3D printing

The field of Additive Manufacturing is a transformative approach to industrial production that allows the rapid creation of lighter, stronger, and better-quality of spare parts and systems, mainly with the technology known as 3D Printing.

A recent special report of Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) on the 4th industrial revolution, and the need for the country to invest in this sector, makes 3D printing one of the technologies that should receive special attention (and weight). Also, the special report of the European Commission regarding the competitiveness of SMEs in this technology shows the importance given at the European level. The same report shows that the penetration of this particular technology in SE Europe is either small or non-existent.

The term Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been officially defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) as the process of combining materials for the construction of objects based on 3D digital models, usually by successive layer depositions, as opposed to classical subtractive manufacturing processes configuration. The technology of Additive Manufacturing is quite different from the classical manufacturing technologies such as machining, casting, and molding.

Additive Manufacturing can be described as a series of computer-automated processes that produce three-dimensional objects by adding successive layers (layer by layer) derived from computational digital design models using various raw materials such as metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, or even biological materials.

The main advantages of AM are focused on the following:

• On-demand custom component manufacturing
• No specialized tools are required
• Reduction of raw material waste
• Reduction of production time and cost for specialized items and relatively small production lines
• Create parts with highly complex geometries
• Flexibility in design and direct production using various computational techniques

What 3D printing can offer to the world

3D printing brought technological revolution to the world and managed to reshape it. The method of 3D printing has greatly affected the production world, with the following effects:

• In energy use
• In waste reduction
• In product customization and availability
• In medicine
• In art
• In manufacturing
• In science

The four reasons that intrigued us by 3D printing.

There are at least four reasons that have led us to focus on 3D printing. These reasons are:

1. The development of 3D printing has affected a wide range of production processes and has broaden the way for optimizing and increasing productivity, resulting in economic growth. 3D printing is the “new Industrial Revolution”.
2. 3D printing allows the efficient use of materials. Through additive manufacturing, objects are made, with the timeless addition of overlapping layers of material (layers). This results in the minimization of surplus material after production.
3. 3D printers work with lighter materials compared to traditional manufacturing methods. This has as an effect the increase of their effectiveness. To understand the above, it is enough to think about the 3D printing of an aircraft component, which can be 65% lighter than conventional ones and is not inferior to any of them. This contributes to a lower weight of the aircraft, which reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
4. 3D printing is a promising method in various fields that are still in the early stages of development.

Global market of additive manufacturing

3D printing is a method of additive manufacturing, in the global market of additive manufacturing not even one country in SE Europe is in the top 20 markets as shown in the chart below.