Report: Metal 3D Printing Growing, Still Seeking Speed Breakthrough
January 7, 2019Comments
Metal additive manufacturing (AM) continues to grow along with enthusiasm for its potential, as evidenced by several high-profile projects from Fortune 500 companies. But, metal AM has yet to achieve a transformative speed breakthrough along the lines of what has occurred with polymer printers. These are a few takeaways from the downloadable 2019 State of Metal 3D Printing Report, just released by 3Diligent and providing a comprehensive source of information on current trends in metal 3D printing and existing and emerging processes.
The 24-page report, designed to provide information for product designers or businesses considering metal 3D-printing projects, highlights a number of technologies that may represent candidates for breakthroughs in metal-AM efficiency.
The report also presents data from 3Diligent projects to provide additional context for the advancement of metal 3D printing. According to research conducted by 3Diligent of 3D-printing project requests in 2018, 45 percent requested metal-AM processes, while 45 percent specified polymer and the balance left the decision to 3Diligent and its network of fabricators to suggest an optimal process. This represents dramatic growth in metal-printing demand since 2015, when just 14 percent of AM project requests sought metal processes.
See also: 3Diligent Corporation
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