1.

Political

Government institution, part of National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.. National

Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute with the aim to grow US 3D printing capabilities through
fostering collaboration in design, materials, technology, workforce. It gives certain benefits like access to
R&D funding and intellectual property, government contract navigation assistance, etc for members.
(The NNMI will accelerate innovation and increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness by bringing
together federal agencies, industry, universities and community colleges, and the states to invest in
industrially relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications)

2. Economic factors

Increase in demand of 3DP. PWC report: 2/3 manufacturing companies currently implementing
3d in some way. The reasons: easy prototyping, savings (material, transportation, labor,
manufacturing), shift in supply chain, cutting costs of market entry;
A PwC analysis, conducted for this report, of the benefits of potential 3DP adoption in the
aerospace MRO market found that global aerospace MRO costs could bereduced by up to
$3.4 billion, assuming that 50% of parts are printed
3D printing market growth.

a) The market for 3D printed products and services is predicted to reach $21bn worldwide by
2020, compared with $2.2 bn in 2012
b) Most of the major 3D printing companies had positive growth rates and will be looking to
reinvest their profits to fuel further growth,
Business resistance
New business models:
a) contract manufacturer business model;
b) on-demand manufacturing: Consider the homeowner needing a spare part for a dishwasher.
He orders the part online from the manufacturer, receives a bar code for the part and gets it
printed at a local 3DP center
Decrease in price of 3D printers due to competition and technology evolution;
Prices for 3D printers will decrease during the next several years due to competitive pressures and
higher shipment volumes

3. Socio-cultural factors

Re-shore. A growing number of American companies are moving their manufacturing back to the
United States. Some companies are interested in how 3DP can contribute to re-shoring jobs back to
the US.
Labor structure. Cutting into the ranks of unskilled factory floor workers, but adding jobs for
workers with technical know-how or those who can be trained to acquire it.
Image of 3d printers: Topping the list of barriers to implementing a 3DP strategy is uncertainty of a
3D-printed products quality;
Demand of 3D printers in educational industry.

Health: transplant organs, growing interest to health

4. Technological factors

General technological development: the capabilities of 3-D printing hardware are evolving rapidly,
too. They can build larger components and achieve greater precision and finer resolution at higher
speeds and lower costs.
New technologies :
a) 4d printing Pushing inks to still another level, theres the prospect of 4-D printingwhich
incorporates shape memory fibers into inks which assume different forms (by folding,
curling, stretching or twisting) under certain thermal or mechanical forces or other conditions.
b) intelligent system printing: products comprising a system of parts and incorporating
intelligent functionalitysuch as sensors, electronics, communications
c) next-gen materials usage (e.g. graphene);
Metal additive systems growth: more interestingly from an industrial point of view, metal
additive manufacturing systems (up 75.8 per cent, with 348 machines sold worldwide).
+ In some ways metals have come further in 10 years than the plastics have come in 25 years, he
offered.
Patents expiration. Many patents in the field of 3D printing, e.g. for FDM held by Stratasys, are
expiring recently.

5. Environmental (ecological)

Sustainable manufacturing growing popularity. 3D printers will be more widely used as they
possess :
a) less material waste;
b) better energy efficiencies (for manufacturing and transportation);
c) complete recycling.

6. Legal
Intellectual property protection
a) New possibilities for counterfeiting. Once CAD file is stolen, product can be easily copied.
No reverse engineering required. possible solution: design and utility patents.
b) Gartners analyst group forecasts that annual IP losses due to 3DP could reach $100 billion
globally by 2018.21

Certification and approval of government. A potential bottleneck for widespread adoption of 3DP
may be in how well printed parts or components can perform, and whether they will gain
certification or approval for use by regulating bodies. Manufacturers are facing many hard to win
approvals, ranging from the FAA for the production of aerospace parts to the FDA for healthcare
devices. Successful examples:
1. BAE Systems, which gained EASA (European Aviation Safety Association) Form 1 approval for use
of a plastic window breather pipe in its BAE 146 regional jet. (60% savings)

2. Solid Concepts, a California-based contract manufacturer, which specializes in additive

manufacturing for the automotive, aerospace, and other industries, which gained an FAA Form 8130
approval for a printed air duct for use on the Orbis DC-10.23.
IRS problem. New challenge to taxation. ANYONE CAN EXPLAIN BRIEFLY?
http://www.inside3dp.com/3d-will-pose-challenge/
Threat to public safety. 3D printing can be used for manufacturing dangerous items including
weapons. To diminish damage government can introduce control measures for 3d printing, e.g.
creating a base of 3D printers owners or regulating 3d printing raw materials