We seem to still be waiting for the great industrial revolution announced with the emergence of 3D printing. Nonetheless, significant breakthroughs in certain business fields along with a positive study carried out by the International Data Corporation (IDC) do suggest a surge in additive manufacturing in the next few years. Before looking at some accomplishments, let’s begin by demystifying 3D printing.
3D printing from A to Z
3D printing, which consists of superimposing horizontal layers of material to obtain a finished product initially designed on a computer from a 3D file, was developed around the flagship element: the printer – for the general public (ad hoc printing of small objects), professionals (quick printing of good quality finished products), and industry (mass production with perfect resolution). This mode of additive manufacturing is valued for its benefits: little loss of material (no moulds), a wide variety of materials (plastics, metals, alloys, food ingredients…) and speed of execution. In its “Worldwide Semiannual 3D Printing Spending Guide” report, the IDC firm forecasts an increase of close to 150% in the global 3D printing market, rising from $11 billion in 2015 to close to $26.7 billion in 2019, as well as a concentration on the Asia-Pacific, United States and Western Europe regions (70% of investments related to 3D printing in 2014, compared to 59.2% in 2014). Finally, we too often forget that the 3D printing market involves a multitude of players who will also see their business grow such as system manufacturers, material suppliers, software developers, engineering companies and service providers.
No limits to 3D printing
Drawn from the aerospace and automobile fields, 3D printing now embraces all business sectors with achievements and projects that are all equally surprising. In the medical field, there are feats of printing organs (aortic valve, ear, mouse brain), bone replicas, tailor-made prostheses and creating human tissues for cancer treatment, all 3D printed. In the maritime world, the race for the impossible seems to have been launched: with a submersible around nine metres long created by 3D printing by the American army and the project of Italian start-up Livrea in partnership with Autodesk (an American software company) to produce the first 3D printed yacht, there is enough to keep busy. In the architectural field, the various global players are confidently competing with creativity. Read more: in Switzerland, a three-storey 200 m2 3D printed building which should be delivered in the fall of 2018; in China, a two-storey villa printed in just three hours could withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake; in Dubai, seventeen days to build the headquarters of the Foundation of the Future (250 m2 of offices) thanks to a 36 m long and 6 m high 3D printer; in Spain, a concrete pedestrian bridge 12 m long by 2 m wide. As for future 3D printed architectural projects, they are beyond comprehension: SwimCity, a futuristic town considered by Swedes, and Shamballa, an Italian project of a 3D printed village.
Apart from its spectacular side, 3D printing also represents an opportunity for many disadvantaged countries that will now be able to access less expensive objects due to the drastic decline in the cost of producing some products.