Top 5 Additive Manufacturing Trends You Can't Miss

It may have been four years since additive manufacturing (AM) suppliers last gathered at IMTS — International Manufacturing Technology Show, but the technology has done anything but stand still in that time frame. Covid forced many AM companies into action, as demand for PPE, medical equipment and testing swabs spiked. Others used the slowdown in 2020 to get back in the lab and finesse their technologies, rather than race to market. Supply chain disruptions in the wake of the pandemic were another spur driving AM forward, as OEMs found 3D printing to be a bridge production or sometimes permanent solution for obtaining the molded, forged or cast parts that had become difficult to obtain. 

Now in 2022, IMTS attendees can expect to see evidence of additive manufacturing’s maturity. The last four years have narrowed the gap between AM and many of its more conventional counterparts, and propelled the technology into more markets.

Whether you’re at the conference or keeping tabs from afar, here are five things to watch for from this year’s IMTS:

1. Parts for Electric Vehicles

EVs represent brand-new product lines for startups and established automakers alike, and this brings an opportunity. Without incumbent supply chains, tooling and processes, additive manufacturing can step in with a clean slate and bring all of its benefits in terms of geometric possibilities, lightweighting and consolidation. Look for 3D printed heat exchangers, pistons, brackets, aesthetic details and other components intended for these next-generation vehicles to get a sense of additive’s capabilities when given free rein. 

2. A Focus on Mold Tooling 

Injection mold tooling remains an important application for 3D printing, but new options have recently entered the market. You’ll find laser powder bed fusion printers exhibiting complex tools with conformal cooling of course, but also keep an eye out for processes based on easier-to-handle metal paste as well as printers that can use more durable plastics and polymer-based composites to deliver mold tooling suitable for prototype, bridge and short production runs. Mold tooling is becoming faster and cheaper to obtain with these solutions (and many can be applied to end-use parts as well). 

3. Higher Productivity Polymer 3D Printers 

Cost and speed have historically held polymer AM back from capturing production work. Several of the exhibitors at this year’s show are displaying digital light processing (DLP)-style machines and other polymer systems designed to optimize 3D printing, bring costs down, speed print cycles, and make this technology more competitive with injection molding. In most cases these machines are also highly effective for rapid prototyping, meaning that a new design can be printed, tested and validated before moving into production on the exact same platform. 

4. More Part Suppliers on the Show Floor 

The cost of getting started with additive manufacturing can be prohibitive, despite potential benefits. At this year’s IMTS, a significant number of exhibitors are highlighting not equipment, but services. Using these services rather than immediately bringing equipment in-house is an opportunity for manufacturers to test ideas and assumptions before going all-in on 3D printing. A good partner can not only help with design for additive manufacturing (DFAM), including process and material selection, but can also aid in developing and qualifying a production process, even for regulated industries such as aerospace and medical. 

5. More Options in Metal 3D Printing

Producing metal parts through 3D printing no longer requires a dedicated and very expensive machine, along with a host of postprocessing equipment. Keep an eye out for printheads that can be integrated into existing machine tools or with robots; smaller, more affordable metal printers; and systems that have been designed to minimize postprocessing, shortening the time from design to finished metal part. Another trend in metals worth mentioning? Multimaterial 3D printing. Look for show pieces that combine multiple alloys in a single print, like copper incorporated into steel for thermal transfer or Inconel added to surfaces for wear resistance.