- 3D Printing now mainstream among 75% of mid-sized manufacturers polled, yet more flexibility needed to meet demands for quality, personalization and sustainability
- 84% expect investments in 3D printing to increase revenues or decrease costs
- 95% of survey respondents report uptick in high-mix/low-volume production and outsourced manufacturing requests
- Increased adoption fuels growing need for software-driven, end-to-end manufacturing
Shapeways, a leading global digital manufacturing platform, announced the results of its State of 3D Printing Survey 2021 – a manufacturing stakeholder survey. The survey results reinforces the continued growth of 3D printing where those companies polled reported extensive or exclusive use of additive manufacturing for volume production in the last three quarters.
This mainstream use of 3DP for production manufacturing is closely tied to a major shift in customer expectations, resulting in higher demands for quality, sustainability and personalization.
Shapeways State of 3D Printing Survey 2021
Shapeways commissioned third-party research firm, Dimensional Research, to conduct ‘The State of 3D Printing’ survey in July 2021. Dimensional Research polled more than 300 qualified individuals from mid-sized manufacturers across the automotive, aerospace, robotics, medical device and industrial manufacturing sectors. According to those polled, the top five changes in customer expectations over the past three years include: higher demands for quality (53%), increased expectations for sustainable solutions (47%), more frequent design changes (45%), desire for personalization and high levels of customization (43%) and continual cost reductions (40%).
“Significant adoption of 3D printing for different production requirements is a strong indicator of increased digital manufacturing transformation. To reach its full potential, however, the industry needs to continue shifting more toward the use of digital, end-to-end manufacturing processes that enable product design innovations and speed time to market while reducing upfront and inventory costs.”
– Miko Levy, Chief Revenue Officer at Shapeways
This latest 3DP survey reinforces ongoing efforts to transform the traditional manufacturing market, which is slow, manual and rigid. Thanks to advances in digital production technologies, software and materials, manufacturers of all sizes are positioned to meet growing demands for faster deliveries, lower costs and greater agility in adapting to changing customer needs and market dynamics.
For example, 95% of the survey respondents cited an increase in customer requests for high-mix, low-volume production runs, with more than half reporting a significant increase (25% to 100%) and 17% stating dramatic requests (doubled or more), respectively. Most of the survey respondents (72%) are more likely to outsource low-volume production runs to gain much-needed proof points before committing to specific machines or technologies.
COVID-19 Accelerated 3DP Investments
Of those polled, 87% concurred that major pandemic-related supply chain disruptions accelerated 3DP investments, while 63% strongly agreed that their organization is gaining confidence in 3DP at scale. Expected benefits from 3DP investments range from greater design flexibility (70%), faster speed to market (68%) and improved labor efficiency (64%) to increased asset utilization (57%) and reduced inventory costs (46%).
Most important, 84% of the survey respondents expect these investments to impact corporate profits over the next decade by increasing revenues or decreasing costs. About half of those participants (43%) anticipate a transformative impact of more than 20% annually while 41% predict a significant impact of 5% to 20% annually.
Bullish about 3DP’s Future Despite Persistent Barriers
Survey participants predicted positive momentum for the use of 3DP in manufacturing; 55% predict it will replace existing processes while 28% plan to use 3DP as another option in their manufacturing toolbox. Executives are even more bullish, with 68% of those polled agreeing that 3DP is the future of manufacturing.
Still, barriers to adoption persist, especially in managing the shared data repositories, applications and tools needed to streamline additive manufacturing processes. Almost three quarters of those surveyed rely on more than five different applications to guide additive manufacturing processes with minimal data sharing or workflow integration. Shapeways’ purpose-built software and end-to-end manufacturing capabilities enable customers of all sizes to transform digital designs into physical products with speed and agility.
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