Thanks RR1, and on that note. TRENDS IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING FOR END-USE PRODUCTION WITH PROTO LABS
3DPI: What barriers does AM face for production and how are these surmountable?
GT: Our customers, especially those newer to 3D printing, are still validating the process overall and getting an understanding of its speed, repeatability and reliability, especially for critical end-use components.
Of course, any decision about which manufacturing process to use is really a conversation about economics. The biggest barriers to broader adoption of additive manufacturing are generally around the total costs and value that companies can create with 3D printing compared to other methods.
From a broader 3D printing perspective, these economics can improve greatly with continued machine and material advancements. We expect that to be realized in time, especially with the recent commitments and investments by large organizations, such as GE and HP. There has also been a lot of focus in the industry on reducing the labor required to support 3D printing, such as software addressing setup and automation of the post-processing currently required.