Materialise weighs in on 3D printing trends for 2021

We told you last week about the 3D printing trends that shaped the industry in 2020. As we mark entry into the 4th decade of 3D printing in 2021, major trends that have been forming will take shape and come to fruition in the years to come. Materialise, has revealed what it believes the key trends to be, starting with three trends: “Going back to the drawing board to rethink manufacturing; enabling the personalization of not only products, but also 3D printers themselves; and creating new solutions, fast.”

This year, the COVID-19 crisis showed that AM can step up and provide meaningful solutions to emerging challenges. Until now however, these solutions had not truly played to the strengths of the technology. In fact, the value of AM lies in being able to create things that no other manufacturing method can. AM’s ability to customize, to print with fewer components and with less waste, means that it can ensure solutions that are flexible and that operate with sustainability at their core. The key to a strong legacy for the industry is to continue finding meaningful applications that take advantage of these qualities and to bring a greater awareness to all that AM has to offer. Fried Vancraen, Materialise CEO and Founder comments, “As companies realize that they need to do things differently, AM empowers them to make a difference.”

Image via Materialise

Rethinking manufacturing

The COVID-19 crisis has forced us to rethink the status quo. We talked extensively about the role AM can play to strengthen weakened supply chains, and more generally its ability to provide more agility and innovation during the production process. Materialise gives the example of Airbus, which recently revealed plans to accelerate the development of hydrogen-powered commercial jets and skip over the development of hybrid engines entirely. This bold jump means that by 2035, the world could see the first zero-emission, climate-neutral aircraft. Technologies like AM can play a big part in realizing these types of innovative concepts. Materialise CTO, Bart Van der Schueren comments: “AM frees designers from the constraints and limitations of traditional manufacturing technologies. As a result, AM allows us to create performance, weight-saving, time and cost advantages.”