Additive Manufacturing (AM, 3D Printing) is set to make a big LEAP in 2023.
Innosek's outlook into the 2023 landscape of additive manufacturing consists of growth within industries such as aerospace and traditional manufacturing, industry consolidations, and further optimized material development to support application-specific manufacturing needs.
Innosek is a leading Additive Manufacturing Service Bureau in New York State that is changing how industrial 3D printing business is conducted for product fabrication companies within the Engineering, Machining, Medical, Consumer Goods, R&D, Automotive, and Aerospace industries.
"By partnering with our customers we are able to deeply understand their challenges and needs and pair that with the proper advanced manufacturing solution and optimization to deliver outsourced AM parts with better functionality, quality, and accuracy." - John Kappel, Founder
Specialized Material Blends
From 2021 to 2022, we have seen an increase in the number of companies researching, developing, and launching new unique materials like never before. Companies like BASF, FormLabs, Materialise, and BNNano are investing heavily in the materials sub-sector of the additive manufacturing industry, which will open the door for the most demanding and specialized companies to harness the power of additive manufacturing. These material blends are being developed and optimized to solve very industry-specific barriers to AM; think a flame retardant and ESD-safe material that has the strength of aerospace-approved material ULTEM, but offers flexibility similar to rubber. Additive Manufacturing will be one solution for many manufacturing challenges.
Adoption in Traditional Manufacturing as a Solution to Labor Issues
In 2021, 41% of traditional manufacturing companies, job shops, and engineering firms adopted additive manufacturing into their process and workflows in some capacity. Not only will it help these companies with efficiency and profitability by moving to a 'made to order' or 'just in time' production model, but it will also help them with the biggest issues they are facing in 2023, finding shop floor labor.
As the United States grows in software and technology, American children are not growing up and getting excited about a career in manufacturing and the trades as they once were. By bringing new manufacturing technologies into contract manufacturing companies and machine shops, the younger workforce can regain that spark of passion for making parts and components. Companies like Ford and DuPont, as well as hundreds of smaller machine shops and product fabricators, will be making additive manufacturing a major part of their businesses and how they manufacture altogether.
Acquisitions, Partnerships, Mergers, and more!
2022 saw over a dozen major acquisitions and mergers in the additive manufacturing industry. As AM is increasingly being adopted by companies in every industry across the world, larger companies will be moving strategically to get a leg up on innovative technology and resources that can help increase efficiency and profitability.
A legendary merger this past year included desktop 3D printing pioneer Makerbot joining forces with Ultimaker, the creator of industry slicer Cura. This merger will lead to further advancements in the industry bridging the gap between AM part setup and the actual production of parts. Software and hardware that have been previously growing vertically on different paths, can now be horizontally integrated making this process easier and more automated.
Aerospace loves Additive Manufacturing
COVID-19 brought a significant decrease and plateau in aircraft manufacturing demand as shutdowns, supply chain complications, and labor shortages played a major role in the industry and its growth goals. In 2023, we will see a bounce back of this with additive manufacturing playing a huge role in aerospace part manufacturing. Aerospace and additive manufacturing fit together like a glove as AM gives companies the ability to use unique designs that optimize space and capacity while maintaining the structural integrity of the part. The second benefit that makes AM perfect for aerospace manufacturing is the significant weight reduction AM parts have when compared to metal parts. In fact, Boeing and NASA are utilizing 3D-printed Nylon in their next-generation deep space capsule, CT-100 Starliner. Read our Article here.
The global aerospace AM industry massive and growing. In fact, in 2021 the market size was $3.58B with a CAGR of 20.24% with projected growth to $31.8B by 2030 with the addition of aerospace startup companies forming from ex SpaceX and Blue Origin employees. These mark 2023 as a stepping stone for the BOOM of additive manufacturing in aerospace.
In conclusion, additive manufacturing will be more commonly and specifically available to companies looking to explore the possibilities. If you or someone on your team wants to learn more about Innosek Additive Manufacturing and how AM can fit into your process please visit us at www.innosek.com or email info@innosek.com
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