Large-scale 3D printing is becoming more and more popular within the additive manufacturing industry. With the industry advancing quickly and showing no signs of slowing down, users of 3D printing are looking to stay on top of the latest technologies.
According to a collection of reports compiled by AMFG, the anticipated annual growth rate until 2023 is anywhere between 18.2 - 27.2%. What was once a $3 billion industry in 2013 may exceed $30 billion in just a decade. This is driven primarily by major industrial players operating in North America, Europe and Asia. As adoption increases, so does the need for scalable technology that can solve the problems of today and tomorrow. As an industry we have historically looked at speed and reliability as major requirements, but recent data suggests that size has become a very important factor to industrial manufacturers, product developers and designers.
There are large format 3D printers available today that are being applied to a variety of industries and applications. For example, fabrication facilities and foundries are integrating larger printing technology to create new casting patterns that are more precise and cost effective. These foundry patterns can range from 100,000mm2 up to 400,000mm2 and are typically built through a manual process that is imperfect and expensive.
Being able to digitally design and 3D print with repeatable results continues to be a distinct advantage. The concept of large in this market is determined by application, and the one size fits all approach does not apply.
This was first published at https://bigrep.com/posts/bigger-is-better/
BigRep identifies three examples where bigger may be better when it comes to 3D printing, read here to find out if large-scale 3D printing is right for you.
