Posted on

AMFG Publishes Additive Manufacturing Landscape Report 2020: Breaking Down the Industry and Looking at the Future

Today, London-based company AMFG, which provides MES and workflow software for industrial additive manufacturing (AM) that helps companies streamline and manage their production workflows, has released the second edition of its annual Additive Manufacturing Landscape report and infographic. Since the first report was published in April of 2019, there have been some big changes in the AM industry, including new materials and technologies, investors and companies, and new applications – all of which are strong indicators that the sector is continuing to move towards greater industrialization.

“While the start of 2020 has ushered much uncertainty globally, the progress within the 3D printing industry shows no signs of slowing down,” said Keyvan Karimi, the CEO of AMFG. “In these extraordinary times, we are witnessing the continued maturation of 3D printing into an industrialised technology, driving digital transformation.”

The Additive Manufacturing Landscape 2020 edition provides some very important insights into the current AM market, breaking down the current landscape of the technology and providing industry stakeholders and manufacturing companies with some meaningful and shrewd observations regarding the trends that are molding the industry, both this year and into the future.

“In a time of global need, 3D printing is playing a key role in demonstrating its ability to respond to the need for on-demand production and help alleviate supply chain disruption,” the report’s Executive Summary states. “In addition to external factors, new players continue to enter the AM market, while acquisitions and partnerships continue to flurry across the industry.”

AMFG has customers across a range of industries in over 25 countries, and, so, has a breadth of experience to draw from in compiling this report. A total of 231 organizations were included in the 2020 landscape’s infographic, shown above, with hardware, materials, post-processing, and materials companies all included. However, as this report focuses on the industrial side of the industry, consumer 3D printing companies were not included.

The report, running 27 pages, breaks down the 2020 AM landscape, stating that the major “several factors driving the industry’s growth” include users focusing on establishing clear AM applications and the fact that the technology is now part of the broader trend of digitization in the manufacturing world. It also offers a look at the trends expected to come in 2021, and discusses some of the many milestones that occurred in 2019, such as:

  • the launch of Jabil’s Materials Innovation Center
  • the announcement that Orbex had produced the largest single-piece metal rocket engine
  • the new 5200 series of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers
  • Carbon’s major investments
  • Angel Trains and Stratasys partnering to 3D print components for passenger trains
  • the collaboration between Made In Space and CELLINK to develop bioprinting technology for space.

HP’s industrial Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printing Solution (Image: HP)

The white paper covers insights regarding the major segments within the industry, with an entire section just for AM service providers and online platforms. Additive Manufacturing Landscape 2020 takes a look at the rate of 3D printing adoption all over the world, from North America and the Asia-Pacific region to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and features some expert observations from Joseph Crabtree, the CEO of Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Scott Dunham, the Vice President of Research at SmarTech Analysis.

Scott Dunham at Additive Manufacturing Strategies 2020 (Photo: Sarah Saunders for 3DPrint.com)

“Based on our tracking and models, 2019 was the lowest growth total across the board of any year since I started providing consulting and research services to the additive community back in 2012,” Dunham said. “But while I don’t anticipate that any markets will be totally immune from the litany of negative impacts of COVID-19, I can see much of the additive manufacturing market actually coming out of this for the better.”

Some of the major points that the report makes include that the industry’s largest segment is metal machines, which make up 22.5 percent of the overall AM landscape, and hardware, at 56 percent, is the largest category. This category has a new segment this year in composite 3D printers, which are often niche, but have the potential to grow into a more profitable market.

Additionally, the white paper states that an estimated $1.1 billion worth of investments were made last year in 77 early-stage AM companies, with 3D printer manufacturers receiving the largest piece of the funding pie. Another important point stated in the report is that connectivity and collaboration will continue to be vital in helping the fragmented additive manufacturing industry consolidate into a more unified front.

To learn more, you can check out the entire Additive Manufacturing Landscape 2020 here, and you can also find a link to the report on our White Paper page.

Discuss this news and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

The post AMFG Publishes Additive Manufacturing Landscape Report 2020: Breaking Down the Industry and Looking at the Future appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Posted on

INTERVIEW: AMFG CEO Keyvan Karimi on the importance of connectivity in the AM workflow

Headquartered in London, AMFG provides software that will help move industrial 3D printing to production. Specifically, the company has developed a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and workflow automation software for additive manufacturing. Keyvan Karimi, CEO and Founder, launched the company in 2014 with the vision of helping manufacturers scale up their additive manufacturing operations.  Speaking […]
Posted on

80 additive manufacturing experts predict the 3D printing trends to watch in 2020

Predicting the future is impossible. But that doesn’t stop us at 3D Printing Industry from inviting CEOs, CTOs and other AM experts to give us 3D printing predictions for 2020. If you want to stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, subscribe to our free 3D Printing Industry newsletter. You’ll be among […]
Posted on

Link3D expands EOS partnership, enters collaboration with Autodesk and AMFG

New York-based additive manufacturing workflow software provider Link3D has expanded its partnership with EOS, a leading German 3D printer OEM. Working in a joint machine connectivity program, the two partners are enhancing Link3D’s Production Scheduling software to help streamline the additive manufacturing process. Additionally, Link3D has entered into a collaboration Autodesk and AMFG to enable full traceability […]
Posted on

EOS and AMFG introduce 3D printer connectivity in MES workflow automation software

EOS, a leading German 3D printer OEM, and UK-based software company AMFG, have announced a partnership to enable streaming and connectivity for EOS machines through AMFG’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software. The two companies established the partnership in response to the lack of connectivity across the additive manufacturing workflow, which they claim presents a barrier […]
Posted on

AMFG begins new partnerships with LEO Lane and Malcolm Nicholls Limited

AMFG, a 3D printing software company, and LEO Lane, providers of file security and IP protection solutions have announced a new partnership. The partnership aims to provide end-users with a, “secure solution for end-to-end AM workflow management, including virtual inventories and on-demand production.” In an earlier article for 3D Printing Industry LEO Lane co-founder, Lee-Bath […]
Posted on

3D Printing News Briefs: September 27, 2018

We’re starting with some news from the ongoing TCT Show in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to webcasts and YouTube videos, finishing with an update on the upcoming Viaggio a Shamballa event by WASP. At the TCT Show, AMFG has unveiled its new Supplier Integration Network. An applications engineer from Fisher Unitech conducted a webcast about using Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing to optimize additive manufacturing, a Technical University of Denmark professor talked about the possibilities of topology optimization for 3D printing, and a Boeing engineer discussed 3D printing in the aeronautics industry. Finally,  we’re getting ever closer to the date that WASP will publicly present its Crane construction 3D printer, and the village it’s building, in Massa Lombarda, Italy.

AMFG Introducing Supplier Integration Network at TCT Show

At the TCT Show, which continues in Birmingham through this Thursday, AM automation software provider AMFG is unveiling the newest feature in its software platform: the Supplier Integration Network, which lets manufacturers coordinate their AM supply chain network and automate production. With the Supplier Integration Network, manufacturers can outsource production or post-processing to their suppliers, and suppliers and service bureaus can use it to give OEMs easier access to their services. The company believes that this latest feature will make its portfolio more attractive to manufacturers looking to invest in 3D printing.

“Manufacturers are looking to scale their additive production effectively and we’re committed to giving them the software infrastructure to do so. Facilitating greater connectivity between all players along the supply chain, through automation, is a large part of this,” said Keyvan Karimi, CEO of AMFG. “Our vision with the Supplier Integration Network is also to help companies achieve truly distributed manufacturing by providing a greater level of connectivity along the supply chain through our platform. Of course, the Supplier Integration Network feature is designed to be used in conjunction with our other AM solutions, from project management to production planning and more.”

To see this new automation platform for yourself, visit AMFG at Stand J42 at the TCT Show.

Fisher Unitech Webcast: Optimizing Additive with Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing

3D printer and 3D product development software provider Fisher Unitech, a distributor of MakerBot and Nano Dimension 3D printers, is on a mission to advance manufacturing in America by supporting, delivering, and training customers on the best software and manufacturing solutions. Recently, Gerald Matarazzo, a 3D Printing Application Engineer with the company, as well as a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, recorded a webcast all about using the Lean Six Sigma methodology to optimize additive manufacturing. During the webcast, Matarazzo introduces viewers to some Lean Six Sigma best practices, tips, tools, and tricks to help 3D printing companies stop getting hung up on costly delays.

“I want to be very clear – this presentation is meant for managers, not analysts,” Matarazzo explains in the webcast. “What that basically means is, once again, we’re going to be going over management tools, optimization, and tips and tricks on how to better manage a team or better manage a fleet of machines.”

Watch the 30-minute webcast below to learn more:

Topology Optimization Possibilities for 3D Printing

In a new YouTube video posted by Simuleon, a reseller of Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA products, you can see an interview with Ole Sigmund, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the keynote speaker at Dassault’s Additive Manufacturing Symposium, which opened this year’s popular Science in the Age of Experience event. Sigmund is one of the inventors of topology optimization, a mathematical approach that optimizes material layout within a given design space. It allows designers to take advantage of the geometrical freedoms possible through 3D printing. In the video, Sigmund discusses the possibilities of topology optimization, and infill technologies, for additive manufacturing.

“So essentially additive manufacturing offers ultimate freedom for manufacturing but they don’t know how to come up with these optimal parts. And on the other hand, topology optimization uses this ultimate freedom to come up with parts that are optimized for specific load cases and extreme situations. And so topology optimization provides the designs to additive manufacturing and additive manufacturing makes it possible to realize the designs coming from topology optimization, so that is an ideal marriage.”

3D Printing in the Aeronautics Industry

At this summer’s EAA Oshkosh AirVenture aviation event in Wisconsin, Boeing structures researcher Bernardo Malfitano delivered an hour-long talk about the use of 3D printing in the aeronautics industry. Understanding Airplanes recently published the YouTube video of the talk, along with the presentation slides. The Boeing researcher’s talk discussed the history of aviation companies using common 3D printing methods like SLA and FFF, how the the technology is currently used in the aerospace industry, and the ongoing research that will introduce even more applications in the future, such as surface smoothing and fatigue testing. The presentation also shows dozens of 3D printed parts that are currently in use on aircraft by companies and organizations like Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and NASA.

“I should probably specify that this isn’t really 3D printing for home builders, because I’m mostly gonna talk about more advanced technologies and more expensive 3D printers,” Malfitano said at the beginning of his talk. “I’m gonna talk about 3D printers that can print metal parts that cost millions of dollars.”

You can watch the whole presentation in the video below:

Viaggio a Shamballa Event by WASP Coming Soon

The versatile Italian company WASP, or the World’s Advanced Saving Project, has spent the last two years developing a new large-scale construction 3D printer called the Crane, a modular system consisting of multiple print bodies that’s evolved from the BigDelta 12M. In less than two weeks, WASP will be presenting the Crane to the public in Massa Lombarda, which is where the village of Shamballa is being 3D printed. On October 6th and 7th, a program will be held surrounding the introduction of the WASP Crane 3D printer and the Gaia Module 3D printed earth house. The conference “A call to save the world” will open the event, focusing on future 3D printing construction developments and proposing themes for reflection on both design strategy and the technology’s potential in architecture.

“Knowledge applied to common good. If we use digital manufacturing techniques to respond to the basic human needs, we start up a real hope and this will be the guiding thread of “A call to save the world”. A home is undoubtedly a primary need and WASP’s mission has always been to develop processes and tools to allow men, wherever they are, to build 3D printed houses with material found on site and at a cost that tends to zero,” WASP wrote in a press release.

“The WASP call is addressed to all those who want to collaborate and spread the new construction techniques, with the final aim to create a better world. Representatives of international organizations involved in architectural research, such as IaaC (Institute Advanced Architecture Catalunya, ES), XtreeE (FR), D-Shape (IT), Emerging Objects (USA), will take part in the meeting.”

Check out the complete program here.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

Posted on

3D Printing News Briefs: August 18, 2018

In 3D Printing News Briefs, in which we share news about some upcoming events, and then move on to business, science, and 3D printing pen art. Europac 3D and Addition Design and Research are showing their plans for the upcoming TCT Show, and the Formlabs Roadshow is coming to Chicago next month. Makelab has launched its on-demand production platform, powered by AMFG software, and Rize published a brief about 3D printing in life sciences. Finally, 3Doodler announced an upcoming video class series on 3D printing pen art.

Europac 3D Announces Lineup for TCT Show 2018

Top UK 3D printing, scanning, and inspection business Europac 3D announced that its booth for this year’s TCT Show in Birmingham will be its “biggest and most informative” yet, showcasing the latest in 3D printing innovations. In addition to displaying and 3D printing a range of sunglasses during the show to illustrate its end-to-end solutions, the company will also display 3D printers from HP and UnionTech, NX software from Siemens, and 3D scanners from Artec and Kreon Technologies. Experts will also be on hand at Europac’s booth to answer any questions.

“We will have our biggest and best stand to date at TCT this year and will be hosting 3D printing, scanning and modelling experts to provide visitors with a one stop shop for all their technical queries,” said John Beckett, Managing Director of Europac. “Europac 3D will be on hand to demonstrate all of our latest projects and innovations. We look forward to welcoming visitors to our stand for what promises to be an unforgettable event.”

Check out what Europac to offer at Stand M26 at the TCT Show, running from September 25th-27th.

Addition Design and Research Attending TCT Show 2018

Another 3D printing company that’s announced its plans to exhibit at the TCT Show is contract research and development (CRD) supplier Addition Design & Research, which provides end-to-end advanced design and manufacturing solutions using 3D printing. While the company is rather new to the 3D printing industry, it’s long worked at the intersection of CRD, high value design and engineering, and AM with other organizations to create high quality business solutions.

Addition Design & Research will be available during the TCT Show at Stand K49 for one-on-one meetings to provide insight into its expertise, offer advice on how to adopt 3D printing, and to discuss collaboration. Any organizations in the UK searching for a primer on using 3D printing as a business solution should attend the company’s training course in Sheffield just ahead of the show.

Formlabs Roadshow Hits the Road in Chicago

The popular Formlabs Roadshow has visited many big cities, from New York City and San Francisco to Los Angeles and now Chicago.

“Formlabs is traveling to industry hubs across North America to celebrate the capabilities of 3D printing in digital manufacturing,” the event reads. “We are bringing together local innovators and global disruptors to discuss how accessible 3D printing technology is enabling manufacturing across the business and education landscapes. Join us as we tackle opportunities and barriers in digital manufacturing and design with industry experts.”

The event, which centers around taking advantage of Industry 4.0, will be held from 10:30 – 2 on Friday, September 14th at the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII). Speakers include several well-known 3D printing experts, including Luke Winston, the Chief Business Officer at Formlabs, and Siemens’ Additive Manufacturing Solutions Director Chris Weber, with more to be announced soon. Tickets are less than $70, so sign up here to attend.

Makelab Launched On-Demand Production Platform

Brooklyn-based 3D printing service bureau Makelab is partnering with AMFG, which creates automation software for industrial 3D printing, to launch a new on-demand production platform. AMFG’s software will automate Makelab’s manufacturing operations, as well as make its 3D printing services more accessible to universities, engineers, and designers. Customers can use AMFG’s on-demand portal to easily request 3D printed parts with its auto-quoting tool, while Makelab will be able to track parts and requests, automatically schedule jobs and optimize build space, plan for post-processing, and conduct quality assurance.

“With AMFG, we’ve found an end-to-end solution which not only takes care of the auto-quoting in a more user-friendly and intuitive way, but also takes care of managing production, which is a huge advantage for us. As we scale our business, we’re always looking for innovative ways to solve key issues like keeping track of all our machines, effectively packing builds and ultimately, optimising our workflow for maximum efficiency,” said Makelab Co-Founder Christina Perla. “AMFG answered all of these questions and more, so we can provide a faster, more efficient service for our customers.”

Rize Commissions Brief on Life Sciences 3D Printing

Boston-based 3D printing company Rize recently commissioned a new Insight Brief, titled “Personalized 3D Printing in Life Sciences,” written by Axendia’s Eric Luyer, an Industry Research Analyst, and Ellyn McMullin, a Research Associate. There are many applications for 3D printing in the healthcare, medical device, pharmaceutical, and surgery industries, and Life Sciences companies can use the technology to break down barriers. But there are plenty of complex regulations to be managed in order for this to be successful. The brief discusses 3D printing applications in Life Sciences, some of the FDA guidelines, and how Rize’s 3D printing Augmented Polymer Deposition (APD) technology is very important to controlling some of the important processes that Life Sciences manufacturers need.

“RIZE’S patented APD system is key to Traceability, Control of Process Parameters and validated processes that Manufacturers must maintain and control to meet FDA 21 CFR 820.30 Design Controls requirements. It’s an industrial 3D Printer where complex geometry can be manufactured matching patients’ anatomy,” said Kishore Boyalakuntla, Vice President of Product at RIZE.

The brief also discusses how global medical device manufacturer CONMED used Rize’s technology to 3D print molds for producing medical-grade elastomeric products.

3Doodler Working on 3D Pen Art Video Class Series

Popular Kickstarter-backed company 3Doodler is working with Bluprint, owned by NBCUniversal, on a series of 3D Pen Art video classes aimed at teaching makers and crafters how to create works of art with the 3Doodler Create+ 3D Pen. Its content, available for free online through Bluprint, Craftsy, and streaming apps like Roku, will be part of the new entity’s expanded subscription service, and Grace Du Prez, an internationally renowned 3D pen artist whose work we’ve covered before, will be the host of the show, which marks the first such broadcast agreement for 3Doodler.

Six episodes will run through the 2018 holiday season, and the first five are already up, covering projects like phone cases, terrariums, and lantern lights; you will need to sign up for a free Bluprint trial to watch. The sixth video class will be an episode of Doodle Wars, a new, family-friendly NBC competition series. Check out a teaser video for Doodle Wars below:

NEW SHOW TIME: Doodle Wars is here ! These artists are incredible and thanks to this show I’m now calling myself Bob Ross Jr. Shoutout to Bluprint NBC and the whole awesome Hudsun Media team that made it happen and our great judges Zoe Hong + Jon Chad. Catch the whole season over at mybluprint.com now!….#doodlewars #iamadoodlerwarrior #doodle #scribble #draw #art #doodling #competition #mybluprint

Gepostet von Paul Costabile am Mittwoch, 15. August 2018

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

Posted on

Makelab partners with AMFG for automated 3D printing on-demand

Brooklyn-based on-demand 3D printing service bureau, Makelab, has partnered with automation software developer AMFG. With the help of AMFG’s software utilities, Makelab is to streamline it’s 3D printing service requests in response to high demand.  According to Christina Perla, Makelab co-founder, there was a clear need to partner with AMFG. Perla said, “as we scale […]