Additive manufacturing (3D printing) has matured and is being adopted beyond prototyping. As technologies improve and costs decrease, 3D printing allows for greater design flexibility, reduced lead times, and customized products. While prototyping remains common, other growing uses include product development, innovation, and efficiency gains. Wider adoption faces challenges around file formats, production volumes, and the need for more engineers experienced in 3D printing design.

1. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING HAS FINALLY COME OF AGE
In 1987, the first form of Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, was
commercialized and brought to market. The technology was slow to catch on
because support elements such as materials, software, robotics, and a little thing
called the internet, weren’t fully realized. This forced most manufacturers to limit
AM to strictly prototyping applications. Today is a different story.
With patents expiring and IP barriers tumbling down, new entrants into the
industry are causing an explosion of popularity with 3D printing machines. As new
possibilities and opportunities are sought and realized, 3D printers are being made to
print a larger range of materials, faster and more reliably. This, in turn, is persuading
industrial manufacturers, from aerospace to education, to bring this revolutionary
technology into their product development processes.
THE FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING
MOVING BEYOND PROTOTYPING

2. The Future of 3D Printing 1
RETHINKING TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING
The key to understanding the value of 3D printing is to think of it as not just another
manufacturing tool, but a way to bring greater value to an entire business. As industries begin to
adopt AM, key elements of traditional manufacturing are being transformed – beginning with the
basics of how parts are designed.
Prototyping
24.5%
Product Development
16.1%
Innovation (create new items that are
impossible using traditional methods)
16.1%
Improved or expanded
product line
4.5%
New revenue sources
4.8%
Develop customized/
personalized products
8.0%
Increased efficiency
9.6%
Improving supply
chain sourcing
3.4%
Cost reduction
9.4%
Improving supply
chain logistics
3.1%
Transformed customer
experience/service
4.2%
Other
1.3%
While prototyping is still the biggest reason manufacturers are pursuing 3D technology,
product development and innovation are both quickly growing.
Source: Gartner (November 2014), Wohlers 2016

3. The Future of 3D Printing 2
REDUCED LEAD TIMES
The ability to print on demand with AM reduces the need to stock physical inventory. This allows
companies to respond to requests for new or specialty parts as they receive them, instead of
being forced to anticipate future demand for weeks, months, or years at a time.
INCREASED PART DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
Standard or conventional manufacturing techniques, like injection
molding, are limited in terms of the spectrum of shapes they
can create. This greatly reduces their versatility. AM removes
these barriers, making shapes once only possible in nature
or the imagination more viable.
As complex shapes become easier to produce, so do
complex assemblies. The time, costs, and effort required
to optimize parts containing numerous components or
different materials, including metals, can be significantly
reduced. As multi-material 3D printing continues to
develop, new blends and unexplored material mash-ups
will become ever more accessible.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Hydrogen oxygen injector was originally comprised of more
than 150 parts and required months to manufacture. With 3D printing technology, the assembly
has been reduced to just two printed metal parts and can be built in 10 days.
AM Potential Time Saving Benefits to Manufacturing Process
CUSTOMIZED
DESIGN
DESIGN
VALIDATION
DESIGN TOOLING
DESIGN
TIME SAVINGS
WITHOUT
AM
WITH
AM
DESIGN
VALIDATION
BUILD
PREPARATION
3D PRINT WHERE
NEEDED ON
DEMAND
POST PROCESS
POST PROCESS/
ASSEMBLY
TOOL
MANUFACTURING
CENTRALIZED
PART
MANUFACTURING
DISTRIBUTIONTOOLING
VALIDATION

4. The Future of 3D Printing 3
A NEW TYPE OF EXPERTISE
The biggest change? Traditional manufacturing expertise does not
apply to the new rules of AM. Although it offers significantly
more design freedom, 3D printing comes with a new
set of design constraints and, arguably, more complex
considerations must be made before manufacturing
additively. What orientation should the parts be built in?
How important is surface finish? Are there any functional
or aesthetic features on the part that should be free
of support structures? The machines themselves are no
more intelligent but the process is much more complex,
so designers, operators and the software will have more
to decide.
WHAT ARE INDUSTRY INSIDERS SAYING?
SOLIDWORKS®
Product Portfolio Manager Mark Ruston sat down with two industry leaders to
discuss how they see the role of 3D printing evolving.
Adrian Lannin is the Executive Director of the 3MF Consortium and Group Program Manager at
Microsoft, where he manages the 3D Printing team.
Mark: How important will 3D printing/AM be over the next 3 years?
Adrian: AM is already delivering significant benefits in certain industries. Over
the next three years I expect other industries to see this success and begin to
adopt AM as well. The aircraft industry is a great example where this is a clear value
proposition for AM, with its ability to create parts that are stronger and lighter than parts
made using traditional manufacturing. Other industries that can benefit from this value
will take note. I expect that we’ll see the automotive industry doing even more with AM.
One of the major challenges that will need to be addressed is the ability to do AM at volume.
There are so many opportunities to use AM in high tech devices, for example, but today
it’s hard for AM to scale to the required volume.
Mark: What the biggest benefit/where is the greatest value of using AM?
Adrian: AM’s greatest value varies depending on the industry. The ability to create highly
customized or individualized products delivers great value where items are designed for
individuals, such as unique jewellery, or hearing aid shells and other medical uses. The ability
to create parts that are lighter than parts made using traditional manufacturing techniques is
incredibly valuable to the aircraft industry. In short, you could say that AM’s greatest value is
in its flexibility. It is a tool that helps provide solutions that, in many cases, we couldn’t
produce before.
Mark: What do you see as the biggest barrier to wider adoption of AM?
Adrian: I see a few challenges on the horizon for AM but there are two I’d like to highlight.
First, too many AM workflows are still using out-of-date inadequate file formats and therefore,
not utilizing the full potential of AM. Adoption of a file format such as 3MF will help to drive
market growth, improve an organization’s operational efficiency, and unlock the potential of
AM. The second barrier is a lack of manufacturing engineers who understand AM, so that they
can design parts that take full advantage of the benefits of AM.
Using Selective Laser Melting, an AM technique, Robot Bike Co. created custom geometry
frames and innovative joint interfaces for their lightweight, carbon fiber bike frames.

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WORKING TOWARDS THE NEXT-GENERATION OF PRODUCT DESIGN
Fast and seamless 3D printing begins with solid 3D designs. And this is where SOLIDWORKS
comes in, as it encompasses a complete suite of design solutions that make it quick and easy to
prepare designs for print.
EXPLORE MORE.
Greg Paulsen is the Director of Project Engineering Group at Xometry, a CNC and 3D printing
on-demand service provider.
Mark: Do you see future 3D printers as a tool to add to your manufacturing process or a
machine that replaces the current process?
Greg: It (3D printing) brings a whole new dynamic to the manufacturing floor. If anything, 3D
printing opens opportunity to manufacturing options that did not exist before the technology.
Ultimately, if you design a part for CNC, you will eventually manufacture in CNC (even if
you prototype in 3D printing). If you design for 3D printing, you probably didn’t have CNC
in mind from the get go.
Mark: What industry sector will see the most benefit from 3D printing?
Greg: Custom electronic devices and IoT are huge contenders. All sectors find 3D printing helpful
but this industry tends to have a need for high-value, low-volume, custom parts that additive
manufacturing can easily deliver. Note that aerospace/medical can also fit that bill.
Mark: Do you see 3D printing driving the future of how objects are designed with regards to
both mechanical aspects and ergonomics?
Greg: Yes — but with the caveat that advanced software will help take the guesswork out of
the design process. SOLIDWORKS is making some great steps in this direction.