Latest / Tech Talks With Kinsoft / The Expanding World of Additive Manufacturing(3D Printing)

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The Expanding World of Additive Manufacturing(3D Printing) · Tech Talks With Kinsoft

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  Welcome to Tech Talks with Kinsoft, your shortcut
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  to being truly well -informed without the information
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  overload. Today, we're taking a deep dive into
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  a topic that's not just changing factories, but
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  revolutionizing entire industries and even healthcare
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  as we know it, additive manufacturing, more commonly
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  known as 3D printing. Exactly. And our mission
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  for this deep dive is really to unpack the most
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  important insights from that stack of sources
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  you've shared, research papers, industry reports,
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  the lot to get a handle on the core principles,
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  some surprising applications, and the challenges
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  and opportunities this technology presents. Think
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  of this as your essential guide to understanding
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  how 3D printing is moving from, let's say, niche
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  applications to the very forefront of innovation.
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  Let's unpack this. So to start our deep dive,
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  what exactly is 3D printing or additive manufacturing?
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  And maybe more importantly, why is it considered
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  such a disruptive force in manufacturing? Right.
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  So the fundamental concept is actually quite
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  straightforward. AM builds three -dimensional
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  objects in a layer -by -layer process directly
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  from a digital data file. Layer -by -layer. Yeah.
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  And crucially, it does this. Without tooling.
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  That's the key phrase. Without tooling. Without
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  tooling, which contrasts sharply with traditional
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  methods, you know, subtractive ones like milling,
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  where you cut material away. Right, carving it
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  out. Or formative methods like injection molding,
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  which needs specific molds and pressure. AM just
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  builds it up from nothing based on the design.
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  Okay, here's where it gets really interesting
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  for me. This isn't just about printing little
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  plastic prototypes in a hobby shop anymore, is
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  it? Oh, absolutely not. That's where it started,
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  sure, with rapid prototyping, mostly plastics.
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  Right. But the recent breakthroughs, especially
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  with metals, mean we're now seeing AM components
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  used in real world, sometimes critical applications.
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  And the market reflects that shift. Massively.
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  Just look at the numbers. U .S. revenue for AM
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  was already, what, $7 .34 billion back in 2018.
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  The global market's expected to hit $23 .33 billion
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  by 2026. And specifically, the metal additive
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  manufacturing market that's projected to basically
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  double in five years. We're talking $4 .64 billion
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  in 2023, going up to $9 .74 billion by 2028.
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  That's serious growth. It tells you this is moving
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  mainstream. So what does this all mean for entire
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  industries if it's growing that fast? It means
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  significant disruption across major sectors.
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  Think aerospace, defense, definitely medicine,
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  transportation, even food and fashion are exploring
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  it. Why? What's the core appeal driving that?
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  It comes down to the core benefits. Lower resource
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  requirements, much faster production cycles in
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  many cases. It enables decentralized business
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  models, incredible flexible design, and of course,
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  substantial savings on tooling. You don't need
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  that massive upfront cost for a mold. That flexibility
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  and lack of tooling. What stands out to you about
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  how this technology fundamentally changes how
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  things are made? For me, it's the shift in thinking.
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  Instead of asking... How can I machine shape?
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  Or how complex can the mold be? You ask, what's
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  the optimal shape for this function? You can
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  design these incredibly complex, lightweight
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  structures, maybe with internal lattices, things
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  that were just impossible before. It frees the
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  designer. That's a great point. So it's not just
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  how it's made, but what can be made. Precisely.
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  And it's worth maybe briefly touching upon the
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  diversity here. It's not just one 3D printing
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  method. There are actually, I think, seven families
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  of problems. The seven, okay. Yeah, things like
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  powder bed fusion, material extrusion that's
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  probably closer to the desktop printers people
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  imagine, and vat photopolymerization. Each one
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  has unique characteristics, uses different materials,
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  achieves different results. So it sounds like
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  choosing the right 3D printing technology is
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  a really big decision, depending on what you're
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  trying to create. Absolutely. A huge decision.
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  Each process comes with its own set of constraints
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  and capabilities. It affects everything. The
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  level of detail you can get, the strength, the
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  material properties of the final part, and the
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  materials themselves. Oh, the rage is vast now.
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  Polymers, of course, but also metals, ceramics,
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  composites, and especially important for medicine,
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  biocompatible materials. Right, for implants
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  and such. Exactly. And the cost of the printers
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  themselves reflects this diversity. You can get
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  a basic desktop model for less than $500. But
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  then you look at high -end industrial machines,
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  especially for metals used in critical things
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  like implants, and you could be looking at upwards
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  of $600 ,000. Wow, quite a range. It is. And
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  for those high -end... systems, you really need
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  designers with expertise in what's called design
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  for AM. They need to think differently to really
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  exploit the technology. Okay, this is where we
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  really dive into the why you should care part
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  of our deep dive. Let's talk about where 3D printing
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  is making the biggest waves right now. Where's
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  the impact most visible? Well, one area stands
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  out as an early and frankly rapid adopter. Yeah.
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  The medical and dental sector. It's really poised
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  to revolutionize the whole medical device industry
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  over the next decade or so. How so? What kind
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  of applications? We can sort of group them into
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  maybe five main arenas. Medical models for planning.
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  surgical implants themselves, surgical guides
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  to help surgeons be more precise, external aids
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  like braces or prosthetics, and even biomanufacturing
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  printing tissues or scaffolds. Let's focus on
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  that personalized treatment aspect. That sounds
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  huge. It really is. AM enables truly personalized
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  treatment. Think about patient -specific implants.
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  You can create them directly from a patient's
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  CT or MRI scan data. So it fits perfectly. Exactly.
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  A precise fit tailored to their use. unique anatomy.
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  I saw a quote from a surgeon who said, personalized
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  treatment ensures that the patient gets exactly
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  what the patient requires rather than an off
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  -the -shelf solution that may need to be adapted
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  for them. That sums it up perfectly. Makes complete
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  sense. And beyond the implants themselves, you
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  mentioned planning. Yes. It's also crucial for
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  surgical planning and training. Surgeons can
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  print realistic 3D models of, say, a complex
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  tumor or a fractured bone based on the patient's
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  scans. So they can practice. They can assess
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  the feasibility of the procedure much more accurately.
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  They can hold it, plan their approach. And for
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  trainees, it lets them develop new skills with
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  no exposure of patients to the operative learning
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  curve. That's a massive step for safety and skill
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  development. And what about those surprising
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  moments where... 3D printing really stepped up
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  to a challenge like during the pandemic. That
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  seems like a real proving ground. It absolutely
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  was. The COVID -19 pandemic was a powerful kind
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  of real -time demonstration of AM's agility.
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  Its ability to just bypass broken supply chains
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  was incredible. Any specific examples that stand
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  out? Oh, plenty. You had Formlabs, a 3D printing
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  company, suddenly pivoting to make 100 ,000 nasal
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  swabs per day when swabs were desperately needed.
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  Wow, 100 ,000 a day. Yeah. NASCAR teams, using
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  the printers they normally use for car parts,
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  started churning out face shields for health
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  care workers. That's amazing adaptability. It
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  is. Then there was Isanova in Italy adapting
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  snorkel masks like the ones used for swimming
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  into emergency CPAP masks. Just incredible ingenuity.
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  Materialize offered free designs for hands -free
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  door openers. And here in Australia, companies
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  like Fifth 3D made face shields. 3D Meditech
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  designed ventilator parts and test swabs. It
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  just showed how fast AM could react. That speed
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  and flexibility in a crisis, it really highlights
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  its potential beyond just... routine manufacturing.
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  But it's not just medicine, right? What about
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  other industries? Oh, definitely not just medicine.
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  In aerospace, NASA is using AM for complex parts
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  like liquid oxygen turbopumps. These parts are
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  lighter, potentially more efficient, which is
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  crucial for rockets. GE Aviation's 3D printed
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  fuel nozzles are another famous example, improved
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  performance, fewer parts. And cars. Automotive
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  uses it a lot for rapid prototyping, but also
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  for performance parts. Bugatti printed this incredible
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  topology optimized brake caliper, super lightweight,
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  but strong. designed by an algorithm looks almost
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  alien. Topology optimized, meaning the computer
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  figures out the best shape. Essentially, yes.
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  It removes material wherever it's not structurally
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  needed, creating the most efficient design. And
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  then there's construction. Look at the MX3D metal
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  pedestrian bridge in Amsterdam. A whole bridge
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  3D printed in metal shows the scale is possible.
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  What's fascinating here, listening to all this,
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  is how this technology is enabling things that
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  simply weren't possible before. Truly new capabilities.
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  That's the core of it. It's not just doing the
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  old things slightly better. It's enabling entirely
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  new approaches to design and production. So with
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  all these incredible advancements and potential,
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  it... It can't be all smooth sailing, right?
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  What are some of the hurdles, the challenges
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  that need to be overcome for 3D printing to really
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  reach its full potential? You're right. There
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  are definitely significant challenges, particularly
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  if we look again at that medical and surgical
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  supply chain context. One of the biggest is the
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  need for evidence, hard clinical evidence. Evidence
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  of what exactly? evidence to fully justify the
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  benefits for patient outcomes, for quality, and
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  critically, for cost -effectiveness. Does using
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  a 3D -printed implant actually lead to a better
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  result for the patient in the long run? Is it
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  worth the cost? Right, the show -me -the -data
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  problem. Exactly. It impacts regulatory approval.
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  It impacts investment. That's urgent quote again.
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  If I get a 3D printed cage, does that improve
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  my patient outcome? That's the question that
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  needs solid answers. Plus, there are tricky issues
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  around intellectual property rights for these
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  custom designs. Okay. Evidence is key. What else?
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  Then there's costing and building the business
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  case. The initial cost to industrial machines
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  and the materials can be high, and it's often
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  difficult to accurately track the entire end
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  -to -end supply chain costs compared to traditional
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  methods. This makes it hard for businesses, especially
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  hospitals or smaller manufacturers, to justify
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  the investment, particularly if they're only
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  doing low volumes initially. So a bit of a financial
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  risk, especially early on. Yes. And alongside
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  that, there's limited capability and a shortage
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  of skilled personnel. Finding enough skilled
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  machine operators and especially designers who
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  truly understand design for AM is a challenge
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  globally. The human factor. Absolutely. Plus,
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  you sometimes encounter cultural resistance people
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  used to doing things the old way. And there are
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  technical bottlenecks, too. Automation isn't
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  always there. Processing speeds can be slow for
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  some methods, and often parts need quite extensive
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  post -processing after printing, like cleaning
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  or heat treatment. And standards. Is that an
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  issue? A big one. There's often a lack of consistent
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  standards and processes. Things like material
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  testing protocols, how parts are cleaned and
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  sterilized, clear regulatory pathways. It creates
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  uncertainty. There is, as one report put it,
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  a lack of standards and flow processes within
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  clinical environments that provide a level of
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  confidence for surgeons to just fully embrace
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  it without hesitation. OK, so some significant
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  hurdles. But for every challenge, there's often
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  an incredible opportunity waiting to be seized.
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  Flipping it around, what are the big opportunities
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  that 3D printing unlocks for the future? Yeah,
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  despite the challenges, the opportunities are
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  really compelling. The top three that consistently
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  come up are, first, that personalized treatment
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  we talked about. The power of patient -specific
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  design is just enormous for improving outcomes
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  and the patient experience. Customization as
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  standard, almost. Pretty much. Second is design
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  flexibility. The ability to create those complex
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  geometries, those one -off designs, impossible
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  with traditional methods. This leads to optimized
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  high -performance parts, lighter, stronger, more.
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  Getting the best possible design for the job.
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  Exactly. And third is rapid learning. Its role
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  as a training tool, especially for new medical
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  professionals, is huge. That quote about the
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  youngsters coming out of training being much
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  more gung -ho about using the latest tech. AM
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  lets them learn complex procedures safely and
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  effectively. So personalized treatment, design
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  flexibility, rapid learning, those are powerful
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  drivers. This raises an important question, though.
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  How do we bridge that gap between those challenges,
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  the need for evidence, cost, skills, standards,
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  and these incredible opportunities? That's the
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  key question, isn't it? Bridging that gap needs
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  focused strategies. First off, continuous technology
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  improvements are vital. The printers themselves
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  need to keep evolving, becoming faster, more
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  automated, maybe incorporating monitoring and
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  inspection during the print itself to ensure...
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  Smarter machines. Smarter machines, exactly.
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  And looking ahead, integrating AI and machine
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  learning is going to be huge here, predicting
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  potential defects before they happen, optimizing
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  print parameters on the fly, really enhancing
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  quality control. Okay. Technology improvement.
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  What else? Closer collaboration is absolutely
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  essential. The whole AM ecosystem, you've got
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  the machine makers, the material suppliers, the
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  software companies, the end users like surgeons
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  or aerospace engineers, the regulators. It's
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  quite fragmented. Right. Lots of different players.
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  So we need much better collaboration between
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  them all. Breaking down silos, maybe simplifying
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  some of the technical jargon so everyone's speaking
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  the same language, fostering that shared understanding.
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  Makes sense. Collaboration is key. Then there's
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  industry capability building. This has two sides.
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  There's the technical capability addressing things
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  like the limited options for post -processing,
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  building up that skilled workforce, especially
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  in places like Australia, where the AM industry
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  is still growing compared to, say, Europe or
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  the U .S. And the other side. The social or business
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  capability. Things like helping companies adapt
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  their business models to leverage AM effectively,
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  fostering multidisciplinary teams that can actually
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  integrate this technology into their existence.
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  So skills and business models. Got it. And finally,
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  standardization and skill development, reinforcing
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  that earlier point. We need clear, agreed upon
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  standards, especially for clinical applications,
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  to build confidence. And continuous training
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  and upskilling for everyone involved, from designers
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  to clinicians, is crucial for consistent, high
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  quality results. It's clear that these changes
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  aren't just about making products slightly differently.
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  They're about making smarter, faster decisions
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  across the entire supply chain. really rethinking
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  it from design all the way to delivery. Indeed.
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  It's a fundamental shift towards a much more
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  responsive, maybe localized, demand -driven way
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  of making things. That was a truly fascinating
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  deep dive into the world of additive manufacturing.
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  Its impact, especially on that medical and surgical
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  supply chain, is profound. It really feels like
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  3D printing isn't just another technology. It's
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  a genuine paradigm shift, redefining how we think
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  about manufacturing, design, and especially personalized
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  care. I agree. That ability to rapidly produce,
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  customize complex parts pretty much on demand,
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  combined with all the ongoing advancements in
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  materials, AI, it really points towards a future
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  where manufacturing is way more agile, probably
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  more localized, and definitely more tailored
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  to individual needs than ever before. It forces
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  us to rethink those traditional long supply chains
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  and embrace new ways of collaborating and innovating.
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  You know, as we wrap up this deep dive, what
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  really stands out to me is this idea of almost
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  digital atoms. The power to arrange matter, layer
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  by layer, exactly how we design it digitally.
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  It makes me wonder, could this level of precision
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  and customization eventually extend to almost
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  every product? Our clothes. Our food, even. What
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  are the big societal questions you think might
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  arise from that kind of hyper -personalized manufacturing
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  future? Oh, that's a deep one to end on. It's
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  really thought -provoking. If everything can
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  be personalized, it raises fascinating questions,
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  doesn't it? About consumerism, maybe we'd value
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  things more if they were perfectly made for us,
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  maybe less waste. But it also challenges mass
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  production models, distribution. How would that
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  work? It definitely suggests a future where we
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  need to carefully balance this incredible innovation
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  with, you know, ethical considerations and sustainability.
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  It's not just a technical shift. It's potentially
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  a societal one, too. A lot to think about there.
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  A big thank you to you for joining us and sharing
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  your expertise on this deep dive. And for our
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  listeners, if you're looking to discuss your
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  security and IT needs, make sure to visit www
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  .kinsoft .com .au. And for anyone interested
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  in exploring 3D printing further, whether for
• 15:58
  business applications or just out of pure curiosity,
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  you can find a lot more resources and services
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  over at 3dprinting .zone. Definitely worth checking
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  out to keep learning about how this tech will
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  shape things. We really hope this deep dive has
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  given you plenty to mull over and maybe even
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  spark some new ideas for your own world. Until
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  next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and
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  keep building the future, layer by layer.