ISMR July/August 2021 | Page 48

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

the aerospace industry ,” said analyst ResearchandMarkets . com .
Developed nations , such as the U . S . and countries in Western Europe , are projected to be the chief revenue-generating regions for the additive manufacturing market and held a massive share of 73 % in 2019 . The presence of industry giants in the region ( such as Mercedes , Boeing , Airbus and Volkswagen ) and the growing adoption of additive manufacturing technologies in aerospace and automotive industries for the production of small , complex , and lightweight components is anticipated to drive regional industry growth .
Growing emphasis by the EU Commission to reduce the overall weight of vehicles for reducing emissions is also likely to influence market growth . Advances in metal 3D printing technology are projected to open up new horizons for lighter , safer and cleaner products .
Multiple industries , including healthcare , automotive and aerospace and defence , are experiencing an impactful production and business transformations in the critical areas of their businesses , owing to the maturity of additive technologies and material supply chains . For example , interior aircraft parts , such as ducting , vents and airflow systems which are created with additive manufacturing , enable designers to trim weight , reduce the number of components in the assemblies and conform to tight cabin interiors . AM provides design freedom to experiment with more effective and efficient part shapes , with fewer potential points of failure .
Various professional additive manufacturing providers , makers and designers in the industrial community have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by volunteering their skills to ease the pressure on supply chains and governments ( in areas such as PPE ). This has created an expedited opportunity in the healthcare sector of the market .
Team Penske ’ s expansive facility in Mooresville , N . C ., home to several production-grade Stratasys 3D printers . ( Photo : Business Wire )
AM provides design freedom to experiment with more effective and efficient part shapes , with fewer potential points of failure
Automotive applications
The automotive segment led the 3D printing market and accounted for more than 23 % share of the global revenue in 2020 . The automotive and aerospace / defence verticals
Above : The Rugged motorcycle with 3D printed parts by WASP . Below : Producing 3D printed parts for The Rugged motorcycle . particularly use prototyping to design and develop parts , components and complex systems . Prototyping allows manufacturers to achieve higher accuracy and develop reliable end products .
For example , Team Penske and 3D printer specialist , Stratasys , extended their technical partnership to bring 3D printing performance to NASCAR and INDYCAR racing last year . Since forming a technical partnership agreement in 2017 , Team Penske has expanded its use of FDM and PolyJet technologies for prototyping , tooling , fixturing and end-use parts in cars and pit equipment .
Matt Gimbel , Team Penske ’ s production manager , said Stratasys additive technologies have made a big difference . “ The Stratasys partnership has allowed us to not only increase our output , but also produce parts in new materials that are immediately installed on race cars ,” he said . “ As a result , we have more design freedom and manufacturing speed to iterate faster to reach the optimum design . Ultimately , we get better parts to the racetrack faster .”
Automotive OEMS such as BMW , Volkswagen , Audi , Porsche and Ford are already using 3D printing technologies . Short lead times , access to new materials and customisable finishes have encouraged automobile manufacturers to integrate 3D printing processes into their production strategies . Selective laser sintering , fused deposition and selective laser melting are some of the technologies used in this
48 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR July / August 2021