An Outlook for Additive in 2014:
A Participant's Perspective
By Tim Shinbara, Technology Director, AMT–Te Association For Manufacturing Technology
tshinbara@AMTonline.org
Looking back at 2013, it should be known as the Year
of the Printer. Advancements and accelerations in
both funding and media exposure broadened the
audience from boutique fabrication frms and defense
special programs to garage hobbyists, universities,
Fortune 50 companies and small-to-medium enterprises. What does this mean for 2014? Is there critical
mass to further accelerate or sustain these eforts?
By following America Makes (the National Additive
Manufacturing Innovation Institute [NAMII]),
fnancial markets (from initial public oferings to
quarterly earnings) and industrial leaders like General
Electric, the answer to the frst question may entail
tangible data points, such as increases in supply chain
partners, approvals of new standards and qualifcations, and exposure to advancements in novel
materials and additive processes.
It may be a bit too early to evaluate critical mass
for two main reasons. First, 2013 included such an
explosion of activities that such eforts may still be in
forming stages, whereas 2014 may be the realization
stage. Second, while additive manufacturing provides
many non-traditional benefts, most of these are held
captive to very traditional ways of thinking. In other
words, the industrial world may not be pervasively
ready yet.
For 2014, there will be continued basic research in
our national and university laboratories to explore
the potential viability of new functional materials,
process monitoring and equipment integration.
Expect another round of funding for America Makes
projects, which fll technical and transition gap activities, and, more than likely, additional mergers and
acquisitions within the industrial sector.
AdditiveManufacturingInsight.com February 2014 — 15