The introduction of 3D printing into the consumer electronics field is expected to change the traditional supply structure

Drones/flying cars: Carbon fiber 3D printing is expected to become the mainstream technology in the future. Weight reduction is of great significance to drones/flying cars. By reducing weight, the flight speed and duration can be increased. Carbon fiber is favored for its light weight, high strength, and high modulus. The use of 3D printing technology can reduce the complicated process of traditional carbon fiber production and achieve lightweight. We believe that with the advancement of technology and the reduction of costs in the future, carbon fiber 3D printing is expected to become the mainstream technology of drones/flying cars.

Materials: Metals/polymers/ceramics/composites are expected to achieve breakthroughs in many fields

3D printing materials: mainly including metals, polymers, ceramics and composite materials, etc.

3D printing materials mainly include metals, polymers, ceramics and composite materials. According to the "2023 China 3D Printing Industry Industry Chain Upstream, Midstream and Downstream Market Analysis" by China Business Information Network, in my country's 3D printing market, titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, and stainless steel account for 20.2%, 10.0%, and 9.1% respectively, accounting for a total of 39.3%, and the rest are mostly non-metallic materials, including nylon, PLA, ABS plastics, resins, etc.

Metal materials: Diversification of metal materials and material combination are the future development direction

Metal 3D printing has strict material requirements, and mainly uses materials such as titanium alloy/cobalt-chromium alloy/stainless steel/aluminum alloy. The metal powder used in 3D printing generally requires high purity, good sphericity, narrow particle size distribution, and low oxygen content, so there are fewer types of metal materials that can be used in 3D printing. At present, the metal powder materials used in 3D printing mainly include titanium alloy, cobalt-chromium alloy, stainless steel and aluminum alloy materials.

3D printing is suitable for materials that are refractory, difficult to process, and expensive. First, 3D printing has the characteristic of saving materials, which is suitable for processing expensive materials, thereby reducing costs. Secondly, the traditional process of processing high-temperature refractory and difficult-to-process metals is complicated and costly, while 3D printing can quickly form and is suitable for the manufacturing of difficult-to-process materials.

Diversification of metal materials and material combinations are the future direction. Among them, high melting point tungsten and nickel alloys are expected to become the future development direction of 3D printing; magnesium alloy is the lightest metal structural material, which can be used to make complex flow channels, topology and other structures, and is suitable for 3D printing technology; the application of copper alloys has gradually increased in recent years; cobalt-chromium alloys are expected to be used in dentistry and other fields; high entropy alloys refer to new alloys formed by five or more metals, which have excellent mechanical, heat resistance, corrosion resistance and other properties, and are widely valued.

Ceramic materials: Silicon carbide ceramics are expected to become a breakthrough in ceramic 3D printing

Many forming defects and poor quality have limited the progress of ceramic 3D printing. Ceramic 3D printing technology has the advantages of high material utilization, short production cycle, high forming accuracy, and good surface quality. It can realize the customized production of single pieces and small batches of ceramic parts with complex shapes. However, ceramic 3D printing has the problems of too many forming defects and poor quality, especially the serious problem of crack defects will affect the mechanical properties of ceramic parts. Therefore, 3D printing is currently less used in the ceramic field.

Silicon carbide ceramics are expected to become a breakthrough in ceramic 3D printing. Silicon carbide ceramics are a type of ceramic with high strength, high hardness, high thermal conductivity, high chemical stability and other properties. Its high temperature strength can be maintained up to 1600°C. It is the material with the highest high temperature strength among ceramic materials and is widely used in aerospace, microelectronics, automotive industry, nuclear industry and other fields. The traditional production process is complex, costly, and has a long mold design and production cycle. At the same time, silicon carbide ceramic materials have extremely high hardness and brittleness, and are difficult to process. 3D printing technology can better solve the problems of complex shapes that are difficult to form, difficult to process, long production cycles, and high costs. It is expected to open up the silicon carbide ceramic market space in the future.

Composite materials: As costs drop in the future, carbon fiber is expected to move from military to civilian markets

Carbon fiber composite materials have the characteristics of high specific strength and high specific modulus. Carbon fiber composite materials are mainly made by mixing carbon fiber with a matrix such as resin, metal, ceramic, rubber, etc. Compared with single carbon fiber, they have the characteristics of high specific strength (lightweight, high strength) and high specific modulus (high elastic modulus per unit density). According to the International Metal Processing Network, the strength of carbon fiber composite materials is 10 times higher than that of steel and 8 times higher than that of aluminum, but the weight is only a small part of that of steel and aluminum. Using 3D printing to process carbon fiber has the advantages of short production cycle, reduced cost, and customization.

In the future, as costs fall, carbon fiber 3D printing is expected to move from military to civilian markets. Currently, the raw material and processing costs of carbon fiber are relatively high. According to Puxiang Environmental Protection, the price of carbon fiber is 4-5 times that of steel. It is currently mainly used in aerospace, military, automotive and other fields with low price sensitivity. According to 3D Science Valley, in the aircraft field, Airbus's A350 XWB contains 52% carbon fiber reinforced (CFRP) parts, and Boeing's 787 Dreamliner contains 50% carbon fiber reinforced (CFRP) parts; in the automotive field, BMW i3 also uses a large number of carbon fiber reinforced parts. We believe that in the future, as costs fall, carbon fiber is expected to gradually move from military to civilian markets, further opening up market space.

Review editor: Liu Qing