The Importance of 3D Printing in Industry 4.0

3D printing is one of the fundamental elements of Industry 4.0. But before considering the role of additive manufacturing, it is first necessary to understand what Industry 4.0 is. Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, consists of the automation and digitization of industry and all business-related processes. Industrial revolutions occurring throughout history have been defined by the characteristics of the different emerging technologies of each moment. These characteristics and the new technologies change the industry’s methods of production at great speed. At the same time they incite economic and social change, profoundly transforming humanity and how it has evolved. Society has lived through three industrial and technological revolutions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that have led to progress in all its aspects, both economically and socially.

Since about 2014, industry, economy and society have been experiencing a new change marked by the fourth industrial revolution. This has been possible thanks to the exponential growth of technology and ICT in the last decade, giving rise to Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 groups physical, digital and biological systems into an intelligent production network where different components interact and collaborate together. Likewise, it is made up of different innovative technologies that give rise to flexible, intelligent and autonomous solutions. This change implies the digital transformation of industry and companies with the integration of new disruptive technologies: 3D printing, IoT, cyber-physical systems (CPS), cybersecurity, cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and big data. This gives rise to the industry of the future or Smart Factory.