8 Transformations 3D Printing Is Making Possible

It’s difficult to take the pulse of additive manufacturing at any particular point in time, because AM is not unified by any one market it serves, the materials it uses or even any specific process. But the use of 3D printing technology to build parts layer by layer does leave a trail. In any of the businesses and markets where AM is successfully adopted, it inevitably disrupts — and its progress can be tracked by looking for those moments of transformation. In my keynote address at this year’s Women in 3D Printing TIPE Conference, I chose to highlight eight places where additive is currently transforming how, when, where and why production happens. Watch the recording below, or scroll on for a recap of eight transformations that 3D printing is making possible. 

1. 3D Printing Is Supporting Better Healthcare Outcomes

Medical implants are arguably one of the most mature applications for 3D printing currently, but the technology is continuing to deliver new possibilities in healthcare. Providers of external devices such as hearing aids, mouth guards, splints, prosthetics and orthotics are taking advantage of 3D scanning technology to quickly design and manufacture custom, better-fitting and functioning items, sometimes even at the point of care. And 3D printed medical items are even beginning to reduce the price of healthcare — by limiting return visits and even in some cases lowering the cost of devices. 

2. 3D Printing Is Enabling the Next Wave of Space Exploration

Recent commercial and research space missions have taken advantage of 3D printing to produce complex, lightweight parts — weight being a key consideration for anything that has to reach Earth’s atmosphere or get beyond it. 3D printed parts have been successfully used in space for years (see the Perseverance Mars rover for instance) but are becoming critical to advancing space exploration. The Artemis I mission launched in 2022 relied on multiple 3D printed components, like pogo accumulator assemblies within the Space Launch System (SLS) and ESD-safe parts used in the Orion space capsule. Going forward, AM may be the manufacturing method best suited to off-planet production of tools, replacement parts and even habitats for astronauts. 

3. 3D Printing Is Accelerating Electrification

Electrification is touching many markets including drones, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, scooters, and even dirt bikes, but the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) is enabling AM to make inroads into automotive never before possible. New EV startups and electrification efforts from established automakers, coupled with the supply chain disruptions of the last few years, have made 3D printing an attractive option for obtaining parts quickly and often locally. 3D printing is being applied to rapidly prototype new vehicles; for bridge production as manufacturing ramps up; and increasingly for production at scale. A greater variety of vehicles is possible through AM as well; PixMoving, for instance, uses a skateboard-style chassis made with 3D printed components that can be easily resized to suit whatever type of EV body is needed. 

4. 3D Printing Is Bringing New Material Possibilities

Materials that are difficult to cut or form, like ceramics and Inconel, are finding expanded opportunities through 3D printing where the change in process also removes these hurdles. 3D printing also makes it possible to use materials more frugally, in multiple senses. Reinforcing fibers can be placed with greater precision, and rare or expensive materials applied judiciously. Multimaterial capabilities make it possible to apply high-value substances like rare earth magnetic materials just where they are needed, reducing waste and cost. Material suppliers are also bringing brand-new polymers, alloys and composites to market tailored just for additive, such as resins with electro-static dissipative properties. And, the ease of 3D printing with alternative materials is challenging assumptions about which parts must be metal; in many cases, a 3D printed polymer or composite might be the better choice for cost or weight savings. 

5. 3D Printing Is Keeping Systems In Service Longer

Here again, recent supply chain disruptions have spurred AM into new applications for what might be very old parts. 3D printing is increasingly being applied to upgrade systems for efficiency and to produce legacy items that are no longer available. Additive is not necessarily winning here because it is the cheapest option, but it is likely to be the fastest option. Compared to waiting for a casting, OEMs are finding it more expedient to reimagine components for 3D printing. The parts pictured below are part of a Siemens Energy generator cover ring that would have taken up to a year to receive as a bronze casting; the company redesigned the ring to be 3D printed in pieces, producing the complete component in just 18 weeks. Legacy replacement parts are also important for establishing the viability of additive parts in various verticals; if replacement parts are successful, the case for 3D printed parts in new products advances.

6. 3D Printing Is Altering Consumer Goods

There are a growing selection of 3D printed consumer products already available in markets like footwear, sporting equipment, jewelry and even furniture. Additive manufacturing has found footing here as a means of producing custom items, as well as increasingly mass-produced goods. But the transformation on the horizon now for 3D printed consumer goods has more to do with end-of-life plans for these items; AM can deliver products that use fewer materials and less material overall, potentially offering a path to goods that are easier to recycle when they are no longer needed.  

7. 3D Printing Is Changing What "Production" Means

Traditionally production has meant manufacturing thousands or millions of identical parts at large, centralized factories, but with 3D printing, that model no longer applies. Additive manufacturing makes variety possible; rather than millions of identical parts, production can look like batches of similar parts tailored to specific applications or users. Production doesn’t have to happen all at once, either; products and parts can live in a digital warehouse rather than a physical one, to be produced only when they are needed. Manufacturing can be decentralized and distributed across multiple production sites, with technologies such as biometrics and blockchain being deployed to protect files. Through 3D printer networks and other distributed manufacturing models, production can become “glocal,” with goods available globally but manufactured locally. 

8. 3D Printing Is Changing Who Can Be A Manufacturer

With additive manufacturing, barriers to entry are falling away. It is no longer the case that it requires large amounts of capital and equipment to develop a product and launch it into the market; an individual can get started with just an idea and an affordable desktop printer. Products can be produced as they are sold, on demand, removing the need to make and store excess inventory and allowing the inventor to continue to iterate. It is not even necessary to own or operate the 3D printer anymore, with the advent of manufacturing networks that will handle production and pay out royalties to designers who list their products through these services. The reductions in startup challenges have helped manufacturing reshore in some cases, and enter locations where it has never been done in others. Designers, students, inventors, creators and companies that have not previously made their own products are becoming manufacturers through 3D printing.