Industry Briefing
October 2007

Industries Benefiting from Additive Fabrication Technology

Twenty-nine system manufacturers and 56 service providers responded to a survey by Wohlers Associates earlier this year. These 85 companies provided information based on knowledge of their customers—an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 total organizations. The responses were used to produce the information in the chart at http://wohlersassociates.com/2007ind.html, as well as others published in Wohlers Report 2007. 

Of the 29 system manufactures that responded, eight were from the U.S., six from Germany, five from Japan, four from China, three from Sweden, and one each from Canada, Israel, and Italy. Of the 56 service providers that participated, 30 were from the U.S., five from Germany, three from India, two each from Australia, Belgium, England, South Africa, and Turkey, and one each from Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Thailand.

The survey asked each company to indicate which industries they serve and the approximate revenues (as a percentage) that they receive from each. The chart shows that consumer products and electronics is the leading sector, similar to the past two years. Motor vehicles, government/military, and industrial machinery experienced small increases, while academic institutions, consumer products and electronics, and medical/dental experienced small declines.

“Architectural and GIS” was added this year, which partly accounts for a drop of 5.2 percentage points in the “Other” category. Last year, it was 11.2%. “Other” includes a wide range of niche industries, such as non-consumer sporting goods, commercial marine products, and various other industries that do not fit into the named categories.

Note: The previous information was excerpted from Wohlers Report 2007, a 220-page global study that focuses on the advances in additive fabrication worldwide. A detailed overview of the report, as well as additional information on the market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com. 



Wohlers Talk: Design and Manufacturing in the Future

Many types of products that are made and sold today will be designed and manufactured similarly in the future. Conventional methods of molding, casting, and stamping of high volumes of parts will continue. However, a new wave of designs that before were impractical or too risky to produce by traditional means is beginning to emerge. It is being made possible with advances in additive fabrication (AF) techniques and materials, coupled with artistic and engineering creativity of those who are good at modeling new ideas with SolidWorks, Rhino, and other CAD and design products.

Already, we’re seeing what’s possible. One of the best examples is the .MGX collection from Materialise. Many years ago, no company in their right mind would have attempted to offer such a wide range of unusual and difficult to manufacture products. With AF technology, it is possible to produce wild and complex shapes. What’s more, companies can manufacture them on demand when the order is received. The inventory consists of a library of solid models stored as bits and bytes.

If the manufacturer or customer would like to introduce a change to a design, the cost of doing so is negligible. Contrast this with products that are produced from tooling. A change usually costs thousands of dollars and weeks or months of time. It wasn’t until AF became an option that one-off custom or personalized manufacturing became affordable and attractive.

In the future, expect to see a staggering range of new and distinctive products. Many will come from people working at home, as well as from design-savvy students. With advances in additive processes, expect the development of custom jewelry, collectables such as action and sports figures and bobble heads, and personalized awards, gifts, and corporate give-aways. In the world of professional design, anticipate custom designs for business jet interiors, high-end automobiles, and motorcycles.

Brace yourself for new ways of designing and manufacturing in the future. As the late Larry Rhoades once said, “This revolution will enable people to live where they’d like and produce what they need locally.” Rhoades envisioned a factory in the home, or at least in the neighborhood, where people will pay for the plans, not the product. I agree that it will happen. In the future, millions of 3D models of all types will be produced with products such as Cosmic Blobs, Spore, and SketchUp, as well as new generation design and 3D content creation tools.

Note: Wohlers Talk is a blog that offers views, perspective, and commentary related to rapid product development and a wide range of other topics. More than 120 commentaries have been published since February 2003. To view them, visit http://wohlersassociates.com/blog. 

The Custom Manufacturing MegaTrend

"The Custom Manufacturing MegaTrend: Where China and the West Fit In" will be held on December 7 at EuroMold 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany. This ninth annual international conference will concentrate on the growing number of opportunities in custom, replacement part, and short-run manufacturing and the role of China, Europe, and other parts of the world. The event is being co-sponsored by DEMAT, the organizer of EuroMold, and Wohlers Associates. To view the conference program, go to http://wohlersassociates.com/custom.pdf. 

____________________________

Email briefings are distributed four or five times annually. Request to receive the briefings for free.