Additive manufacturing – the sleeping giant

ARNAUD GUEDOU FROM 3D PRINTING SOLUTIONS

In fact, additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a sleeping giant since many, many years now. So it is time for the giant to wake up. It is not going to replace it, it is just a new solution to the industry within this portfolio of manufacturing solutions. And I said a new one because the existing one has a big limitation which is the design of the part that can be produced. The main manufacturing solution is injection molding and due to that you have limitation with the design of the undercuts.

3D printers, additive manufacturing solutions, have the freedom of design, you have no limitations in design. So this means that we can reinvent the function by doing specific design, and you can even make the part lighter at the same time, saving material and so on. So that’s where 3D printers can bring things that cannot be achieved at all today.

Additive manufacturing can be used in any industry or application. This can be in consumer goods, this can be in automotive, medical devices, it can be in many things. But what I see is that due to the benefits of 3D printers this can help to relocate the production closer to the end-user. And then bring new function to that, to reinvent the function with design which are more esthetic design which are much more attractive.

And also to be able to bring some new design for the function to go much further into the application in terms of deformation, shock absorptions and to make more reliable products. And then given the opportunity to have closed the end-user solution,
to replace an existing part, or even to design its own parts and to invent his own product.