In his book “The Third Industrial Revolution”, Paul McGillivray lists 3D printing as one of the drivers of the transformation of the third industrial revolution. This technology, which has been described as “a manufacturing technology of industrial revolutionary significance”, is now slowly fermenting within China’s manufacturing industry.
In the past, 3D printing in China was mainly focused on home appliances and consumer electronics, construction and other fields. According to industry estimates, the installed base of 3D printers at the domestic enterprise level is around 400 units, with an annual growth rate of around 70% since 2010, and a market size of over 100 million yuan. Although its disruptive nature is not yet known, 3D printing china industry is exploring the road to “smart” manufacturing, including 3D printing. Paul McGillivray believes that the new industrial revolution will be disruptive, just as textile mills have “eliminated” handloom technology, and Ford’s “T” car has “laid off” the traditional hand blacksmith.
Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques of material removal, other product and automotive Rocker 3D printing follows the “principle of addition”. When printing, first use the relevant software to convert the product drawings into 3D image data and upload the computer, into the corresponding material, the print nozzle will be based on the image data layer by layer to print things out, and then stacked together into a three-dimensional items. One of the most cited advantages of 3D printing technology over traditional manufacturing processes is the savings in raw materials and labour. Thanks to “additive manufacturing technology”, it uses 1/3 to 1/2 of the original material and prints four times faster. It also reduces labour costs by eliminating the need for production lines and part of the assembly process.
At present, the cost savings of 3D printing are more evident in precision processes, said Ru Fangjun, an early online 3D printing entrepreneur and founder of Hangzhou Xunpoint Technology. For example, in the manufacture of turbine blades, the traditional manufacturing process must be completed and then assembled, while 3D printing can be completed in one go, saving one process, and the savings in resources and manpower costs are obvious. In addition to cost savings, 3D printing technology has also shortened the production lead time for manufacturing samples. According to the AURORA Group, 3D printing technology can reduce manufacturing costs by an average of about 50% and shorten processing cycles by 70% during the prototyping and mould opening stages. Early domestic attempts at SLA And DLP 3D printing manufacturing technology, Shenzhen Daye Laser Forming Technology Co., Ltd. technical department head Liao Lezhong also confirmed to the author: the traditional process to polish the first sample of 50 products, at least half a month, but with 3D printing can shorten the time to 3 ~ 5 days.” Relative to the quantifiable cost advantage, 3D printing technology for the manufacturing industry to enhance the ability to innovate is incalculable.
Jonathan Jaglom, general manager of Stratasys Asia Pacific, a giant in the US 3D industry, has told the First Financial Daily: In theory, as long as the computer can design the shape, 3D printers can print it out. This means that the future of industrial manufacturing will be more imaginative. “In the past, manufacturing companies always built their factories in countries where labour was cheap as a way of controlling costs; but labour costs are becoming less and less important.” Paul McGillivray points out that as a manufacturing powerhouse, China needs to make preparations for a third industrial revolution – by moving up the chain. Specifically, the emerging digital manufacturing industry does not require large amounts of labour on the shop floor for intensive production, meaning that cheap labour does not count as a particularly significant advantage and China’s long-term goal cannot be based on a labour price advantage, but needs to use new technologies such as MJF And FDM 3D printing to enhance its competitiveness. “Any technological innovation is a pavement for design innovation.” Ru Fangjun also believes that previously, foreign design advantages lay in structural innovation, such as: hollowing out and seamless design; 3D printing technology has made many impossible designs possible, and this is a new opportunity for China’s manufacturing and manufacturing design industry.