8.10.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 332/36

Rapporteur:

Dumitru FORNEA

Co-rapporteur:

Hilde VAN LAERE

1.1

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is one of the key enabling technologies that will shape new approaching to manufacturing and the Products and Factories of the Future. The digital revolution, together with this fabrication revolution, will enable Europe to re-shore production from lower wage regions in order to spur on innovation and create sustainable growth at home;

1.2

The EESC believes that the EU can keep up its current position as a major global player in additive manufacturing, but in order to achieve this the following measures must be taken at European and national level;

1.3

Investments in ICT infrastructure should be given priority so that all members of the public and businesses have access to high speed internet networks, at the highest available standards of quality and security;

1.4

The European capacity for storage and transmission of large amounts of digital data must be strengthened and updated and the protection of these data guaranteed in accordance with the legitimate interests of EU citizens and businesses;

1.5

The EU institutions and national governments should prepare people for the challenges of the digital society and related disruptive technologies such as Additive Manufacturing, through investments in cultural, educational and training programmes that are in line with the dynamics and requirements of new job profiles associated with a new generation of production systems;

1.6

In order to reach the full potential of AM, research and creativity need to be encouraged (via financial and fiscal incentives) in companies and relevant educational and scientific institutions;

1.7

Additional research is needed to expand the range of materials and the number of applications, and to improve the robustness, speed, productivity and maturity of this technology. The steps towards a mature production process should be carried out in Europe, in order to secure our competitive position in the global markets and retain the economic benefits and high quality jobs involved inside the EU;

1.8

The European Innovation Partnerships must streamline efforts to develop new materials for AM. An extended range of materials and increased number of suppliers will promote more competitive pricing, open up new industrial sectors and create higher volumes of AM materials and more competitive supply markets;

1.9

The EU must facilitate investments in new AM equipment and should encourage the development of additive manufacturing technology in open production systems that are flexible and easy to integrate with other production and finishing technologies, in order to enhance the number of applications and increase the turnover;

1.10

The European and national regulatory framework was unable to keep up with the fast pace of change in additive manufacturing, which is why a specific regulation is needed to deal primarily with standards and certification, intellectual property, consumer protection, health and safety at work, and the environment;

1.11

The regulatory process concerning AM needs to be based on interdisciplinary and scientific research into the impact of this technology, with the full involvement of all stakeholders.

2.1

Manufacturing makes a significant contribution to the economy, particularly in terms of innovation, productivity and high quality jobs. However, Europe’s industry has lost ground in the past two decades resulting in a decline in industrial employment and added value  (1). After decades of thinning out the manufacturing sector (due to outsourcing towards inexpensive labour), the focus is back on production in high-wage countries and the critical role that domestic manufacturing capabilities play in bringing the innovation to life and the ability to rapidly ‘scale up’ production of new products based on advanced technologies. Innovation, automation and sophisticated processes are at the root of industrial success strategies and have proven to be critical in maintaining a leading position (2). Using the right advanced manufacturing technology, Europe could re-shore production from lower wage regions to spur on innovation and create sustainable growth at home. Only in this way could Europe position itself as a leader in the new industrial revolution.

2.2

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies. ‘Additive manufacturing’ is the official industry standard term (ASTM F2792), while ‘3D printing’ is a commonly used synonym.

2.3

Additive Manufacturing is an umbrella term for a set of technologies and processes for different materials (metals, polymers, ceramics and others). These technologies have reached a level of maturity that increasingly allows for the existence of value-added commercial applications. Additive Manufacturing is regarded worldwide as one of the key enabling technologies that will shape new approaches to manufacturing and the Products and Factories of the Future. The so called FABLABs — laboratories for 3D-printing services and products — already exist.

2.4

Additive Manufacturing is a fast-growing sector. Growth has accelerated over the past 4 years as an increasing number of organisations adopt Additive Manufacturing products and services. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of worldwide revenues produced by all products and services over the past 25 years is an impressive 27 %. The CAGR for the past 3 years (2011-2013) was 32,2 %, reaching a market of EUR 2,43 billion in 2013 (3). Wohlers Associates anticipates that the market will exceed EUR 5,5 billion by 2016 and EUR 10 billion by 2018. However, as an emerging technology, AM industry experts estimate that the current market penetration covers only a fraction of the potential applications identified. In 2011, experts estimated market penetration at less than 8 % (meaning a total market of approximately EUR 17 billion) (4). If AM grows to capture just 2 % of the global manufacturing market, the potential is 10 times bigger (approximately EUR 170 billion) (5).

2.5

The application domain evolved from prototyping in the early nineties to the production of functional parts. The expected growth is mainly driven by the fast, cost-efficient and larger scale serial manufacturing of final, complex functional products in various materials (plastic, metal or ceramic), rather than in design products and prototyping. AM is mature for prototyping, but is still in the ‘innovator’ phase for the production of final, functional products. Innovative AM-produced products are emerging but not viable, since there is a lack of robust AM machines and high-volume production systems.

2.6

Innovative additive processes will have a disruptive effect on the way things are designed and made. AM can improve the value delivery for current products within existing supply chains or can have a radical impact on products, supply chains and business models (6). Europe needs to be in pole positon when the industrialisation of AM kicks off. Within European ecosystems for Additive Manufacturing, future growth is expected to be achieved by extending current activities (when the existing players move from prototyping to manufacturing) and by opening up new activities along the value chain.

2.7

Worldwide, AM is regarded as the key enabling technology for innovation in products and the supply chain. It is going mainstream and receiving substantial government funding to increase the maturity level (i.e. in the US, China and Singapore). Historically, the EU is in a good position, but if no action is taken it will lose this position and fall behind in the race for new markets.

3.1.1

At factory level, AM will shape new approaches to manufacturing and the Factory of the Future:

3.1.2

At product level, AM will become the cornerstone for product innovation:

3.1.3

At business level, AM will lead to disruptive business models:

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International AM roadmaps (9), (10), (11), (12), (13) highlight the need for significant technological steps in AM as a key factor in pushing forward the proposed added value and adoption of AM. Today’s AM technology has been developed to make AM prototypes; machines are not yet ready for high volume production. AM companies face technological barriers in transforming AM into a serial production technology. AM machine architecture concepts still date back to the prototyping stage and too few innovations have been introduced (internally, today’s machines look almost the same as their predecessors of 10-15 years ago). Disruptive ‘machine’ innovations are needed to bring this industry to the next level (14).

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To speed up development, AM companies and researchers need access to open platforms (in terms of both hardware and software) to overcome the limitations of commercial ‘black box’ machines.

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An increase in capabilities (cost efficiency, robustness and reliability) would extend the current potential of Additive Manufacturing towards larger-scale production for a wide range of applications. A shift in the technological limits and integration with other processes (hybrid production) will enable breakthrough applications (15). Take-up within the manufacturing industry requires an integration of AM in the factory environment and control systems.

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Alongside this strategic research, new disruptive production system concepts need to be invented, fundamentally re-thinking the way that products are built based on current AM technologies and the way these systems are integrated within the factory environment. This means that tomorrow’s AM production will no longer be based on batch type AM machines placed one next to the other in a production hall; application needs demand the concept of continuous AM production systems, based on a chain of different production steps. These concepts are already known as the ‘AM machine 2.0’, and they will drive future AM machine development.

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Those controlling distribution channels maintain a dominant position; e.g. machine manufacturers include in their maintenance and warranty contracts the obligation to use specific expensive raw materials, often only distributed by them, or they use the ‘razor-razorblade’ business model where a lock-in is created for consumables. The control of distribution channels, combined with what is still a limited volume (16), made it less attractive for material providers to invest large budgets in the development of new materials.

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The limited number of material supply sources leads to excessively high prices for raw materials and increases the supply guarantee risks for end customers. This market mechanism is curbing the potential of AM technology.

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Currently, the double-digit growth market creates economic opportunities and attracts more material providers. Materials development needs to be supported and encouraged. It is important to extend the range of materials and improve the properties of materials. Increasing the number of suppliers will promote more competitive pricing, making it more attractive to ignore machine warranties, and will create higher volumes and more competitive material markets.

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An extended range of materials will open up new industrial sectors and generate the demand for higher volumes of AM materials.

3.2.4

Main technical barriers — The main barriers to a large-scale breakthrough in industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical or consumer goods are mainly linked to boosting productivity and can be summarised as:

3.2.5

Strategic research is required to:

3.2.6

Risk of technology drain from Europe:

3.3

The impact of Additive Manufacturing on legal issues (17):

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The deployment of AM technologies will have a direct impact on traditional production models, and especially internal workshop organisation. AM will ease the installation of mini-mills very close to customers, wherever there is demand This will generate new jobs which cannot yet be measured because industrial deployment is too recent.

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The real impact on employment figures is very hard to identify because no studies have been carried out, and because it is very likely that there will be a substitution between actual jobs and future AM operators.

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Jobs in AM technologies will need new skills, such as machine operators able to deal with the process-specific software or engineers able to design parts with new systems: topological optimisation, re-engineering, etc.

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With the deployment of AM technologies, training and educational establishments will be needed to preserve and develop the employability of workers. Currently, European school curricula largely disregard AM, and the same applies in after-school training. Most training courses simply describe the technologies and their potential performances, and are not intended to help students acquire a real skill. Local governments should integrate AM in their learning plans, at least for vocational training. The attractiveness of 3D-printing, covering the whole innovation process (concept, design, computing, robotics and producing a final physical product) in a short period of time, could be used as an effective training method in school education focusing children’s attention on technology and manufacturing.

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It is desirable that any training offer be designed following the cooperation between industry, local authorities, education institutions and workers’ organisations, and is based on the real needs of the companies operating in this sector.

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chemical risks, arising from volatile resins used in AM of polymer parts, and volatile metallic or non-metallic additives in metallic powders;

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chemo-physical risks arising from the use of powders, especially when those powders contain nano-particles;

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risk of explosion, arising from the use of powders;

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specific risks, arising from the use of laser sources, electron beams, etc.