Additive’s New Material World: Higher Volumes, More Talent

Additive manufacturing in large-scale manufacturing industries is experiencing tremendous growth. Its value is evident in the industry’s annual growth rate of 19.5% in 2021, an increase from the 7.5% growth in 2020, according to Wohler’s Report 2022. According to a recent paper from the World Economic Forum, “An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: a How-To Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges,” industry advancements in novel AM materials will play a significant role in continuing this growth. In fact, the WEF notes that the lack of a breadth of durable, application-specific materials has historically been a growth inhibitor for the industry. That’s changing in a hurry as new 3D printing technologies grow the potential universe of materials and the world’s largest chemical companies begin shifting their considerable R&D resources towards additive manufacturing applications.