The technology I think will tip the scales for distributed manufacturing over the next decade is distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (or DRAM for short). Well be happy, free, less confused, and lonely simultaneously. The coming decade will see AM mature in its role within the constellation of digital manufacturing. To achieve this, industry participants will have realized that we all need to work together and overcome the big challenges of quality control, cross-platform repeatability, and recycling of materials. Mohsen Seifi, Director of Global Additive Manufacturing Programs, Martin White, Head of Additive Manufacturing Programs Europe Region, UK, Alexander Liu, Head of Additive Manufacturing Programs Asia Region, Singapore, & Terry Wohlers, Head of Advisory Services and Market Intelligence, ASTM Internationals Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. Todays biggest potential applications be it heat exchangers, lightweight structural components, or electric motors will then be actual applications. People As more people learn AM and appreciate the importance of MfAM/DfAM, the skills gap will be minimized; the existing workforce will continue to learn, and they will be supplemented with new grads coming out of trade schools and colleges for whom AM is already a tool in the toolbox. Vertical markets will be the first to feature sustainable AM success stories. When we think of edge computing or point-of-use manufacturing, all of these have been enabled by significant advances in technological capabilities coupled with its increased and affordable access downstream. These markets still grow at a very impressive rate from 20 to 30 percent and they will altogether reach a trillion Dollar in the next decade and obviously, the 3D printing market will continue to grow at the same speed and we will have a significant piece in this market. Marketers may use creative language to boost sales or encapsulate concepts in a digestible format, the counter-point to hype is providing a vision or goal to strive for. Advancements in additive hardware will enable printing with minimal to no human involvement, and many printers will enable freeform fabrication that builds parts from all directions instead of stacking layers in the z-axis. Innovation can come by way of a new spin on existing technologies, by existing players expanding their product portfolios with complimentary technologies or by net-new technologies being introduced to the market. Additive manufacturing will enable distributed manufacturing, thus improving supply and value chains, adding value to customers, and supporting the well-being of our planet. They will be the main driver for the growth of enabling technologies such as 3D printing. It is not enough to introduce design flexibility, speed to market, or supply chain efficiency offered by additive manufacturing. Will we see newly discovered 3D printing materials from AI-enabled computational alloy discovery where end users can specify required characteristics? Manufacturing at the edge is well on its way to becoming a norm; the FDA recently released a discussion paper seeking input from industry actors to help guide its formulation of policies and regulation of 3D printed point-of-care solutions. And we successfully demonstrated it in the formnext 2021. Options for AM materials are already growing, with metal and high-temperature polymers in FDM printing being developed. Data will play a vital role in extracting maximum value from additive manufacturing. While it may, in part, drive multiple hyper-specialized solutions providers, it will push incumbents to focus on developing sticky, end-to-end offerings. Im very excited about the next frontier in healthcare where bioprinting plays an important role. Is 3D printing overhyped? I expect to see new technologies! This will happen with the improvement of technologies and progress of design for additive manufacturing education. The price of parts produced by LPBF will significantly drop to compete with low to mid-volume casting and machining applications while maintaining the high quality and benefits of AM that were all accustomed to today (and plus more). Over the next decade, I predict that full-color 3D printing will be picked up by small to medium-sized businesses, as printers such as our 3DUJ-2207 become more cost-effective as well as more conveniently sized for an office space. With the increased adoption of AM there will also be a growing demand for skilled workers and AM-specific education while we already see the first AM-focused courses in schools and universities, the whole engineering mindset will shift towards more resource efficiency and sustainable engineering. the ultimate acceptance that we have all been looking for. Replacing traditional mass manufacturing with additive manufacturing requires proper justification that can be cost, environmental considerations, supply chain, improved functionality, etc. DRAM saves people real money. The portfolio of plastic materials available for 3D Printing will have no limitations. Even more exciting, advanced material composites, combined with the ability to produce highly complex geometries, will open up new manufacturing possibilities that have been impossible to unlock with traditional technologies (this is already happening!). How can the additive manufacturing market be valued at $12 billion if SPAC activity in a recent 12 month period was over $11bn? Photo by Michael Petch. Looking for a career in additive manufacturing? Can 3D printing companies expect increased government scrutiny as soft state invention extends security concerns beyond defense and into others verticals such as energy, aerospace, or broader technology markets. I cant wait to see this! There will be a common understanding that certain parts must be produced additively because of lot size, need for customization, need for on site production on demand. (there is no necessity to prioritize these different possible justifications). Gareth Neal, Customer Applications Manager, Advanced Applications, Technologies & Fluid, Xaar. I believe the most critical and overarching theme that AM will continue to show revolutionary outcomes is in the response to sustainability strategies for our planet. With such an influx of capital, we are already seeing an acceleration in time-to-market for new technologies and platforms, as well as M&As amongst legacy vendors. Henrike Wonneberger, COO and co-founder, Replique. Even though additive manufacturing has been around for about half a century now, we are currently recognizing an incredible maturing of the technology and the ecosystem around it. The biggest turnover in industrial AM production has however always been connected to resin-based 3D printing. There are so many experts now working to overcome the challenges of the existing solutions. Advancements in AM software have improved quality control and now allow us to predict warping and excessive thermal stress before printing, minimizing printing defects and wasted materials. The computational design abilities and the ease of use of Two-Photon Polymerization will shorten the development cycles from a design sketch to a ready-to-use product from years to weeks. Purchasing power works to seek out winning technology platforms among a sea of me-toos. 2021 was a big leap for many companies that raised funds/decided to go public when part of the capital is targeted for developing new products. And apply new technologies that are more sustainable and allow to manufacture better quality: more lightweight parts customized on demand that solve the supply chain issues in addition. I expect that, during this 10 year period, AM can really fulfill the promises that have been outlined in recent years to become the main manufacturing technique for creating end-use parts. As we look forward to the next decade, we expect a period of consolidation in the AM industry. A successful series production with additive manufacturing will require this specialization with respect to process parameters, machines, and material to boost 3D printing against conventional production. In an article about the future, it might seem odd to look at the past, yet parallels can be both illuminating and help plot a safer course. Woolf, Elliot, and Joyce put the internal stream of conscious thought onto the page, experimentation in the Harlem Renaissance saw modernism flourish in literature, music, and other art forms in the US and across the world. We will see a plurality of applications maturing from basic to applied research until they eventually reach industrial-grade maturity with a steep technology readiness level development (TRL). Digital Improved software is on the horizon; it will be integrated across the AM workflow and smarter, perhaps even artificially intelligent. 3DP OEMs will offer fully automated end-to-end systems and technology solutions that keep the digital thread from design all the way to post-production and inspection of any 3D printed part. Andreas Langfeld, President EMEA, Stratasys. I hardly think we will see big bang application in the coming decade. Information about process control, demand/supply trends, supply chain flexibility, and carbon emissions will increasingly feed systems that are able to digest these large data and obtain actionable insights. At Roboze, we look forward to supporting the innovators of tomorrow that will change our future for the better. A vast choice of materials will emerge and reach industrial grade, may it be biomaterials such as bioinks, and biodegradable materials or technical materials beyond high-performance polymers, including glass and ceramics. There is a historic shift in consumer behavior underway. Methods of AM will continue to be driven by market pull, such as the Net-Zero Carbon applications, particularly in transport and heavy industry. Mass manufacturing of AM parts will become commonplace. We will also see an expansion of the AM materials portfolio, with the availability of new AM alloys, polymers, and hybrid/metamaterials. Creating more on-demand local production, slashing transport emissions, and combatting production waste is only just the beginning. In the future, 3D printing technologies will be more narrowly specialized: tailored even more for certain industries and problems in different niches. (Align Technology, NASDAQ: ALGN, market cap: $37.4 billion versus 3D Systems, NYSE: DDD, market cap: $2.2B). An additional trend we expect to see at Rethink spurred on by the increased exposure of AM as a result of pandemic supply chain disruption is set to drive explosive growth this year and for the decade rides off the back of this new wave of awareness; financial investments in technology vendors. This will increase personalization of the medicines increasing acceptability and effectiveness, reducing side effects. The past year was characterized by acquisitions and consolidation processes since the space is extremely fragmented.