Digital Transformation

CHAPTER 123D Printing

This chapter provides an overview of 3D printing technology, the steps required to execute the printing process, some of the benefits and challenges around the technology, and the application areas. It also discusses the methodology for adoption and some of the typical use cases across industries to make the enterprise intelligent.

3D Printing Overview

3D Printing is the additive manufacturing technology that is used to create a three‐dimensional object from a digital model by adding material layer by layer. It allows designers and manufacturers to build complex parts such as tools, toys, spare parts, etc., at a fraction of the cost compared to what it takes to buy the actual product and saves the time involved in the copying, molding, and shaping processes.

Plastic polymers are the most commonly used material used in the 3D printers, but with the advancement of technology, the printing process uses various other materials such as metal, ceramic, sand, wax, cast iron, and inks. Recently, glass and wood have also been used with the 3D printers.

In the past, the cost of 3D printing was high, and the technology was only used by large enterprises, but the development of consumer‐friendly desktop 3D printers has made the technology more accessible to small and midsized businesses and home users.

3D printing is one of the emerging disruptive technologies that has been on a rapid growth trajectory with a global market forecast of more than $21 billion. It ...