HP releases “Digital Manufacturing Trends White Paper”: 3D printing, innovation, and supply chain resilience are unprecedentedly important

Recently, HP hosted the 2020 Innovation Summit and released the “Digital Manufacturing Trends White Paper”, which analyzed in-depth the opportunities and challenges encountered by the manufacturing industry in the process of digital transformation and upgrading, and worked with global partners, community users and industry leaders , Demonstrating to the public the great power of digital manufacturing for industry innovation. As a leader in promoting digital transformation, HP not only demonstrated the advantages of 3D Printing and other digital core technologies and unique insights into industry development trends during the summit, but also worked closely with executives from the World Economic Forum, Nissan, Decathlon, and IDC. There was a lively discussion about how to build the future of digital manufacturing through collaboration and ecology.

Through interviews with more than 2,100 executives of manufacturing companies around the world, the “Digital Manufacturing Trends White Paper” pointed out that the continuous deepening of flexible supply chains will help companies adapt to the uncertainty of the current market environment. With the fast and sensitive characteristics of additive manufacturing/3D printing, while expanding the business, enterprises are more competitive in the process of rapid iteration. According to data, 94% of Chinese respondents regard additive manufacturing/3D printing as a viable alternative to traditional manufacturing, and 89% of Chinese respondents believe that additive manufacturing/3D printing can support and support traditional manufacturing. Supplementary role.

Throughout the global manufacturing industry, many companies have taken practical actions to prove the important role that 3D printing plays in promoting their own healthy development. By increasing investment in 3D printing, supporting 3D printing as a substitute for traditional manufacturing, establishing closer ecosystem collaboration to strengthen the supply chain, improve agility, and innovate product development and manufacturing strategies.

In recent years, the digital transformation trend of China’s manufacturing industry has gradually taken shape, with great potential. Intelligent manufacturing has become an important direction for the future development of Chinese enterprises, and 3D printing has played an important role in promoting the development of intelligent manufacturing. Alex Lalumiere, general manager of HP’s 3D printing and digital manufacturing business in Asia Pacific and Japan, said: “In China, HP has not only continued to introduce innovative 3D printing solutions, but also joined hands with leading Chinese companies such as JD.com to build a local smart manufacturing ecosystem and actively promote The application of vertical industries such as healthcare and consumer products will help more Chinese companies achieve flexible, efficient and personalized production and manufacturing methods. “Looking at the development of 3D printing in China, HP has always played an important leading role. In 2019, HP and Haig Technology, a leading domestic 3D printing and digital application solution provider, reached a strategic partnership in the orthopedics and rehabilitation industry. The personalized custom orthotics and rehabilitation aids designed and developed by Haig Technology use HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology to provide customers with a one-stop solution for the design and manufacture of customized orthopedics and rehabilitation products. Combining Haig Technology’s research on the rehabilitation and orthopedic industry, product R&D and design capabilities, and the technical advantages of the HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing system, it provides patients with highly customized rehabilitation orthotics, and completes the design of rehabilitation orthotics from design to production. The chain is digitized. This cooperation promotes the application and development of 3D printing in the medical vertical field, and brings help to patients who need stroke orthopedic rehabilitation, arm muscle atrophy rehabilitation, and finger rehabilitation exercises. The relevant highlights of China’s manufacturing industry in the “White Paper on Digital Manufacturing Trends” are as follows: Economic growth and flexibility All interviewees agree that digital manufacturing technology is driving economic growth.

93% of the respondents are affected by the current global business environment and are actively seeking new business models. 96% of the respondents said they will invest in digital manufacturing technology in the next 12 months, and 90% of them expect to increase their investment in additive manufacturing/3D printing. 96% of the interviewees said that additive manufacturing/3D printing can help companies develop flexibly, 94% of the interviewees regard additive manufacturing/3D printing as a viable alternative to traditional manufacturing, and 89% of the interviewees believe that Material manufacturing/3D printing can supplement traditional manufacturing. 99% of respondents said they are investigating new production/supply chain models, 75% of respondents are evaluating hybrid models, and 61% of respondents are studying distributed supply chains. The improvement of innovative ability is the advantage of additive manufacturing/3D printing frequently mentioned by interviewees.
The areas of innovation that most companies are studying include digital warehousing/virtual inventory, mass customization of direct sales products, and on-demand production. It is worth mentioning that 96% of the respondents want to understand the new situation brought about by mass customization, and believe that if 3D printing/additive manufacturing can customize parts, their business can be mass customized. The industrial and medical industries are regarded as the most suitable industries for additive manufacturing/3D printing in the next five years.   

 Collaboration ability 96% of respondents said that cross-departmental collaboration is very important to embrace new digital manufacturing technologies. 92% of respondents said that their company plans to cooperate with the government to develop digital manufacturing products in the future. Respondents said that the main obstacles to entering the field of additive manufacturing/3D printing are the lack of materials and the lack of standards. 77% of the respondents hope to bridge the skills gap through professional training services, and 73% of the respondents hope that the industry can connect companies, governments, institutions and citizens to jointly invest in education and work skills projects. Sustainability The main way to reduce the waste caused by additive manufacturing/3D printing and promote the circular economy is to improve service plans, so as to extend the life of products and shorten and simplify the traditional supply chain. 98% of respondents said that the recyclability of additive manufacturing/3D printing powders and parts is very important.

96% of the interviewees said that the government should vigorously support digital manufacturing technologies that are beneficial to society and the environment, stimulate their investment and research and development, and create a sustainable ecological environment.