The association of machine tool and manufacturing technologies,塞西莫, has released the first round of results from its inaugural ‘European Additive Manufacturing Survey.’
Launched with participation from five European nations, the study is designed to gather industry feedback as a means of identifying 3D printing’s broader trends. While CECIMO’s initial findings have shown that additive manufacturing exports are generally growing, they’ve also highlighted the technology’s potential in the healthcare sector, projecting market growth of up to 61% in the near future.
塞西莫’s European mission
CECIMO代表机器的利益ol associations since 1950, and it now claims to speak for 98% of all European tool producers. This has lent it substantial influence in the regulation of EU manufacturing, and over the past six years, the organization has opted to wield this authority as a means of advancing the adoption of 3D printing.
To achieve this, CECIMO haspartnered with the EPMA开发更多可扩展的生产方法，并established an EU committee, allowing it to talk directly with policymakers. Leveraging these channels, the group has often campaigned on the behalf of 3D printing firms, for regulation that doesn’t restrict their growth.
During EU-U.S. negotiations in 2019, for instance,塞西莫pushed for tariff-free tradebetween the blocs, and urged both not to “burden the sector with unnecessary regulation.” Since then, the organization has chaired a forum at theAM European Conference(AMEC), in which it made thecase for uniform industry standards.
Having consistently supported the 3D printing interests of its members in recent years, CECIMO is now seeking to get a better understanding of how this can be best achieved. The group has therefore launched its survey to outline the industry’s main trends, with the ultimate aim of creating a new reference point for firms, market analysts and policymakers alike.
The initial industry survey results
塞西莫（Cecimo）在2020年的六个月内与意大利，瑞士，奥地利，西班牙和英国的国家协会一起进行了第一轮调查。在研究期间，该组织收到了3D印刷公司的86个答复，包括有关总业务出口的数据，材料，客户需求和投资趋势的订单。
Initial results indicate that despite the impact of COVID-19, the industry’s generally in rude health, with sales from products, parts, machines, materials and services all on the rise. CECIMO has also found that the 3D printing market continues to grow both in Europe and further afield, but some materials and sectors are expanding faster than others.
While the survey’s feedback suggests that in future, the sale of metals will generally increase across the continent by 44.3%, revenue gained from plastics is projected to rise by 55.6%. It’s a similar case when it comes to client demand, and following 3D printing’s contribution to the fight against COVID-19, CECIMO’s survey found that orders for medical parts could grow by up to 61% in the near future.
相反，该报告确定了3D印刷航空航天和汽车组件的需求严重下降，这种趋势可能会在短期内持续下去。Cecimo现在与所有参与者分享了结果，他正准备开始进行第二轮调查，以更好地绘制行业轨迹的未来。
EU-backed 3D printing initiatives
塞西莫aside, the EU often provides backing of its own to experimental printing projects, particularly to those that utilize the technology in inventive ways.
The EU-backed ‘project NESSIE,’ for instance, has seen ceramic specialistLithoz的technology used to develop a纯化疫苗的新技术. Utilizing the Austrian firm’s systems, the researchers have been able to fabricate columns, which could lead to the faster and cheaper roll-out of vaccines around the world.
In more combative applications, the欧洲国防局（EDA）还在其它的3D打印实验室运行European Tactical Airlift Centre(ETAC). The EU subsidiary assessed whether additive manufacturing could bedeployed in end-use military applications通过一系列战术培训课程。
Elsewhere, the EU has awarded considerable funding to 3D printing innovators, and the organization issued a€300,000 project callin April 2019. Made as part of theAMable EU Horizon 2020 program，公开电话旨在鼓励中小型企业开发功能性的3D印刷产品，以推动欧洲竞争力。
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Featured image shows a map of CECIMO’s member nations. Image via CECIMO.
