The following article comes from SZEI Research

Additive manufacturing technology is a disruptive advanced manufacturing technology, which has been widely used in many fields such as aerospace, automotive, marine, defense industry, medical and health care, etc., and brands such as Apple and Glory are beginning to apply it to the manufacturing of cell phone parts.The global market size of $18 billion in 2022 is expected to reach nearly $100 billion by 2030. (3D Printing) Industry Research Report

01 Additive Manufacturing Advantages and Application Areas

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is based on three-dimensional model data, the use of powdered metals or plastics and other bondable materials, using layer-by-layer superimposed materials (layer-by-layer printing), the direct manufacture of entities or parts that are identical to the corresponding digital model. Additive manufacturing is a representative disruptive technology in the manufacturing industry, unlike the traditional manufacturing industry through cutting and other machining methods to remove the material so as to form the "subtractive" material manufacturing, additive manufacturing through the bottom-up layer-by-layer superimposition of materials, three-dimensional entities into a number of two-dimensional planes, significantly reducing the complexity of manufacturing, simplifying the production process, avoiding the production cycle time. Production process, to avoid the long production cycle, high cost, difficult to produce complex parts and other shortcomings.

At present, additive manufacturing technology in processable materials, processing accuracy, surface roughness, processing efficiency and other aspects of the traditional precision machining technology, there is still a big gap, but because of its new technical principles and characteristics, in a variety of application scenarios have the advantage of using, can be used as a supplement to the traditional precision machining technology. Metal 3D printing technology, for example, compared with traditional precision machining technology, its material utilization rate can reach 95%, while in China's aviation forgings material utilization rate of about 15-25%, compared to 3D printing will significantly reduce the cost of materials, with a "to mold, reduce waste, reduce inventory" characteristics, can shorten the new product R & D and realization cycle, to achieve integration, lightweight design, but also to achieve excellent mechanical properties.

Table 1 Comparison between metal 3D printing technology and traditional precision machining technology

Source: Platinum Prospectus.

At present, additive manufacturing technology has been widely used in aerospace, automotive, marine, defense and military industry, energy power, rail transportation, petrochemical, medical and health care, electronics, molds and dies, cultural creativity, architecture, cultural and creative fields. According to the Wohlers Report 2022 released by Wohlers Associates, a U.S. consulting organization engaged in the research of the additive manufacturing industry, additive manufacturing in 2021 is mainly used in aerospace, automotive, consumer and electronic products, medical/dental, and academic and scientific research, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1 Global Additive Manufacturing Application Areas, 2021

Source: Wohlers Associate "Wohlers Report 2022", Huashu Hi-Tech Prospectus.

——Aerospace applications. In the field of aerospace, due to the complexity of parts and components, high processing costs of traditional processes and lightweight requirements and other factors, additive manufacturing has developed into a key core technology to enhance the design and manufacturing capabilities, able to realize any complex component forming and multi-material integration manufacturing, breaking through the traditional manufacturing technology on the structure of the size, complexity, molding material limitations, the application of the scene is becoming more and more diversified. The European Space Agency (ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SpaceX and Relativity Space are using additive manufacturing technology to produce rocket ignition devices, thruster nozzles, combustion chambers and fuel tanks, the United States, GE, Boeing (Boeing), Raytheon, France Airbus (Aribus), Safran (Safran) using additive manufacturing technology. technology to produce commercial aero-engine parts, military aircraft fuselage parts, aircraft ducts, cabin parts and so on. At the same time, additive manufacturing components have also been widely used in the domestic aerospace field, has successfully participated in dozens of launches and missions such as Tianwen 1, practice satellites, Beidou navigation system, etc., China's aerospace academies such as Aerospace Academy, Aerospace Academy, Aerospace Academy, Aerospace Academy, Sixth Aerospace Academy, AVIC Commercial Aviation, etc., are actively utilizing 3D printing technology to manufacture related parts.

——Automotive Applications. 3D printing in the field of automobile manufacturing is mainly applied to automobile design, parts development, and interior and exterior decoration. In terms of design, the application of 3D printing technology can realize mold-free design and manufacturing, and can guide the innovation in lightweight, integration, personalization and functionalization of parts at the design stage. In manufacturing, 3D printing technology can enhance the manufacturing efficiency and production quality of parts, realize the displacement path of parts lightweight manufacturing and quality reduction, carry out the processing of complex structural molds, and strengthen the control of manufacturing accuracy, meanwhile, additive manufacturing integrated forming technology allows the integration of multiple parts into a single part, which can reduce the weight of complex key components. In terms of maintenance, 3D printing technology allows for the fabrication of door handles, hubs, cylinders, transmissions and other basic components.

——Medical Applications. 3D printing by virtue of the characteristics of personalized customization in the medical field has gradually been widely used, the main application direction includes the manufacture of medical models, surgical guides, surgical / dental implants, rehabilitation equipment, etc. (the main materials include plastics, resins, metals, polymer composites, etc.), as well as biological 3D printing of human tissues, organs and so on. At present, the application in dentistry is gradually maturing, mainly used in the manufacture of dental crowns and bridges and other restorative materials, including denture printing, orthodontic production, etc.. In orthopedic implantation is also developing rapidly, and is now beginning to use metal 3D printing technology to produce total knee implants, acetabular cups, spinal implants and so on. In the field of audiology, it is mainly used to manufacture hearing aid components such as cochlea and auditory ossicles. In the field of cardiology and neurology, it is mainly used to manufacture cardiac stents and brain implants.

——Applications in the field of defense industry. The application of 3D printing technology in the design and manufacture of weapons and equipment, as well as maintenance and security, has gradually become popular, for example, it is possible to use 3D printing technology to produce complex parts and components for high-end weapons and equipment, such as fighter jets, which are in short supply in maintenance. In the military manufacturing production model, in addition to on-demand convenient production, 3D printing technology also allows the creation of advanced customization and specialized equipment. For example, soldiers can have customized helmets, bulletproof vests and other protective equipment, can quickly print prosthetic limbs and joints for the wounded on the battlefield, and build barracks and fortifications anywhere, anytime.

——Consumer electronics and other consumer goods applications. 3D printing technology helps to reduce R&D and time costs in product development and production phases, such as assembly and functional verification, appearance and performance testing, ergonomics, rapid prototyping, and volume manufacturing. Apple is expected to release the Apple Watch Ultra smartwatch in the second half of the year, some of the titanium mechanical parts will use 3D printing process. In the future, it is possible to replace the previous aluminum alloy with titanium for the middle frame structural parts on the iPhone 15. Glory's recently released Glory MagicV2 folding flagship, the hinge of the shaft cover part of the first time to use titanium alloy 3D printing process. In other consumer product areas, 3D printing technology can help accelerate product design, optimization and iteration, and enhance and enrich product performance, such as lightweight and personalized sports equipment tailored for athletes.

——Mold field applications. 3D printing has been widely used in areas such as shoe molds and shape-following cooling molds. Optimizing the design of the cooling water circuit without the limitation of the complexity of the water circuit improves the cooling efficiency and productivity of the molds.

02 Additive Manufacturing Process Route

Additive manufacturing technology has been in existence for nearly 40 years since its inception, and a variety of technological routes currently coexist. According to the molding principle, there are seven main processes of additive manufacturing, as shown in the table below.