Additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) technology, as an important part of emerging industries, is gradually changing traditional production methods and integrating into application fields such as aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and medical devices. According to CITIC Securities, the global additive manufacturing market is expected to reach $76.16 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.8%.
According to the analysis of the Intelligent Manufacturing Network, since 2024, the competition in the domestic and international 3D printing market has been fierce, with new technologies and products constantly emerging, expanding the industry scope for the application of 3D printing technology and achieving breakthrough progress.
Foreign markets:
Recently, JFE Steel Group's "Nippon Foundry" has developed a technology that can use 3D printers to reduce the manufacturing costs of metal mechanical components by 20-30%. It is understood that this technology will first be applied in industrial machinery and other fields this year. By adopting additive manufacturing technology, the production efficiency of metal mechanical components can be greatly improved, playing a crucial role in reducing manufacturing costs.
On June 4th, according to the Journal of Optics and Applications, a research team led by the Institute of Applied Physics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, developed and demonstrated an independent miniature "photon lantern" spatial mode multiplexer. This miniature "photon lantern" is manufactured using laser direct writing 3D nanoprinting technology and can be directly applied to fiber optic tips.
On May 27th, it was learned that the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in the United States has recently installed an advanced 3D printing technology - Continuous Composite's CF3D Enterprise system. It is understood that the introduction of this system aims to accelerate the research and production of large lightweight structural composite materials required in the aerospace field. At the same time, it also signifies that the system technology will have broad application prospects in both academia and industry.
Domestic market:
On June 3rd, according to Tianyancha's intellectual property information, Hunan Huashu High tech Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Huashu High tech") applied for a size compensation method, device, equipment, and medium for additive manufacturing parts, with the public number CN202410237280.1 and the application date being March 2024. Based on the patent abstract, Huashu High tech will further iteratively optimize the constructed target dataset to obtain a target size compensation function for controlling dimensional accuracy throughout the entire forming space. Finally, by using this target size compensation function and selective laser sintering technology for processing, the target additive manufacturing parts after size compensation can be obtained, improving the dimensional accuracy of the additive manufacturing parts to be compensated.
On the same day, according to the announcement of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, Yantai Jerry Petroleum Services Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jerry Shares") applied for a project named "3D printing and casting process of box and box", with the publication number of CN202410181731.4 and the application date of February 2024. According to the publicly available patent abstract, this technology involves a 3D printing casting process for a box and a box that can not only improve various mechanical properties but also reduce casting defects.
During the 2024 TCT Asia Exhibition, the first printed component of the new flagship product EP-M2050 from Yijia 3D was unveiled. It is understood that while innovating technology, the device also significantly expands the printing and forming dimensions of SLM additive manufacturing technology, enriching the service field of this technology in large-sized components and injecting more new momentum into industrial intelligent production and manufacturing.
In recent years, China's innovation strength in 3D printing technology has accelerated, and the overall export quantity of 3D printers has shown a rapid growth trend. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's export of 3D printing equipment in 2023 was 3.525 million units (excluding components), a sharp increase of 88% compared to 2022. The export value of 3D printers was 6.15 billion yuan (excluding components), an increase of 68.5%.
It is worth noting that the national level encourages the development of additive manufacturing. In the "Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)" implemented from February 1, 2024, multiple industries such as non-ferrous metals, building materials, healthcare, automobiles, and intelligent manufacturing are involved in the development of 3D printing.
In the category of intelligent manufacturing, it is mentioned that additive manufacturing equipment and specialized materials are encouraged. This mainly includes metal additive manufacturing equipment and specialized materials, non-metal additive manufacturing equipment and specialized materials, biological additive manufacturing equipment and specialized materials, key components such as lasers, electron guns, scanning galvanometers, additive manufacturing specialized software, additive manufacturing comprehensive solutions and production services.