3D printing in Poland and worldwide is still developing. We are not only talking about producing from thermoplastic materials but also resins, metal, or even concrete. However, the crucial aspect of this field is the constant search for the answer to the question: "What is the most effective way to use this technology in practice?". There are many possibilities, but many are not the topic of conversations. They remain a secret and a kind of know-how of a company that uses printing for its business purposes.
In the industry, 3D printing can be an important element in maintaining production continuity. Moreover, it can be a way to produce tools that will speed up, facilitate, and help in the production and processing of semi-finished and finished products. However, to make the use of 3D printing more and more popular and more frequently and widely used, it is necessary to develop the materials and devices that support them.
The use of 3D printing in the company and the purchase of the device must be supported by the need to optimize certain activities. 3D printing can be used for prototyping or creating molds for castings, production of individual parts or geometrically unusual elements.
Constant expansion of the range of products by manufacturers, both 3D printers and printing materials, should be treated as the creation of new opportunities and adaptation of the technology to an increasingly wider group of customers. Eventually, more durable and damage-resistant materials are created, and consequently, it is necessary to optimize the devices that handle them.
The prospects for development of the 3D printing market for the coming years
We asked the ATMAT specialists to answer the key issues in the development of 3D printing in Poland, as well as 3D printers.
As Paweł Dziura, Project Manager says, the development of the 3D printing market can be classified into two main categories:
1) refining of existing and commercially available technologies,
2) developing, refining and introducing completely new technologies to the market.
Refining the existing and commercially available technologies for the group of FDM printers is primarily associated with continuous improvement of printer parameters such as print speed, acceleration, model reproduction accuracy. It will be possible thanks to breaking down barriers that currently hinder this development (e.g. problems with head stiffness at high accelerations, problems with melting material at high printing speeds, etc.).
Breaking these barriers will be possible thanks to the continuous competition of companies involved in the production of 3D printers and competition on the market of 3D printing material suppliers. The polymer materials used in the production of the filaments are enriched with a significant number of additives, thanks to which they achieve the parameters desired for 3D printing technology, and it is the improvement of these materials that can have a key impact on development opportunities for the entire market.
-says Paweł Dziura, Project Manager ATMAT
He also adds that the market for 3D printing can grow and improve due to the availability of an increasingly wide range of printing materials, including primarily polymer-based composite materials.
The development prospects for printers working with SLA or SLS technologies are based on improving the materials used so that the printed elements have better mechanical strength. It is also important to reduce the loss of material during printing and reduce printing costs. The improvement of these aspects will allow increasing the demand for printers and printouts.
At the same time as the above technologies are developed, the 3D printing market is growing in completely new directions. First of all, 3DCP technology (3D Concrete / Construction Printing), i.e. general printing from concrete masses, is being developed more and more widely worldwide. While the technology itself is being developed by a growing number of companies around the world, few of them have started commercial implementation of the technology - most of them remain in the research field. There are many more barriers in this category, which will come up against as research and science progresses. Also this industry needs to develop in order to attract a wider audience.In the case of 3DCP technology, current building regulations and laws are a very important aspect of development. Currently, they do not in any way standardize buildings created in 3D printing technology. A logistics of machines and printouts is also a barrier or obstacle in this industry. Another challenge is the completely different specificity of the material, which is primarily very heavy and less compact than polymers and needs a considerable amount of time to stabilize its shape (solidify). The speed of solidification can be adjusted / improved by using additives to the mixture.
Except for printing from concrete, the development of printers for printing composite reinforced with continuous fibers or printers for ceramic masses is also interesting.
-says Paweł Dziura, Project Manager ATMAT
Is it worth looking for new devices on the market? Or maybe the available technologies and materials are sufficient to satisfy the business objectives of various industries?
Of course, as already mentioned, the dynamics of change is the correlation between the new materials and the 3D printers that support them. However, there is still unused potential in the range of publicly available materials and devices.
While selecting the technology, material and target device for 3D printing it is worth to pay attention:
- purpose (what kind of elements will be printed). The material for printing should be selected depending on the purpose. The material, in turn, determines the capabilities of the printer. We are talking about: the temperature that the head, work table, and chamber (if there is a closed chamber) are able to reach and maintain.
- Compatibility with commonly available nozzles is also important, whether or not it is necessary to use an adhesive agent. An important factor influencing the choice of a 3D printer should be the printing speed that the drive is able to achieve on each axis.
- Positioning accuracy (it should be taken into account that the accuracy of execution will vary depending on the method). For example, the accuracy of 0.2 mm in FDM printing is the standard accuracy of execution.
- The way the printer is used also plays an important role - whether the printer will be used by individuals (for hobby purposes), for production (constantly used), for R&D or used occasionally.
-says Jarosław Wołek, Assembly and implementation engineer ATMAT
We have described more about choosing a 3D printer in the article: How to choose a professional 3D printer for your company?
Perhaps 3D printing is still not a suitable tool in all industries. Probably something that has some disadvantages today will be eliminated in the near or far future. However, at this point in time 3D printing has a lot of advantages, which are worth knowing by having the model printed in a 3D printing house. It may turn out that additive manufacturing is a technology that will change some processes in your company.
It should also be noted that designers and technologists have a big impact on the occurrence of 3D printing technology. They are the ones who, while designing solutions or improving processes, predict its application. Often, thanks to the use of 3D printing in a given construction or process, the company can find savings that will make it more competitive on the market, which in consequence will translate into the development of the company.
The authors: Paweł Dziura, Jarosław Wołek, Kinga Bugno