Chinese cities vie for share of 3D printing market

Source:ce.cn Published: 2013-8-2 17:06:14

Various municipal governments in China have joined the fray to get a piece of the emerging 3D printing market, which is expected to be worth 10 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) over the next three years.

Zhuhai in Guangdong province recently announced plans to set up a 3D printing industry innovation center and technology industrial park. Such ambitions are already being chased by the cities of Qingdao, Wuhan and Chengdu, according to the Chinese-language Economic Information Daily.

Experts worry that the scramble to tap the market may lead to overlapping development, prompting the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to formulate an overall development plan for the industry.

Breakthroughs in the application of the technology in key large metal parts and the efforts of developed nations to revitalize their manufacturing industry through innovative application of the technology has led to the rapid emergence of 3D printing industry worldwide, according to experts.

The potential applications for 3D printing are extensive. Aeronautics, auto parts, major equipment, cultural innovation, and biomedicine are all heavily investing in the technology.

Some Chinese firms have also stepped into the field. Silver Age Holdings, a materials firm in Guangdong, has entered the middle stages in their development of 3D printing products.

Related central government agencies in China are considering engaging in the planning and support for the 3D printing industry, In addition to the MIIT, the Ministry of Science and Technology has included 3D printing in the "national R&D development plan for high technologies" this year.

Luo Jun, secretary general of the China 3D Printing Technology and Industry Alliance, notes that the output value of China's 3D printing industry will top 10 billion yuan in three years, up from 300 million yuan ($49 million) in 2012, equal to the global output value last year. This is thanks in part to the promotion of municipal governments and investments by enterprises.

In late January this year, the China 3D Printing Technology and Industry Alliance signed an agreement with Chuanliu county government in southwest China's Sichuan province to jointly invest 500 million yuan ($81 million) to set up a 3D printing technology and industry innovative center, which will target electronics, vehicles, and machinery equipment firms in the neighborhood for its service.

In the second half of March, China's first 3D printing technology and industry innovative center was established in Nanjing. Wuhan Donghu high and new tech zone is constructing a 3D printing industrial park, spanning 500 acres in space in its beginning stages.

One major attraction of 3D printing technology is the cuts to production costs. The cost of producing a windshield frame for the Chinese C19 commercial aircraft using 3D printing technology, for instance, is only 1.2 million yuan ($196,000), compared with the 13 million yuan ($2.1 million) needed just for the mold cast using traditional production methods.



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