{"id":5330,"date":"2016-10-14T08:15:06","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T14:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=5330"},"modified":"2022-05-31T14:27:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T20:27:09","slug":"pe-industrial-3d-printing-innovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/5330\/pe-industrial-3d-printing-innovations\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovations Restore Industrial 3D Printing to the Limelight"},"content":{"rendered":"

A momentous day for the 3D printing<\/a> industry was 3 January 2014, when the stocks of two of its leading companies, 3D Systems<\/a> and Stratasys<\/a>, peaked after nearly 30 years in business, and hopes were high for the technology.<\/p>\n

Many observers thought 3D printing would allow consumers to produce customizable goods directly from their homes. The price of goods would be slashed, international trade deficits reversed, ethically suspect supply chains rendered unnecessary. It was to be the next industrial revolution.<\/p>\n

But this date was also the start of a precipitous two-year decline that saw 3D Systems\u2019 shares lose more than 92% of their value and Stratasys\u2019s fall by over 86%. Expectations plummeted as well; 3D printing turned from saviour to gimmick. Industry analysts and researchers now agree that the hype far outpaced the practical applications. Why?<\/p>\n

3D printing: A history<\/h4>\n

In fact, additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping \u2014 the original less-sexy terms for 3D printing \u2014 has been around since the 1980s. Stereolithography, which uses ultraviolet lasers to solidify light-sensitive plastic resin built up in layers to produce three-dimensional objects, was patented in 1986 and led to the formation of 3D Systems.<\/p>\n

Using a different technique – Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) – Stratasys was founded in 1989; it uses heat to melt plastic filaments, that is then built up in layers. The majority of the early business enjoyed by both was with industrial clients who needed rapid prototyping and could afford printers that cost at least five figures.<\/p>\n

Then, the price of 3-D printers began to fall in 2005. Hundreds of developers built upon recently expired patents and kept their new designs freely available, making progress swift and inexpensive. As a result, the cost of 3D printers dropped by a factor of about 100.<\/p>\n

Three early pioneers banded together in 2009 to form MakerBot. In June 2013, Stratasys acquired the company in a stock deal worth $403 million. Unfortunately the enthusiasm was ill-founded and there roved to be a gulf between expectations and reality.<\/p>\n

Despite these issues, analysts remain optimistic. In 2013, Wohlers Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in 3D printing, predicted that the sector would grow to $10.8 billion by 2021. But while the firm is now sceptical about low-end, consumer-oriented printers, they predict that more and more industrial clients will be buying and implementing those high-end, expensive 3D printers.<\/p>\n

Pushing the barriers of FDM<\/h4>\n

Traditionally, the Stratasys FDM process uses a 3-axis deposition head to melt spool-fed tubes of thermoplastic material and extrude the molten plastics in thin layers on a heated build-plate.\u00a0While simple and stable enough to build impressive objects and tools, this has always presented a few fundamental limitations:<\/p>\n