2013 World 3D Printing Technology Industry Conference was held in Beijing, China yesterday. According to Luo Jun, CEO of the Beijing-based Asian Manufacturing Association (AMA), revenues for the 3D printing industry in China are likely to reach 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) within three years. He said the industry in China is on track to expand tenfold in the next three years.
But he also admitted 3D printing is still in an early stage. "What we need to do now is to integrate 3-D printing technology with an ongoing industrial transformation and upgrade," he said.
The Industry Alliance of China 3D Printing Technology was established on October 15, 2012 by experts and scholars from more than 30 domestic research institutions and industry-leading companies, including AMA, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, etc.
The alliance plans to build 10 innovation centers for 3D printing technology in 10 cities in China, with a planned investment of 20 million yuan ($3.3 million) for each center.
In March 2013, the alliance signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone to establish China's first 3D printer technology innovation center. This agreement is designed to explore a 3D printing development model in this traditional industrial area. This center mainly aims to serve manufacturers and will include showrooms, education center, process and service center and R&D center.
China's 3D printing industry generated revenues worth around 1 billion yuan ($163 million) in 2012 while total revenues outside of China hit 10 billion yuan, according to AMA figures.
According to Wohlers Associates, The U.S. continues to lead the world with the largest installed base of AM users. And 38% of all industrial AM installations are in the U.S. Japan is second with 9.7%, followed by Germany with 9.4% and China with 8.7%.
China still lags behind the US in advanced manufacturing, but "China is the market with the greatest potential and demand for this new technology," said Luo Jun. He expected that the country will become the biggest market worldwide for 3D printing within three years.
Graham Tromans, chairman of the United Kingdom-based Additive Manufacturing Association, said that China has the potential to become the biggest 3D printing market within 3~5 years. The real push for productivity is large industrial 3D printers, he explained, "if China want to reach to the advanced level in the world, China should seek breakthrough in this direction."
"It's an ambitious plan for China to grab the top position," said Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates Inc. Wohlers believes the most important application for 3D printing is to produce parts for final products. Wohlers expects more nations will join the market, and what we see now is only "tip of the iceberg". "3D printing has only 25 years history," said Wohlers. The future industry will be "very, very big".
America is so damn dumb sometimes! Why the f*UCk are we about to allow china or any other Country to dominate all over again our manufacturing processes. Let's invest Trillions of dollars in to the 3D revolution and own our country again. If we let politics and greed get in our way we will remain slaves to foreign markets & industries. We too worried about sports, celebs, politics and everything else but fixing our real problems. Wake up people let's use technology to create a better America for all of us not just the top 10% of America!