![]() ![]() When parts are out of tolerance (easy but costly to verify) or material properties are inconsistent (difficult AND expensive to verify) the business case for AM can quickly go down the drain. In many cases it comes down to who “owns” the performance specifications for parts coming off the machines. This evolutionary adoption is driven by factors like complexity of the technology, IP barriers, and rigors of the applications. While there is plenty of innovation around open materials in these spaces, the adoption rate lags. This is especially true in photopolymer AM modalities (SLA and DLP) and across the board in metals. However, reliance on closed material systems remains common for more demanding applications, where performance, reliability, and manufacturing grade repeatability are crucial. Pressure towards wider adoption of open systems is intense as major materials companies (BASF, DSM, Corning, Dupont, Henkel, and others) recognize the potential of the additive manufacturing industry and are working aggressively to replicate the strategies that have driven their success in other manufacturing sectors. This approach has been a huge win as it has dramatically expanded the footprint and impact of our industry. ![]() Filament extrusion (FFF) systems were the first to widely embrace open platforms and lead adoption by a wide margin. ![]() Over the past decade, open source systems have made tremendous headway across prototyping, manufacturing aids, and a host of low and moderate performance end use part applications. Yet in additive, it’s a factor we deal with daily. For Additive Manufacturing is to go truly mainstream, economics must evolve as buyers want power and leverage in their competitive markets.Ĭan you imagine mature traditional manufacturing segments working with closed material supplies? What if top CNC suppliers required their customers to run only their branded feedstock? Or if injection mold presses ran exclusively with one brand of pellets? These scenarios are unimaginable. Open source material 3D printing is a hot topic in a hot industry – for good reasons. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2023
Categories |