More and more Danish manufacturing companies are using AM technology
3D printing has never been used as extensively as in 2021, when several Danish manufacturing companies combined printing technology with the use of green power and, in particular, experienced the technology’s sustainable potential.
According to the latest AM Report 2022, the use of additive manufacturing (AM) / industrial 3D printing increased steadily from 2018 to 2021. New studies from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and Jysk Analyse show that one third of manufacturing companies used AM technology in 2021, a significant increase since 2018, when SDU found that only a quarter of companies used the technology. The same positive trend is also seen in surveys from Statistics Denmark, which likewise showed an increase from 2018 to 2020.
Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO of Danish AM Hub, says: “It is very positive that more Danish companies are embracing the technology and are therefore able to create production that reduces material use, reduces waste and transport, and results in more customised, circular, and simply better products and components. Overall, we achieve smarter production.”
The AM Report is published annually by Danish AM Hub, which works to strengthen the competitiveness of the Danish business community by promoting the use of AM and 3D printing, and in particular helps companies take the first steps towards more sustainable production, with AM offering the opportunity for local on-demand production with less transport and lower CO2 emissions.
“And this year’s survey clearly shows that we are succeeding in our efforts to spread AM technology in Denmark,” says the satisfied CEO.
Greater focus on sustainable potential
Among the decisive factors in the decision to use the technology are speed and time-to-market, but the results also indicate a greater focus on sustainable potential among the manufacturing companies that use the technology.
According to SDU, 20% of companies have used AM solely to create more sustainable production with reduced material consumption and waste, together with the development of products that are easier to recycle. And according to Jysk Analyse, 69% of companies use AM technology to produce more customised products, which can reduce material consumption and thus contribute to more sustainable production.
“Denmark can become the country that produces the green products the world will demand if we learn to master new production technologies such as 3D printing. We have known traditional production with casting and milling since the Bronze Age, but there is great untapped potential in 3D printing,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen. He particularly noted that, according to the 2021 study, several companies experienced a greater sustainability impact in their production than they had expected from using the technology.
The same message came from the Danish Industry Foundation, which initiated and developed—and continues to support—Danish AM Hub.
Thomas Hofman-Bang, CEO of Industriens Fond, says: “Danish companies must become more sustainable than they are today, because it is crucial that our industry plays an active role and helps drive progress if we, as a society, are to succeed in sustainable change. The results of the analysis show a positive development, because the Danish business community must prioritise sustainable production and look at new technological solutions such as additive manufacturing, which has very special sustainable potential.”
Barriers remain
Although it is positive that more companies are adopting AM technology, there is still a need to spread knowledge about how AM technology can be used in practice in manufacturing companies and how the technology has the potential to enable more sustainable production.
According to the Danish AM Report 2022, the most common barrier to implementing AM technology is that companies cannot see its relevance to their business.
Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen says: “The technology is no longer the challenge. There is now a vast range of printers and software, and it is possible to print in materials such as concrete, titanium, glass, plastic, chocolate, composites, etc. The major challenge today is that industry lacks knowledge of how manufacturers can build a business model around 3D printing, how they can design and develop an AM component or product, and how they can document the environmental benefits. In the coming years, we must demand that our manufacturers dare to break free from the—I am tempted to say old-fashioned—production processes on which we have built industrialisation, and instead explore the opportunities and benefits that exist in additive manufacturing.”
