3D Printing Technology 9 Dimensional

Assessment (Technical Insights)

Ushering the Future of Manufacturing and Creativity

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December 2014

Contents
Content

Slide No.

Executive Summary

Technology Status Outlook

Global Innovation Hotspots and Thrust Areas

15

Societal Impact of 3D Printing

25

Influence Landscape

27

Strategic Perspectives

30

Key Patents and Key Contacts

36

The Frost & Sullivan Story

42

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Executive Summary

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Research Scope
The future of three-dimensional (3D) printing and its market implications will be determined by the breadth
and depth of application potential it carries, and its ability to unleash a whole new world of application
segments. Right from printing a mobile phone cover to reconstructing human organs, 3D printing has shown
its technology capability in the world of prototyping. However, 3D printing shows a very optimistic scenario
and its impact in the future is expected to go beyond market predictions across multiple industries.
The research service offers insights on the following:

Current status of the technology

Innovations from around the globe
The societal impacts of 3D printing technology
Business implications of 3D printing technology
Market Opportunities
Future of printing technology

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Research Methodology

Technology Journals
Periodicals
Market Research Reports
Technology Policy Information
Sites
Internal Databases
Thought Leader Briefings

Technology
Patent
Review
R&D Networks

Innovators &
Innovations

Assess
Industry

Patents

Secondary Research
Primary Research

Engineers
CTOs/CEOs/CIOs
Technical Architects
Research Heads
Strategic Decision Makers
Technology Policy Heads

Research Methodology
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Commercialization

Interview
Participants

Stakeholder
Insights,
Stakeholder
Insights,
Perspectives
&
Perspectives & Strategies
Strategies

Outcome: New product development

(NPD) and commercialization strategy

Research Process
5

Research Methodology (continued)

To provide a thorough analysis of each topic, Technical Insights analysts perform a review of patents to become familiar with the
major developers and commercial participants and their processes. Building on the patent search, the analysts review abstracts
to identify key scientific and technical papers that provide insights into key industry participants and the technical processes, on
which they work.

The analysts then create a detailed questionnaire with content created to address the research objectives of the study, which
functions as a guide during the interview process. While the analysts use structured questionnaires to guarantee coverage of all
the desired issues, they also conduct interviews in a conversational style. This approach results in a more thorough exchange of
views with the respondents and offers greater insight into the relevant issues than more structured interviews may provide.

The analysts conduct primary research with the key industry participants and technology developers to obtain the required
content. Interviews are completed with sources located across the world, in universities, national laboratories, governmental and
regulatory bodies, trade associations, and end-user companies, among other key organizations.

Our analysts contact the major commercial participants to find out about the advantages and disadvantages of processes and the
drivers and challenges behind technologies and applications. Our analysts talk to the principal developers, researchers,
engineers, business developers, analysts, strategic planners, and marketing experts, among other professionals.

The project management and research team reviews and analyzes the research data that are gathered and adds its
recommendations to the draft of the final study. Having conducted both published studies and custom proprietary research
covering many types of new and emerging technology activities as well as worldwide industry analysis, the management and
research team adds its perspective and experience to provide an accurate and timely analysis.

The analysts then prepare a written final study for each project and sometimes present key findings in briefings to clients.
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Key Findings
USA Spearheading
Innovations in 3D Printing

Continuous Funding
Required for Advancing 3D
Printing
Government funding as well as
backing up of Technology startups
are required to enable wide scale
adoption
of
3D
printing
technologies.

University Research
Key to Innovations
Major innovations in 3D Printing are
expected to come out of university
research.
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The maximum number of patents have

been filed in the United Sates in the last
5 years.

Various Manufacturing
Sectors to get boost from
3D Printing
Key Findings

Automotive and aerospace sectors are

seen to be the major beneficiaries of
3D printing technology.

New Business Models

Key to Mass
Commercialization
Developing new business models for this novel
technology would help in the wide scale adoption of
the technology in various industrial sectors.
7

Technology Status Outlook

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Technology Landscape
Current & Future Scenario

Overview

3D printing is a layered manufacturing process that can

be used to produce heterogeneous, multi-material parts
or objects.

In this process, 3D objects are fabricated by printing

various materials in different locations, through separate
ink-jet nozzles.

Trends

Market Potential

An increasing trend toward personal manufacturing and

small scale production is leading to favorable growth for
this technology.

Increase in popularity with the development of

heterogeneous material manufacturing capability.

3DP

3D printing has a growing market capability in

aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and consumer
products.

3D printing is expected to increase its market share

rapidly to about 40% by 2015.

Significance

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3D printing is expected to see wider usage in biomedical

applications and customized manufacturing, apart from
the well established application sectors, namely
automobile and aerospace.

Using 3D printing, it becomes possible to develop an

agile manufacturing environment, which may reduce the
lead time from conception to the production stage by as
much as much as 70% or more, depending on the type of
manufacturing desired.

Technology Categorization
Stereolithography
(SLA)

Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM)

The system uses thermoplastic

material, which is melted to a
semi-liquid state and extruded
according to computercontrolled paths.

Selective Laser
Sintering (SLS)

A stereolithography apparatus
uses liquid plastic, a perforated
platform, and a UV laser to print
3D objects.

Major Additive
Manufacturing
Technologies

Electron Beam
Melting (EBM)
A focused beam of
high-energy electrons
is used to melt the
metal powder layer by
layer in the vacuum as
per the pre-defined
dimensions.

Selective Laser
Melting (SLM)

Laminated Object
Manufacturing
(LOM)

Small particles of plastic, glass, or

ceramics are fused together from a
high-powered laser to form a solid
3D object.

An economic process in which

layers of adhesive-laminated paper
or plastic sheets are glued together
and cut to create complex shapes.

Similar to electron beam melting, this method

creates complex objects by completely melting the
metal powder using a high-powered laser beam.
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Market Opportunity
Key Trending Markets and Applications Landscape
Consumer and Commercial

Architecture

As popularity of retail owners adopting

3D printing business model increases,
the industry will witness 3D printer
manufacturers collaborating with retail
giants.

3D printing is being used for both

personal and commercial purposes to
develop architectural models for
buildings; however, the sector is also
witnessing intensive research on
building entire houses using 3D
printing.

Automotive

Aerospace and Defense

The industry has seen the use of 3D

printing for mass production of critical
components that go into an automobile,
reducing the processing time and
operational and supply chain cost.

3D printing is being used popularly in

the production of both prototypes and
final components for space craft,
commercial and defense aircrafts,
engine components, and ammunition
parts.

Industrial
Rapid prototyping has proven
advantageous in many industries, and
the quantity and quality of the
prototypes that replicate the features of
the original material is showing a steep
increase.

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Medical and Dental

Development technologies for digital
medicine will further aid 3D printing to
penetrate the sector. With access to
digital data, the task of 3D printing of
artificial limbs, prosthetics, knee
implants, and dental implants becomes
easier.

11

Technology Mapping
Applicability of Technologies Across Applications

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Factors Influencing Developments

Growth Drivers

Long Term
(>6 years)

Manufacturing of parts using 3D

printing is largely based on
optimized computer-aided design
(CAD) files and models based on
virtual image model in addition to
the direct manufacturing process.
The large number of tooling and
process steps that are used in the
conventional
process
are
eliminated. Can produce near net
shape parts, minimizing postprocessing
The key industry players from
different market sectors can
greatly benefit from the reduction
in the amount of tooling and
process steps.

Reduction in
Carbon Footprint

Ease of Usage

With the introduction of

3D
printing, the cost associated with the
manufacturing and design process
has significantly reduced.
Some of the key industry players in
the 3D printing sector who
specialize in the mass customization
of the manufacturing process are
Shapeways, Materialise, QuickParts,
and RedEye.
A key trend observed in the industry
is that there is an increased focus by
both by the companies and
universities in expanding the
different
types
of
materials
(including
metals)
for
manufacturing in the 3D printing
industry.

The 3D printing process

enables the manufacturing
industries to obtain proof of
concept
for
the
manufactured/prototyped
item before the final delivery
of the product.
This feature aids technicians
and product developers to
forecast key factors such as
performance and accuracy
thereby
enabling
greater
product success.
The
advantage
for
manufacturers is that with 3D
printing technology the use of
complicated product testing
methods can be significantly
reduced, thereby reducing cost
and time.

Reduction in tooling and

process steps required to
manufacture certain parts
using 3D printing technology
when
compared
to
conventional
manufacturing
methods would
reduce
intervention by humans and
also reduce use of logistics.
This will help reduce the
amount of carbon print that
might be developed from both
conventional tooling process
and logistical activities.

Impact
High

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Low

Medium

Medium Term
(4-5 years)

Short Term
(1-3 Years)

Mass Customization

Reduction of Manufacturing
Process Cost

13

Factors Influencing Developments

Industry Challenges
Challenges
Short

Medium

Long

Comments

Applicability for Large

Systems

Rapid prototyping technology has not yet been tested for large
scale applications and for large scale physical object
manufacturing. Hence, the validity for the technology over
large scale systems and implementation are still questionable.

High-Initial Cost

The initial cost for establishing a rapid prototyping service

is expected to be high considering the technologys current
adoption rate.
Price of the developed products is also expected to be high,
taking into account increased initial investment.

Need to Improve Part

Surface Finish

Current practice involves hand finishing.

The trend is toward non-tactile post-processing techniques,
but perhaps new processes will be developed that address
this critical technological aspect.

Need for Increased Real

Time Control in Additive
Manufacturing Machines

Most of the machines available in the market have open loop

circuits.
As a result there is minimal real-time control over working
of the machines. Arcam's EBM (Electron Beam Melting)
technology is an exception and has real-time control.

Impact Legend
High Medium Low
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Global Innovation Hotspots and Thrust Areas

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Innovation Hotspots
Europe

North America

Sigma Labs, USA

Autodesk/Local Motors, USA
Boeing, USA
Organovo Holdings Inc., USA
Shackleton Energy Company,
USA

North America has the largest

adoption of this technology in the
world.
Main focus areas include advanced
aerospace and defense sector,
automotive sector, 3D printed
metal parts.
Major funding agencies include:
Department of Defense (DoD) ,
National Science Foundation
(NSF), and DARPA.

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Materialise, Belgium
Concept Laser, Germany
Envisiontec, Germany
Mcor Technologies, Ireland

EUROPE

NORTH
AMERICA

Asia

ASIA

The rate of adoption is slower in

Europe when compared to the
North American region.
Efforts mainly focused on multi
material 3D printing and laserbased additive manufacturing
and its applications for naval and
industrial parts manufacturing,
and so on.
Marked increase in the funding
for 3D printing by automotive
companies; major funding source
is the European Union (EU)s 7th
Framework Programme (FP7).

Imaginarium, India
Brahma3, India

India aims to develop 3D printing

for mass manufacturing of
components for various industrial
sectors.
Mostly reliant on mass
manufacturing as the cost of the
technology reduces in the future,
the adoption is likely to be higher.

16

Innovators Profiles

Sigma Labs, USA

Sigma Labs has developed a innovative technology named PRINTRITE3D, that is used in the
PRINTRITE3D DEFORM quality testing module developed by the company.
Deploying this technology and the products that use this technology would increase the production
efficiency and the quality of the products that are manufactured using 3D printing technology.

Autodesk/Local
Motors, USA

Autodesk have developed an innovative 3D printing open source software called Spark for OEMs and
hobbyists to manufacture their products using the 3D printing technology.
The company has used Spark to develop the first fully 3D printed car.

Boeing, USA

Organovo Holdings
Inc., USA

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Boeing has been working with universities in the US for developing parts and products that are to be
used in its airplanes.

The company has a number of bioprinting projects that are focused on developing human tissues.
The company also has developed an artificial human liver using four-dimensional (4D) printing
technology, which is expected to be commercialized by 2016.

17

Innovators Profiles (continued)

Shackleton Energy
Company, USA

The company in collaboration with a few researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), who are working as design advisors, is developing an entire pipeline space infrastructure for
fuelling and energy extraction.

Materialise,
Belgium

Streamics, is the innovative 3D printing software from Materialise.

This new software enables the automation and optimization of the manufacturing process, resulting in
significantly increased efficiency and other benefits, in terms of reduced cost and time, as compared to
competing products.

Concept Laser,
Germany

Concept Lasers cost-effective LaserCUSING technology offers the possibility to create metal parts
that demonstrate special functions and enable structures that cannot be produced by conventional
methods.

Mcor Technologies,
Ireland

Mcors 3D printer utilizes paper, one of the most accessible and commonly used raw materials for
printing.
The most unique characteristic and strength of 3D printing lies in its ability to print multiple models
and designs and it gives users pick the right design from a variety of designs as opposed to traditional
prototyping techniques, which rely on the best design ,and then print it at a very high cost.

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Patent Landscape
Patents Filed versus Published

Figure above shows the distribution of issued patents across different patent offices. As can be seen, the USPTO is the most preferred destination for filing,
followed by China, Japan and European Patent Office.
Source: USPTO; Espacenet, WIPO Patenscope Analysis, Frost & Sullivan Analysis

Top Patent Assignees

While Fujistu and NEC Corp have been active patent

assignees in the 3D printing industry in the past,
newer companies such as, Stratasys Inc., and 3D
Systems have been the assignees in recent times.
This reveals that newer companies hold patents to
latest innovations while Fujitsu stills hold patents for
technologies that are either obsolete or outdated.

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Innovation Domains from Patent Activity

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Funding Initiatives and Focus Areas

Funding/
Grant

Move towards affordable,

high-resolution 3D
printers for commercial
applications

Technology
development and
commercialization

Government
Agencies
Contract

Expanding the
application
scope into
newer territories

Focus
Areas

Widening research
teams and marketing
activities

China formed an Industry Alliance in 2012 to

promote and develop 3D printing technology. The
3D printing Industry Alliance established an
Innovation Center in Chengdu and invested close to
$80 million and also received additional support of
$16 million from the Shuangliu government.
Recently, Materialise joined hands with the 3D
Printing Technology Association to strategically
develop and unleash the full potential of Chinas 3D
printing industry.
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NASA
recently
funded
Systems and Materials
Research Consultancy of
Austin,
Texas,
with
$125,000 for a phase 1
feasibility study to develop
a 3D printer that prints food
for long duration space
missions.

Improving the
performance features of
the printing technology

Private
Funding/
Crowd
Sourcing

Innovating newer
business models

In a round led by DFJ growth,

Formlabs
(designers
and
manufacturers of the Form 1 3D
Printer) raised $19 million in
funding
to expand its research
teams and marketing activities.
Other investors in this round
included Pitango Venture Capital,
Innovation Endeavors, and other
angel investor.

Formlabs
provides
an
affordable, high-resolution 3D
printer (still in testing) for
designers, engineers, and
serious
hobbyists.
The
company
raised
over
$100,000 in less than 3 hours
and reached over $1.5 million
in 1 week.

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Tax Incentives Across the Globe for the Manufacturing Sector

Benefits Favouring Adoption of 3DP
North America USA

Asia Pacific
Australia provides a tax credit equal to 40% or
45% of eligible R&D expenditure, with the
excess refundable to small and medium entities.
China offers a 150% deduction for eligible
R&D expenditures for eight selected technology
areas including manufacturing.
In the APAC, the governments are seen to offer
tax benefits for key players from other countries
trying to establish their manufacturing plants in
this region.

The US Government has announced

various tax benefits and credits
in
addition to providing incentives for the
domestic manufacturing companies in a
bid
to
increase
the
domestic
manufacturing capacity.
The US Government is also providing
R&D tax credit for small and medium
manufacturers for improving their
research
activities
in
various
manufacturing sectors.

Tax Benefits can support adoption of emerging

manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing

Europe

The UK government offers two volumebased incentives, one that is available to for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
and the other for large companies.
In Germany, the government offers tax
benefits in terms of grants for SMEs, which
excel in innovations pertaining to the
manufacturing sector thereby increasing the
R&D activities in the country.

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Conducting Futuristic R&D

Increasing Manufacturing Capacity

Bolstering R&D Activities

Meeting R&D Expenses

Establishment of R&D Hubs/

Manufacturing Units

I
n
t
e
n
d
e
d

22

B
e
n
e
f
i
t
s

Innovation Ecosystem
Academia

Several universities across the globe are focusing on identifying innovating methods of additive manufacturing.
Some key institutions include Carnegie Mellon University; Case Western Reserve University; MIT; Kent State
University; University of Nottingham; Loughborough University; and University of Texas, Austin (where selective
laser sintering was developed). Many of these efforts are into either development of 3D printing for harder metals
and alloys/biomedical applications.

Research Labs

Several research centers globally are focusing on enhancing capabilities of additive manufacturing. Some of the key
centers include: Fraunhofer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Digital Engineering and Manufacturing
Consortium, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Robert C. Byrd Institute, the Youngstown Business Incubator, and the Society
of Manufacturing Engineers.

Companies

A number of companies are developing additive manufacturing technologies. Some of them include: ExOne, FMW
Composites, General Dynamics, General Electric, Honeywell, IBM, Johnson Controls, Kennametal, Kent Displays,
Laser Technology Assts, Lockheed Martin, Lubrizol, M-7 Technologies, MicroFab Technologies, Morris, OSRAM
Sylvania, Optomec, Oxford Performance Materials, Paramount Industries/3D Systems. Main focus is on cost
reduction and identification of novel ways of adopting 3D printing.

Government Agencies

Government agencies are focusing toward enhancing capabilities of 3D printing technology. Key agencies include:
Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce; the National Science Foundation; NASA; National Center for
Defense Manufacturing and Machining; and EUFP.

Funding Bodies

Some of the main funding bodies, which are actively involved in investment include: NSF (National Science
Foundation), National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), and Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC). Globally, there is an increased interest in the technology, with most funding efforts
diverted toward increasing the speed of 3D printing and enhanced modelling and simulation.

Regulations/Associations/
Standardization Bodies

Standardization agencies/bodies do not play a prominent role in enabling innovations. However, it is noteworthy to
mention ISO and ASTM. ASTM International and ISO have recently signed a Partner Standards Developing
Organization Cooperative Agreement to govern on-going collaborative efforts for development of standards.

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Best Practices
Region-wise Profile
North AmericaCollaborative Models between Government and Private Companies Drive Development

North American Region has the largest adoption and innovations in the 3D printing space.
This is highly due to the various government initiatives such as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII),
which is focused on collaborating various universities and private firms for the bringing out the innovations in this novel technology.
Through these collaborative initiatives, the key players have been involved with developing novel technologies for various applications
in different industrial sectors.
Universities in this region have been receiving a lot of funding through government programs.
The other noteworthy best practice is the integration of US companies with existing public, private, or not-for-profit industrial and
economic development resources, and with business incubators, focusing on assisting SMEs and start-ups.

EuropeGovernment Initiatives Propel Development

Innovations in the European region are driven through various grants and funding provided by the governments to universities and
research institutes.
The governments have been supporting noteworthy innovations through various EU funded projects.
Focus on 3D printing in this region is high as this technology has the potential to reduce the harmful effects caused to the environment
when compared to conventional manufacturing processes. There are also a number of key market players and other OEMs from
various market sectors who have been developing and adopting various 3D printing technologies for their applications.

Asia & APACThe Need for Fast Paced Manufacturing Technique is Driving the Innovation and Adoption

Growing economies such as India and China have been keen to adopt 3D printing technology for mass manufacturing in different
industrial sectors.
The countries in these regions see this technology as a growth opportunity in the manufacturing sector. There has been a large number
of government initiatives in China for promoting and to increasing adoption of this technology in the coming years.
It can also be noted that there has been a large number of start ups in these regions especially for the commercial products sector.

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Societal Impact of 3D Printing

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Societal Contribution of 3D Printing

Facilitates Reduction in Carbon Dioxide Footprint
Research and development for 3D printing is
on the rise, and there is high interest in
adoption of this technology by a wide range of
industrial sectors. This technology is seen to
have some key impacts on the society by
decreasing the carbon foot print in the
environment when compared to the
conventional manufacturing technologies and
creating new business models for the people.

3D printing technology offers

novel ways of manufacturing
parts and products that were
produced using conventional
techniques such as machining,
joining, and so on.

Using 3D printing, companies

would be able to significantly
reduce the amount of wastage in
terms of materials and also the
production of carbon dioxide in
the manufacturing process.

It would become important for industries to

adopt this technology for manufacturing
products. 3D printing technology also has the
potential to significantly minimize inventory
and lead time, which are main factors for
manufacturing companies.

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New Business
Models: Value
for Many

Innovating to
Zero

4.5
0

Environmental regulations for the

manufacturing industries have become
increasingly stringent. This is seen to
have a greater impact on a wide range
of manufacturing industries especially
the automotive industry.

Societal
Influence of
the
Technology

4
4

3D printing technology enables

the
co-creation
and
customization of parts of
products.
This technology also enables
mass production of customized
parts, which was not possible
with conventional techniques.

The other benefit of

3D
printing
technology is that it
also helps common
people to create and
produce their own
products.

26

Influence Landscape

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Key Influencers
Technology Development and Commercialization

3D Printing
Software
Developers

3D Scanning
Providers

Stratasys

CATIA

Rhino

3D Systems

Absolute Geometries

Autodesk

GeoMagic

3D Printer OEMs

Arcam AB

3DView

EOS GmbH

SolidView

Movers and Shakers

in 3D Printing
Thogus
i.materialise

Shapeways

DSM Somos
Innovative
Polymers

Material Supplier

Mcor

Imageware
Inus Technologies

Redeye

Service Providers

Makerbot

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Implementation Scenarios

Commercial Products

Mercedes has announced that by 2018 its S-Class

variant cars would be have 3D printed parts, not just
for the concept models, but for final production of
interior trim pieces.
The company believes that this process would help in
reducing the time and also the materials that are
used for the manufacturing of their cars.

Pirate 3D, a company based out of Singapore, has

developed a novel 3D printer for manufacturing
commercial and household products.
This novel 3D printer has been integrated with cloud
data services, which makes it easier for the user to
store and share design data over a digital platform.

Automotive Parts

Automotive Parts

Several automotive manufacturers such as Ford and

Ducati have been producing prototypes of various
parts such as engine casings using 3D printing
technology to significantly reduce their downtime.
Ducati has succeeded in reducing the lead time for
the manufacturing process by almost 70% using the
3D printing process.

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Automotive
Satellite Parts

Lockheed Martin is implementing 3D printing

technology, also known as additive manufacturing, to
print titanium satellite partsreducing cost, cycle
time, and material waste.
Lockheed Martin is applying this innovative
technology across the businesss programs to
improve production processes.

29

Strategic Perspectives

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New Product Development Opportunities

Convergence Scenario #1: Biofilm-Free Implants
Super Hydrophobic
Coating

Custom Biocompatible Implants that Prevent Biofilms

Industry Initiatives

Bio Composites
3D Printer

Department of Biology at the

University of York is working on the
mechanism of formation of biofilm
on implants.
Center for Genomic Sciences,
Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
(PA) is exploring prevention of
infection occurring in implantS.

Year of Impact 2016-2017

Biofilm-free Implanted
Blood Vessels

2013

2014

2015

2016

Need for scientific data and

clinical trials is expected to
influence commercialization by
2016 to 2017.

Blood Vessels with Biofilm

Formation

2017

2018

2019

2020

Bio-film free implants promote health and wellness through:

Improving patient monitoring turn around time
Improving biocompatibility of the implant
Reducing healthcare costs and patient turnaround time
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New Product Development Opportunities

Convergence Scenario #2: Self-Healing Artificial Organs

Custom Regenerative Organs for Enhanced Healing

Self-Healing Properties
Quick
Recovery

Polymer
Chameleons

Industry Initiatives

Carbon
Fibers

Implanted
Prosthetics
Custom
Artificial
Prosthetics

3D Printer

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Carbon Fibre Technologies Ltd., UK, is

conducting research in fine tuning
performance characteristics of carbon
fibers for various applications.
Research initiatives by the Stanford
University (USA) and the Northwestern
University (USA) are focused toward basic
research pertaining to the development of
self-healing organs.
Year of Impact 2020
Need for regulatory approval
and scientific data from
clinical trials, will result in
commercialization by the
year 2020.

Self-healing organs promote health and wellness through:

Development of customized artificial organs
Higher tolerance towards implants
Increased patient turnaround time
Decreased recurrent surgical procedures
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Key Insights
Commercialization
Strategy

Active funding for R&D activities and commercialization, in addition to

increasing the capabilities.
Improving the product features will further increase the wide scale adoption
by users for their various needs.

Marketing Strategy

Increased awareness of the concept in order to demonstrate the capabilities and

advantages of this novel technology platform to realize futuristic efficient
factories.

Target Markets

Ecosystem Diversification
Co-operation Model
Collaborate with Major
Tier Players & Compete

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Increasing the capabilities in order to cater to various manufacturing

industries and targeted specific application sub-segments.
Asia is the manufacturing hub for a large number of key industry players, and
is home for initiatives to gain the attention of the stakeholder ecosystem in this
region.

Expanding the strength of service providers and stakeholders in the market will
help users to adopt the 3D printing technology without having to invest a lot of
money in the initial installation.
It is beneficial if the incumbent joins with one of the key players and enter the
market. Through this collaboration, the incumbent can have successful sales and
can also avoid the need of a creating a positive brand image considering it has
never commercialized its products earlier. Through this collaboration, the
incumbent would require to focus very less effort to establish itself in the market.

33

Business Models Influencing 3D Printing Market

Type

Companies

In-house 3D PrintingIn this type of business model, the

manufacturer has in-house capability as well as the
infrastructure to manufacture components using 3D printing
technology.

Various automotive and industrial equipment OEMs such as

General Electric, Ford, and General Motors are involved in
manufacturing their products using their own 3D printers
obtained from key 3D printer manufacturers.

Contract Manufacturing ModelA 3D manufacturer that

contracts with a firm to manufacture components using 3D
manufacturing.

Companies who are specifically interested in developing

prototypes of their products using the 3D printing process
adopt this type of business model . Rapid PSI , Thogus, Mcor
Technologies are examples of companies providing this service.

3D Printing as a ServiceThis is an online business model in

which the orders are received online and the finished products
are mailed to the customers.

This is usually adopted for commercial and household products

that customers would like to have using the 3D printing service.

Retail 3D PrintingPortable 3D printers available in the retail

market can be used to manufacture products at home.

The interest for 3D printers to create the commercial products is

garnering a lot of interest among customers around the globe.
Companies such as Cubify and other start ups have developed
easy to operate 3D printers, which are also easy to use for the
general public.

Crowd SourcingThis type of business has generated a lot of

interest around the world by people who are looking for funds to
start their own company.

Crowd sourcing for 3D printing technology has been

significantly high in the recent times. A large number of start ups
such as Pirate 3D, Formlabs, and Made solid have successfully
started using the funds obtained from crowd sourcing.

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The Next Frontier in 3D Printing

Commercialized
To be
Commercialized
Ongoing R&D

3D Printing Technology Readiness

Consumer
Applications

Hobby ( arts and crafts)

Jewellery
Household printing
Gaming and animation

Printing chocolate
Printing food
Digital and memory equipment
Rechargeable batteries

2014

Printing small to medium medical prosthetics

Prototypes for automotive industry (for
example, instrument panels)
Retail prototypes

Printing chocolate
Printing food

2015

Industrial
Applications

Medical, Automotive, Retail Applications

Printing toys
Printing bicycles
Clothing and apparel in fashion industry
3D printed guns
3D printed furniture

Rapid prototyping for large industrial

applications
Prototypes for aerospace (for example,
air ducts, hinges, jet engine parts, wing
spares, spare parts) and defence R&D

Building construction
Industrial tools manufacturing
Life sciences R&D

3D printed semiconductors/ICs
Smart prosthetics
Artificial ears
Digital and memory equipment and rechargeable
batteries
3D printed energy harvesters for power stations
Large aircraft parts

2016

2017

2018

3D printed consumer
electronics
3D printed organs
3D printed complex metal
parts/systems

2019

2020

Year Of Impact
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Key Patents and Key Contacts

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Key Patents
No.

Patent No.

Publication
Date

Title

Assignee

CN 103129140 A

June 5, 2013

Three-dimensional (3D) printing method

Chen Xu-country

The invention discloses a three-dimensional (3D) printing method. A 3D printer appeared in the middle of 90 years in 20th century. In
practice, the 3D printer is a fast molding device by the adoption of technologies of photocuring, paper stacking and the like. An
operating principle of the 3D printer is basically same as that of a normal printer. 'Materials for printing' are arranged in the printer.
The 'materials for printing' are liquid or powder and the like. After the printer is connected with the computer, the 'materials for
printing' are stacked layer by layer through a computer controlling, and at last a blueprint of the computer is changed into a material
object. Fast molding technologies in the market are divided into a 3DP technique, an FDM melting lamination molding technique, an SLA
three-dimensional planographic printing technique, an SLS precinct laser sintering, a DLP laser molding technique, an ultraviolet (UV)
ray molding technique and the like. At present, the 3D printing method is used in a motor industry, a medical treatment die processing
industry and the like. A printing coverage is coated on a polymer clay sheet, an image printing is carried out on the coverage by a normal
color printer, the printed image is carried out on counterpoint superposition and stretching to form a 3D image.
2

WO 2013043908 A1

March 28, 2013

3D printing powder compositions and methods of

use

The Regents of the

University of California

Powder compositions that can be used with traditional 3D printing technology and methods for producing 3D printed building

materials that have comparable compressive strength to standard concrete and tensile strength up to 70% greater than standard
concrete.

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Key Patents (continued)

No.

Patent No.

Publication
Date

US 20130050789 A1

February 28, 2013

Title

Assignee

Holographic 3d printing apparatus and method

of driving the same

Samsung Electronics Co.,

Ltd.

A holographic three-dimensional (3D) printing apparatus and a method of driving the same are provided. The holographic 3D printing
apparatus includes a light source configured to emit a beam, a beam splitting and expanding unit configured to split the emitted beam
into a reference beam and a signal beam and expand the signal beam, an illumination unit configured to extract the expanded signal
beam and collimate the extracted signal beam, a spatial light modulator (SLM) configured to modulate the collimated signal beam, an
objective lens unit configured to emit the modulated signal beam to a holographic recording medium, and a reference beam forming
unit configured to emit the reference beam to the holographic recording medium.
US 20130095302 A1

April 18, 2013

Grayscale rendering in 3d printing

BAE Systems PLC

An additive three-dimensional fabrication process uses multiple build materials with different optical properties (e.g., color, opacity) at
different surface depths to achieve grayscale-rendered images on exterior surfaces thereof.

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Key Patents (continued)

No.

Patent No.
US 20130310507 A1

Publication
Date

Title

Assignee

November 21,
2013

Adhesive for 3D Printing

3D Systems Inc.

In one aspect, adhesives for use with a 3D printer are described herein. In some embodiments, an adhesive for use with a 3D printer
comprises a first polymeric component comprising a poly(vinyl alcohol) and a second polymeric component. The poly(vinyl alcohol), in
some embodiments, comprises amorphous poly(vinyl alcohol). In some embodiments, the second polymeric component comprises a
water-soluble polymer. Further, in some embodiments, an adhesive described herein further comprises a solvent, a surfactant, and/or a
preservative.
US 20130307193 A1

November 21,
2013

Support Structures and Deposition Techniques for

3D Printing

3D Systems Inc.

There is provided a support structure for use with 3D printing of objects from computer-aided designs. The support structures include
fine points that contact the down-facing surfaces of the 3D object being printed in order to adequately support the 3D object while also
being adapted for easy removal after the 3D print process is complete. The fine points are possible by controlling the operation of the
dispenser to provide a precise amount of material in a precise location. The dispenser jumps from a first fine point to a second fine point
by retracting the print material after the first fine point is printed and then moving the dispenser vertically relative to the first fine point
before the dispenser is moved horizontally to the second fine point.

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Key Contacts
Rainer Hoechsmann, General Manager, Exone GmBH, Am Mittleren Moos 41, 86167 Augsburg, Germany. Phone: +49082174760.
E-mail: rainer.hoechsmann@exone.com. URL: www.exone.com.
Mr.Chris Srowein, Marketing Manager, EnvisionTEC GmbH, Brsseler Strae
Phone: +1-905-671-9979. E-mail: agussin@baanto.com. URL: http://envisiontec.com/

51

D-45968

Gladbeck,

Germany.

Stefan Richardt, Regional Sales Manager, Concept Laser, An der Zeil 8, 96215 Lichtenfels, Germany. Phone:+4995711679204.
E-mail: fs.richardt@concept-laser.de. URL: www.concept-laser.de.
Magnus Ren, CEO Arcam AB., Kroksltts Fabriker 27A SE-431 37 Mlndal Sweden. Phone: +46-0-317103200. E-mail:
magnus.rene@arcam.com. URL:www.arcam.com.
Bodo Haack, Manger R&D, SLM Solutions GmBH, Roggenhorster Strae 9c, 23556 Lbeck, Germany. Phone: +49-451160820142.
URL: bodo.haack@slm-solutions.com.

Clive Phillip Martell, CEO, Delcam, 275 E. South Temple, Suite 305, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. Phone: +1-877-335-2261.
URL: http://www.delcam.com.
Marc J. Cola, CEO, Sigma Labs Corporation, 3900 Paseo Del Sol, Santa Fe, NM 87507. Phone: +1-505-438-2576.
URL: www.b6sigma.com.
Deirdre MacCormack, CMO, Mcor Technologies, Unit 1, IDA Business Park Ardee Road, Dunleer, Co Louth, Ireland.
Phone: +353-0-41-6862800. E-mail: deirdre@mcortechnologies.com. URL: http://www.mcortechnologies.com/

Jorge Murakoshi, Technical Sales Director,

Jorge.Murakoshi@3ds.com, URL: www.3ds.com.

Dassault

Systems,

Sao

Paulo.

Phone:

551151050479.

E-mail:

Wim Michiels, Executive Vice President, Leuven, Belgium Technologielaan 15, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. Phone: +60-377241415. Email: wim.michiels@materialise. URL: www.materialise.com.

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