Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing enables manufacturers to quickly produce complex and intricate parts from materials such as metals, plastics and, of course, ceramics and even glass. According to a recent report from BCC Research entitled “Global Markets for 3D Printing,” the global market for 3D printing was $3.8 billion in 2014, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 32.2% to reach $15.2 billion by 2019.

While widespread mass production with 3D printing is not the norm in our industry (at least, not yet), two-thirds of respondents in a recent CI CyberNews eNewsletter survey indicated that their company is using additive manufacturing in some capacity. One participant commented, “Additive manufacturing is good for quickly making models, prototypes and runs of a small number of parts.”

As Christophe Chaput writes in this issue, “3D printing forms a close fit with other conventional manufacturing technologies, and makes ceramics more accessible by cutting development times and simplifying the production process.” To learn more about the opportunities that additive manufacturing can offer ceramic manufacturers, read “3D Printing: Making Technical Ceramics More Accessible.”

CI Readers’ Choice Video Awards

Companies are invited to enter their video(s) in the CI Readers’ Choice Video Awards online by August 31. CI readers and website visitors will vote online for their favorite videos between September 15 and October 30. Gold, Silver and Bronze Award winners will be featured in the December 2015 issue of CI, on our social media platforms, in CI CyberNews, and on www.ceramicindustry.com immediately after the winners are announced. In addition, the winning videos will be posted on the CI website and YouTube channel.

For additional details and to submit your video(s), visit http://readerschoice.ceramicindustry.com. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (248) 786-1704 or suttons@bnpmedia.com.