#33 The Rapid Manufacturing Dilemma

Why don’t AM companies reach their full potential? Why is 3D printing still just a supplement to industrial production, while traditional manufacturing methods continue to dominate? Well, when you think about it, the answer is surprisingly simple.

Additive Manufacturing is a fantastic production technology, the only one that enables highly efficient on-demand part manufacturing. It’s cheap, fast, and, in some cases, offers virtually unlimited geometric freedom.

But it fails the moment it needs to scale…

The larger the part, the more material required—the less cost-effective mass production becomes. Serial production of parts that fit within a 5 x 5 x 5 cm cube can be profitable at scales of hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions of units (shoutout to Merit3D !).

But if we increase the size of the part tenfold (50 x 50 x 50 cm), we quickly find that not only does production become unprofitable at just a few hundred units, but there’s also a fundamental issue: finding 3D printers capable of handling such large parts—at least within the current state of the technology.

So maybe we should just accept that 3D printing is best suited for mass production of small objects? We could collect production data from the 1,000 largest AM companies worldwide, feed it into AI, and determine that, for example, 7 cm is the critical size above which mass production becomes impractical.

And then, we could officially rename the industry to "AM up to Seven.”

But this theoretical—and intentionally naive—solution isn’t a real solution at all. I’m not even getting into the countless design, technology, and material nuances that would make such an arbitrary size limit meaningless.

The real problem lies elsewhere. And to understand it, as always, we need to look back at history…

So, as we all know, all the most important 3D printing (or additive manufacturing) technologies were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. The only truly innovative AM methods that emerged later are HP’s MJF and, still theoretically, VLM developed by BCN3D (and now being further developed under the Supernova brand).

And now, pay attention—every single legacy AM technology was originally created as a rapid prototyping technology. Every. Single. One.

For many years, 3D printing was actually called rapid prototyping, which was synonymous with the technique of building objects through selective material deposition and layer-by-layer bonding.

In the late 2000s, all rapid prototyping techniques started being referred to as both "3D printing" and "additive manufacturing." The first term—originally associated with Z Corporation’s technology—had a commercial appeal, while the latter was more technical.

All of these legacy companies experienced commercial success in their early years, but in a fairly limited way. The market itself was very small—prototyping machines were useful, but companies didn’t need to buy more than one or two, as they lasted for years. There was simply no economic justification for purchasing more.

To address this, the industry pursued two directions in popularizing 3D printing:

• The commercialization of 3D printers for home (and educational) use
• Transforming industrial 3D printers into systems for producing end-use parts, including for low-volume manufacturing

And both goals were achieved. It wasn’t easy, and there were many casualties along the way, but today, this is the reality:

• Home 3D printers have become a kind of standard. Unfortunately for Western companies, this market has been almost entirely (over 90%) taken over by Chinese firms (Creality, Bambu Lab, Anycubic, Elegoo, Flashforge), with Prusa Research being the only significant non-Chinese player. (Formlabs hasn’t been considered a consumer 3D printer company for many years.)
• Industrial 3D printers are widely used for low-series, specialized, and custom manufacturing of end-use parts. They employ all major AM technologies, including FDM/FFF, SLA, SLS, MJF, PBF, DED, and Binder Jetting.

The problem is, this is still not enough.

Even though industrial AM system sales are growing year over year, they are laughably small compared to other manufacturing machines (CNC, injection molding, laser cutting, thermoforming, etc.).

The current situation is as follows:

• 3D printers are excellent for rapid prototyping.
• 3D printers are excellent for low-series manufacturing.
• 3D printers are NOT effective for large-scale (or large-sized part) rapid manufacturing.

And for years, some of the brightest minds have been trying to solve this dilemma.

How do we make the leap to the big leagues? How do we break through the limitations?

In my opinion, the current companies and the people within them will not find a solution to this. Let me explain why…

It’s very simple—they have no idea how to do it because they come from a completely different sector of manufacturing.

As I wrote earlier, all legacy companies and their technologies were originally developed for rapid prototyping. And rapid prototyping is something entirely different from rapid manufacturing.

Sure, you could say that they’re the same thing, just on a larger scale—but that’s like comparing the calculator in a Casio watch to the computer at CERN.

So all currently existing additive manufacturing technologies are essentially rapid prototyping systems on steroids. They’ve been made more automated, faster, and easier to use, but at their core, they are still the same 3D printers as 20 years ago.

Even if we look at companies developing systems specifically for serial production, like Mosaic Manufacturing (Array), Prusa Research (AFS), or Photocentric (JENI), we see that they are essentially just clusters of individual 3D printers connected into a single system.

We are still witnessing attempts to adapt 20-30-year-old solutions—originally designed for one purpose—into something entirely different.

Here are more examples:

• HP, when developing MultiJet Fusion, promised the first true rapid manufacturing system, yet in reality, it’s just a technological alternative to SLS.
• Desktop Metal took Binder Jetting, a technology that has existed since the mid-'90s, changed its packaging, and announced it as a new, super-efficient metal rapid manufacturing method. We all know how that ended.
• In the early 2010s, 3D Systems developed a high-speed MJP-based 3D printing assembly line for Google’s Project Ara. The project never made it beyond the prototype phase and was shut down along with Project Ara itself.

Today, to truly scale up mass production of 3D-printed parts, you have to become a collector of 3D printers.

Thousands in the case of FDM/FFF, hundreds for UV-based SLA, and dozens for SLS/MJF. This inevitably drives up costs—for labor, electricity, space for machines, and materials.

Have you ever been to an offset printing house? The kind that prints books, flyers, posters? Where the printing machines are several meters long? Many years ago I used to work in one.

Now imagine that instead of those massive machines, you set up 1,000 desktop laser printers to do the same job on A4 format pieces of paper.

That’s exactly what current attempts to adapt Additive Manufacturing to Rapid Manufacturing look like.

"Just add more 3D printers!"

So how do we fix this? How do we solve it?

I believe that this challenge should be taken on by completely new people—outsiders who enter the AM industry with entirely fresh ideas and a different way of thinking.

Because right now, everyone is trying to print the long-awaited final season of Game of Thrones on a battery of office laser printers.

So much for the introduction. And now, without further ado...

The AM History book is released!

Yes, my big premiere took place on Wednesday. I first covered the year 2012—79 events divided into 12 months. Three main events for each month, plus 3-4 additional ones. This is the first truly comprehensive source of knowledge about the 3D printing industry. More editions will follow in the coming months!

I invite companies to collaborate. Each edition will be 60 pages long, with 6 pages reserved for advertisements—two pages per company. This is a unique opportunity to reach a wide audience, as these publications will have lasting relevance.

Additionally, we have published the Brazilian edition of The 3D Printing World Guide, and upcoming editions will cover Mexico, France, and Hungary!

Anyone interested is welcome to get in touch and submit applications! APPLY HERE!

#7. Colibrium Additive lays off fewer people than announced

At the beginning of January I informed about the drastic restructuring in German division of GE Colibrium Additive in Lichtenfels. According to Fr?nkische Tag the company is cutting 90 jobs instead of the initially planned 120. A social plan and a transfer agency aim to mitigate the impact, offering severance and short-time transfer benefits. Overall, the company struggles with high costs and strict regulations. (Thanks to Johannes Lutz for the tip).

READ MORE: www.radioeins.com

#6. Spengler unveiled SurfPro SD

Spengler unveiled SurfPro SD steam dyeing machines for MJF and SLS parts, reducing water and dye usage. The system ensures consistent coloration with 90% less water and 95% less dye than immersion methods.

READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com

#5. Sintavia secured $10M

Sintavia secured a $10M subordinated debt investment from Stifel North Atlantic AM-Forward Fund. Funds will refinance equipment loans and boost working capital. This follows Sintavia’s $25M expansion.

READ MORE: www.3dadept.com

#4. Materialise opened new Areospace Competence Center

Materialise has opened an Aerospace Competence Center in Delft’s Aerospace Innovation Hub, strengthening its role in aerospace additive manufacturing. The center supports innovation, sustainability, and collaboration with TU Delft. Materialise has produced over 500,000 aerospace AM parts and joins Airbus and Collins Aerospace at the hub.

READ MORE: www.3printr.com

#3. EASYMFG to launch two new BinderJetting systems

Chinese company EASYMFG announced launching two new metal BinderJetting 3D printers: the M200Eco, a cost-efficient printer for small businesses, and the M400Plus, an advanced system for high-performance production. With 90% of sales in China and 10% overseas, EASYMFG is also pursuing CE certification for global expansion.

READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com

#2. Tethon3D and Carima introduced the Gazelle

Tethon3D and Carima introduced the Gazelle, allegedly “the world’s fastest industrial ceramic 3D printer”. Using Carima’s high-speed DLP C-CAT technology, it achieves speeds of over 30 cm per hour. Featuring a 46L build volume, dual 4K UHD light source, and advanced automation, it offers precision, efficiency, and cost-effective large-scale production.

READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com

#1. Steakholder Foods secured $250,000 grant from SIIRD

Steakholder Foods, a leader in alternative proteins and 3D printing, has received its third $250,000 grant installment from the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD), bringing total funding to $740,000 out of a $1 million award. The grant supports advancements in 3D printed seafood, including eel and hybrid fish. This latest installment recognizes breakthroughs in eel texture and flavor using proprietary printing technology. Additionally, Yuval Cohen, the founder and managing partner of Fortissimo, will join Stratasys' board of directors.

READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com

Summary of the most important events in the history of the 3D printing industry published last week:

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