years, 3D printing technology was considered a "not ready for prime time" technology. So we're seeing a lot of growth in the number of system manufacturers." He also pointed to an increase in materials suppliers and in investments in additive manufacturing from major corporations. Just a year later, 135 companies worldwide sold industrial-grade machines. Wohlers adds, "In 2016, 97 companies sold machines. According to the Wohlers Report 2018, an estimated 1,768 metal AM systems were sold in 2017, compared with 983 systems in 2016, an increase of nearly 80 percent. As a result, while the term "3D printing" is still used for the creation of prototypes, the process of creating end products using the technology is now known in industry as additive manufacturing, or AM for short.Īccording to Terry Wohlers, principal of Wohlers Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in 3D and additive manufacturing, one way you can judge the increase in interest is by the number of companies now selling industrial-grade 3D printers-machines selling for $5,000 or more. Rather than taking large pieces of solids-plastic, wood, metal, or whatever-and carving pieces out of them, 3D printing uses lasers or electron beams to melt down powdered substances and put down the melted material layer by succeeding layer until the shape is finished. The difference between traditional manufacturing and 3D printing can be seen as a matter of choosing between subtraction or addition. However, 3D printing has more recently become of great interest to the manufacturing community-and it is well on its way to becoming a major player. When you think of 3D printing, you may picture a small desktop machine that turns out little plastic figurines or models of the Eiffel Tower.
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