Changing Paradigms

AM Summit 2022 breakout session: Changing Paradigms placed focus on how Additive Manufacturing has and will impact different manufacturing industries. The session brought together industry leaders using AM as an industry disrupter to drive forward a radical new way of designing, innovating, and producing products and components. 

The breakout session was moderated by Tim Frank Andersen, CEO and Co-Founder, Liveshopper. The industry leader participants in the panel included: 

• Andrew Lamb, Innovation Lead – Global, Field Ready
• Stefan Larsson, Founder, Maker and Entrepreneur, Lostboyslab and Whatt.io 
• Adam R. Pawloski, VP Manufacturing Solutions, Stratasys 
• Federica Chinese, Sales Manager EMEA, Nano Dimension 

Although in recent years AM technology is increasingly being adopted by the manufacturing industry, and their examples where it has disrupted the industry and led to new ways of designing and manufacturing products, the panellists agree that there is still work to be done for AM to reach the so-called ‘Spotify moment’. One of the ways to facilitate this move towards changing paradigms is for industry leaders to share their good examples. Especially two issues were discussed more at length, sustainable materials and distributed manufacturing. 

Sustainable materials and the issue of cost 

One of the panellists, from Lostboyslab, use 90 percent recycled materials in their 3D printed products. The recycled material is generally more expensive than virgin material. However, they experience that their customers are willing to pay extra for sustainability and the “story” of the material. Recycled fishnets collected in Indonesia, where local fishermen are being paid for collecting waste from the ocean, is one example of the recycled material being used. This addresses one of the biggest environmental challenges of removing waste from the oceans while securing an income for local fishermen. 

For others the costs of recycled materials, but also in general the costs of 3D printing compared to other manufacturing methods, remains a barrier for more widespread use of AM by the manufacturing industry. In order to overcome this barrier, stronger collaboration in the AM ecosystem is needed. A point that is highlighted in connection with this is the need to produce and share data based on early AM adopters to demonstrate that industry can adopt AM with low risk. 

Unleashed potential of distributed manufacturing 

The potentials of distributed manufacturing were discussed in connection with a question to the panel on what it takes for additive manufacturing to reach the ‘Spotify moment’. This involves a need to change business models and create distributed networks of partners or satellites to 3D print locally. For Field Made, a humanitarian organisation transforming aid logistics by manufacturing supplies in the field, there is an imminent need to map 3D printers across the developing countries of the world. In time this could allow the possibility to contract private makers and companies around the world to deliver individually on one single large order for 3D printed devices. For this to become reality, it is also necessary to address regulatory implications related to quality control processes in distributed manufacturing.