From the very beginning, I realized a truth about 3D printing - that it would be a "long-lasting revolution". To this day, I still hold this belief because it perfectly encapsulates the growth potential of this technology and the impact it will have on industries and society as a whole.

Founder of Materialise

Fried Vancraen

Recently, Fried Vancraen, founder of Materialise, published an expert insight into additive manufacturing-3D printing technology, talking about the past and future of 3D printing technology from his 33 years in the industry. In this issue, 3D Science Valley will share the original article published by Mr. Fried Vancraen.

In 1990, my wife, Hilde, and I started Materialise Maris together on a remarkable journey. Our original intention was to utilize the potential of 3D printing technology to positively impact manufacturing. From the beginning, we recognized that this digital technology had the ability to revolutionize industrial manufacturing while saving people's lives.

Fried Vancraen, Founder, Materialise

© Materialise

“Long-term change”

For years, the 3D printing industry has left no stone unturned in touting how powerful the technology is in an effort to convince companies in the manufacturing industry of its potential. However, a survey commissioned by Materialise Maris and conducted by a consulting firm reveals a clear change. Manufacturing companies are no longer ignorant of 3D printing, but have begun to approach it step-by-step with a layout, hoping to use it on their final production lines. From the first step they take on this journey of change, they will be faced with a variety of challenges. The shortage of skilled labor is especially noticeable, while they also lack the expertise needed on how to seamlessly integrate 3D printing into their existing production processes. They believed that 3D printing could deliver significant business value, but had trouble getting the project off the ground and scaling it up. It's gone from being a "why" to a "how". This suggests a gradual slowdown in the adoption of 3D printing technology across industries.

However, I'm sure this isn't the only challenge companies face when preparing to adopt 3D printing technology. Many companies still face the huge challenge of building an effective and reliable digital system, which is essential for the stable use of 3D printing technology. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the great partnership between Intel and Microsoft, known as "Wintel," played a key role in driving the computer industry to new heights. By providing a standardized platform for hardware and software, Wintel created a stable and harmonious ecosystem. Despite occasional competition concerns, this interoperability led to rapid growth in software development, a wide range of applications, and a powerful user experience, ushering in the era of the "personal computer revolution".

Fast forward to today, and the IT landscape has changed dramatically. With a variety of platforms, interfaces, operating systems, cloud service providers, IoT devices, etc., this diversity provides users with a wealth of choice and flexibility, but also involves a certain amount of complexity and upgrade costs. Digitization-based 3D printing technology in this context, complexity will be a big issue. In this industry, companies must invest resources to ensure that their printers and accompanying software are compatible with a variety of devices, operating systems, business applications and file formats, among other issues. This not only creates additional costs, but also diverts resources that could be used for innovation and growth. This complexity can hinder the growth of the 3D printing industry, where interoperability and compatibility are critical, delaying the era of distributed manufacturing.

With Maris' digital manufacturing platform, CO-AM, we are taking on the challenge of providing manufacturers with an open software platform to efficiently manage, scale and standardize their production workflows across complex supply chains and diverse IT environments.

As my tenure as CEO of Materialise comes to an end, I miss those early days of "breaking new ground" and the excitement of the idea that we could use 3D printing to address real-world challenges. Now, 33 years later, as I think about the future of 3D printing, I find myself even more enthusiastic. I sincerely believe that the best is yet to come.

One of the most amazing features of 3D printing is its ability to produce complex shapes that were previously thought to be unobtainable through traditional manufacturing methods. This unique feature has solidified 3D printing's position as an innovative production technology capable of creating more versatile parts, such as more energy-efficient engines and heat exchangers that are vital in the fight against global warming. However, this technology needs requires industrial-grade costs. This limitation has kept 3D printing out of the top choices for traditional manufacturing.

Today, things are changing and faster, larger, more efficient machines, designed for a number of verticals, are coming to the market. This development is creating a new wave in our industry, and the dream of using 3D printing for true mass production is becoming possible.

This is my real commitment to "lasting change" - the ability to seamlessly integrate the design capabilities of 3D printing into industrial-scale production processes at industrial cost levels. This vision is taking shape, as leading manufacturers in China, Europe and the U.S. are utilizing more efficient, cost-competitive machines in a number of applications and cost-effectively mass-producing millions of parts and products, from the delicate hinges of a foldable smartphone to the casing of a stylish smartwatch.

In 2015, GE Aviation began printing fuel nozzles for jet engines, resulting in a 15% increase in fuel efficiency while reducing the number of parts per nozzle from 20 to 1. GE's fuel nozzles are quickly becoming a representative example for our industry. At Materialise, we have similarly created workflows based on digital medical images, demonstrating the ability of 3D printing to create personalized medical solutions, and we have pioneered one of the world's leading 3D printed eyewear businesses, enabling designers to experiment with complex shapes, fine structures and rich textures.

There is no doubt that our industry will continue to think, innovate and develop groundbreaking applications of 3D printing technology. Meanwhile, as we look for the next meaningful application to rekindle our industry's passion, "lasting change" is materializing before our eyes.

Under the strong leadership of our first CEO, Brigitte de Vet, Materialise will continue to explore and empower meaningful applications that could one day be on par with our existing medical and eyewear businesses. In the meantime, we are firmly committed to driving a change in manufacturing - the development of 3D printing technology - that will continue to be a "lasting change" in industrial manufacturing.