'Revolutionary' | Why 3D printing is popular is not imagined fast

Draw your model on your computer with design software, convert it into printable files, and wake up the 3D printer's gun with a touch of a button to stack objects out of plastic, light-sensitive resin, or metal, not just using a microwave-sized desktop Level 3D printer to make toys or models, industrial giants have started trying to produce end-use components directly using industrial grade 3D printing equipment.

But in the eyes of 3D printing industry practitioners and analysts, the value of this 'revolutionary' technology and its 'damaging' impact on traditional manufacturing processes and perceptions are far from being achieved. "After finalizing with 3D printing Parts just took shape. 'The current 3D printing applications market is from prototyping design aspects of custom tools to the manufacturing stage, but to achieve the final mass production of the components there are A distance
According to a survey of 900 companies worldwide conducted by EY last year, only 8% of companies included 3D printing in the strategic direction of the company and 16% considered the technology as important but are still assessing their importance. 3D printing for disruptive technology has been born 30 years, why its popularity is not imagined fast?

Unlike traditional cutting and subtraction, 3D printing (additive manufacturing) goes against the curve and makes 3D solid objects by layer-by-layer materials that eliminate the need for cutting, drilling or subsequent machining, and 3D printing with fast Forming, highly flexible, cost-saving advantages. It does not care how complex geometry, on the contrary, the more complex structure may be due to more hollow, less materials, lower cost, which is exactly the opposite of traditional production.

The path to 3D printing applications can be divided into three phases: prototyping - fixture fabrication - printing of the final part, layer by layer, and the biggest area of ​​application is still prototyping, which is shortening the product design cycle with 3D printing , Accelerating to the market Stratasys believes that the current market is in the inflection point of the first phase of the transition to the second phase, the final part of the production began to start, around 2019, 3D printing in the final part of the production application will be more than the tools produced applications.

In addition to the cost of operating and maintaining the printing device itself, the high price of 3D printed materials has been an important impediment to the popularity of this technology. In the United States, 3D printing technology has begun to transition from prototyping to the manufacture of customized tools Compared to mature markets such as the United States, 3D printing is lagging behind in its application in China and still remains in the conceptual prototyping stage for a long time. Users are also more price-sensitive to printed materials.