What hidden values ​​are yet to be developed in the 3D printing industry?

3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing technology, is a technology that uses digital model files as the basis, uses powdered metal or plastic and other bondable materials to construct objects by printing layer by layer. 3D printing is usually achieved using digital technology material printers. In the past, it was often used to make models in the fields of mold manufacturing and industrial design. Now it is gradually being used for the direct manufacturing of some products. Some companies have begun to use parts printed by this technology. This technology has applications in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction, automobiles, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, firearms and other fields.

3D printing technology is based on computer three-dimensional design models. Through software layered discreteness and CNC molding systems, it uses laser beams, hot melt nozzles and other methods to stack and bond special materials such as metal powder, ceramic powder, plastic, cell tissues layer by layer, and finally superimpose them to create physical products.

3D printing materials are mainly divided into nine categories:

Category 1: Photosensitive resin materials, mainly including photocurable resin materials such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin and polyester resin. These materials can undergo polymerization and solidify under ultraviolet light, and are generally in liquid state. They can be used to manufacture structural parts such as blades and gears for aerospace.

The second category: engineering plastic materials, mainly including ABS materials, polycarbonate materials and polyamide materials. ABS materials have the characteristics of "toughness, hardness and rigidity", so they are widely used in manufacturing industries such as machinery, electrical, textile, automobile, aircraft, shipbuilding and chemical industry. Polycarbonate materials have good impact resistance, heat distortion resistance, good fire resistance and high hardness, so they are suitable for the production of various parts of cars and light trucks, mainly concentrated in lighting systems, dashboards, heating plates, defrosters and bumpers. Polyamide materials, also known as nylon materials, have the characteristics of toughness, wear resistance, self-lubrication and wide applicable temperature range. They mainly replace copper and other non-ferrous metals to manufacture mechanical, chemical and electrical parts, such as diesel engine fuel pump gears, water pumps, high-pressure seals, oil pipelines, etc.

The third category: metal materials, mainly including titanium alloy materials, stainless steel materials, aluminum alloy materials, and other precious metal materials. Titanium alloy materials have high strength and high heat resistance. Compared with other metals, titanium alloys also have the advantages of good corrosion resistance, good low temperature performance, and high chemical activity. Therefore, they are widely used in the production of aircraft engine compressor parts, rockets, missiles, and high-speed aircraft structural parts. Stainless steel materials have the advantages of easy welding, corrosion resistance, strong polishing and heat resistance, and are widely used in the fields of construction, food processing, catering, brewing, chemical industry and medical equipment. Aluminum alloy materials have the characteristics of low density, low melting point and strong plasticity. Aluminum alloy is the most widely used alloy at present, and is widely used in aviation, aerospace, automobile, machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding and chemical industry. Other precious metal materials such as gold materials have the characteristics of good electrical conductivity, good thermal conductivity, high stability, etc., and are mainly used in electronics, chemical industry, aerospace and other fields with special requirements for materials.

The fourth category: ceramic materials, mainly including natural silicate materials such as clay and kaolin and high-purity artificial synthetic materials such as oxide ceramic materials, nitride ceramic materials, carbide ceramic materials, etc. Since most ceramic materials have a high melting point or even no melting point, it is difficult to use external energy to directly form them. Most of them need to be reprocessed (drying, sintering, etc.) after forming to obtain the final product, which limits the promotion of ceramic materials in the 3D printing industry. However, ceramic materials have advantages that polymers and metal materials do not have, such as high hardness, high temperature resistance, and stable physical and chemical properties. Therefore, they have broad application prospects in aerospace, electronics, automobiles, energy, biomedicine and other industries.

The fifth category: biomaterials, mainly including biomedical metal materials, biomedical polymer materials, biomedical ceramic materials and bio-derived materials. Among them, bio-derived materials are biomedical materials formed by specially treated natural biological tissues, also known as bioregenerative materials. The application of biomaterials in 3D printing can be divided into two areas. The first category is based on the characteristics of biomaterials such as biodegradability, low melting point, biological properties, and environmental protection, and they are used in food processing, food packaging and other fields; the second category is based on the renewability, tissue compatibility and inductivity, mechanical compliance and degradation compliance of biomaterials and is widely used in the medical field. The application of biomaterials in the medical field can be divided into three levels: the manufacture of prostheses, indirect assembly of cells in three dimensions, and direct manufacture of cells in three dimensions.

Category 6: Rubber materials. Rubber materials have many elastic material characteristics, such as Shore A hardness, elongation at break, tear strength and tensile strength, making them very suitable for use in fields requiring non-slip or soft surfaces, such as consumer electronics, medical equipment and automotive interiors.

Category 7: Sand and gravel materials, mainly quartz sand. In 3D printing, according to its traditional functions and characteristics, sand and gravel materials are mainly used in construction to manufacture some building materials or structures. Low cost, high efficiency and environmental protection are the advantages of sand and gravel materials in the field of 3D printing construction.

Category 8: Graphene material is a new material in which carbon atoms connected by sp & sup2 hybridization are tightly stacked into a single-layer two-dimensional honeycomb lattice structure. Graphene material has excellent optical, electrical and mechanical properties, can be used to replace various traditional materials, and is considered to be a revolutionary material in the future. With the development of graphene preparation level and graphene application technology level, graphene materials can be used in more downstream products and fields. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by around 2024, graphene devices are expected to replace complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices and be used in research fields such as nanoelectronic devices, photoelectrochemical cells, and ultra-light aircraft materials.

Category 9: Cellulose materials, a macromolecular polysaccharide composed of glucose, are insoluble in water and general organic solvents. Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and is the most widely distributed and abundant polysaccharide in nature, accounting for more than 50% of the carbon content in the plant kingdom. Researchers have been working on developing methods for 3D printing using cellulose, and some breakthroughs have been made. Cellulose materials still have some shortcomings, such as their high cost, poor scalability, and the generation of pollutants when combined with plastics.

3D printing technology is mainly divided into two types: desktop and industrial. Desktop 3D printers are the primary stage of 3D printing technology, which can intuitively explain the process principles of 3D printing technology. Since desktop 3D printers are relatively cheap, easy to carry, and easy to operate, their applications are mainly concentrated in homes, offices, and other places. Industrial 3D printers are mainly divided into rapid prototyping machines and direct product manufacturing machines. Industrial 3D printers can better meet the requirements of high precision and short time production in mass production of molds, metal parts, etc. Industrial 3D printers use computers to control lasers or electron beams to print complex and precise structures that cannot be completed by traditional mechanical processing, and eliminate unnecessary manufacturing processes to achieve full utilization of materials.

The emergence of 3D printing technology has reduced the complexity of product manufacturing, expanded the scope of manufacturing, shortened the time of manufacturing, improved production efficiency, increased the utilization rate of raw materials, and improved the accuracy of product specifications. At the same time, 3D printing technology meets the needs of customers for personalized customization and can develop more diverse products.

There are also some shortcomings in my country's 3D printing industry. Due to the limitations of technical level and equipment level, my country's 3D printing companies can only carry out small-batch and small-size parts processing and manufacturing, which is difficult to replace large-scale and large-volume processing and manufacturing. On the other hand, the problem of 3D printing material shortage that has been plaguing my country has not been solved. The main source of materials still relies on imports from the United States, which makes my country's already small number of 3D printing companies face high cost pressure, limiting the scale and application scope of my country's 3D printing industry.