Dr. Brent Stucker, a man with multiple hats whose thoughts were shared when he was a Distinguished Engineer in Additive Manufacturing at Ansys, predicts a constant growth course of the AM market during this 20th edition of Rapid.Tech 3D.
While he held the hat of a technology strategist at Wohlers Associates during the event, his speech collided with the announcement of his appointment as Chief Engineer for North America at Nikon SLM Solutions.
Additive manufacturing (AM) currently accounts for more than 20 billion dollars, a fraction of 0.13 percent of global production. This figure is set to rise to more than 90 billion dollars by 2033. At 0.58 percent, this will still be less than one percent. Stucker considers a share of up to ten percent to be reasonable. Achieving this remains a major challenge and at the same time offers great opportunities, for example for German machine manufacturers and technology providers. Now is a good time to push ahead with new and further developments in AM machines, materials and applications, -materials and applications and to generate capital for this, according to Stucker.
With over 30 years of AM expertise as a scientist, co-founder and manager of well-known 3D printing companies and founding chairman of the international standardization commission for additive manufacturing ASTM, which is incorporated into the annual Wohlers Report, among other things, Stucker’s journey makes it easy to believe his forecasts for AM – especially in the German manufacturing industry.
While the current state of the market reveals that Germany is in the top countries that fosters the growth of the industry, companies in this region should not rest on their laurels as there is still a long road to go to make AM viable and profitable across vertical industries.
Remember, you can post job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media for free or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure you send it to contact@3dadept.com