Additive Manufacturing delivers on its promise, says new report

The use of large-scale AM has more than doubled in the past year for 70% of manufacturing companies, according to the latest report from Essentium, a supplier of 3D printers and materials based on independent global research on the current and future use of industrial 3D printing.

This third annual survey from Essentium, in which 169 managers and executives from manufacturing companies across the world took part, moreover revealed that the number of companies using AM for full-scale production runs of hundreds of thousands of parts has also doubled, rising from 7% in 2019 to 14% in 2020.

The findings may partly be due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which AM offered a solution to make quantities of supplies at scale, or at least the mould to make the product, to keep the assembly lines moving.

“We’re at the beginning of radical change,”  said Essentium’s CEO and founder, Blake Taipel. Additive is ready for prime time, and manufacturers are already moving into actual manufacturing to save manufacturing costs while building stronger supply chains that can withstand the worst type of unforeseen events – such as the pandemic.”

In fact, 57% of manufacturers were found to have increased 3D printing for production parts to keep their supply chains flowing during the crisis. 3D printing investment plans have also changed at many companies: 24% of respondents have gone all-in; 25% of manufacturers are ramping up to meet supply chain needs; and 30% of respondents are evaluating industrial-scale 3D printing to fill supply chain gaps.

Fully 90% of survey respondents agreed with the statement that the manufacturing industry could save billions of dollars in production costs once 3D printing technology matures, and a majority of 84% think that companies investing in AM will have a clear competitive advantage in the next five years. 87% believe 3D printing will increasingly drive local manufacturing.

However, the respondents also noted that materials innovations to eliminate problems such as the high cost of 3D printing materials and unreliable materials are critical to achieving these benefits, Essentium is currently working on an open ecosystem comprising the HSE printing platform, an open software environment, and a broad choice of materials that will serve to help overcome these issues.