RAPID + TCT is one of North America's biggest trade shows and conferences for the additive manufacturing (AM) industry. This year, IDTechEx attended and spoke at the show; they interviewed prominent players and observed industry trends.

Smooth, functional surfaces that provide touch sensing, often with backlighting, are becoming increasingly common. Applications range from vehicle interiors and domestic appliances to medical devices and aircraft seating. Rather than relying on a mechanical or membrane switch, these surfaces utilize capacitive touch sensing - the same principle used in smartphone displays.

Integrating multiple functionalities within a single entity promises simpler, more efficient devices without compromising capability. Smartphones are a great example, with maps, diaries, phones, cameras, games consoles, and more integrated into a single, compact device.

Using graphene to improve the performance of energy storage devices has been a key focus ever since the 2D material was isolated. As soon as the first commercial graphene manufacturers were established, there has been a steady stream of announcements related to batteries, but perhaps none are as significant as the 2023 news of Evonik entering the field with their investment in SuperC.

Surfaces, be they in kitchen appliances, automotive interiors, medical devices, or even furniture, are becoming increasingly smart. Embedded lighting, touch sensitivity, heating, and even haptic feedback enables inanimate and often neglected surfaces into a design feature with seamlessly integrated user controls. But what is the best way to manufacture these smart surfaces?

Thursday 23 February 2023 - Opportunities for Integrated Functionality. In this webinar Dr Matthew Dyson, a Principal Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, will discuss the following topics: - The status of IME and competing approaches for creating functional and decorative interfaces across multiple application sectors. - The challenges and benefits associated with functionality integration, and how the value proposition of IME is likely to grow over time. - IME specific material requirements, especially for conductive inks. - A roadmap for IME adoption, segmented by industry.

Wednesday 8 February 2023 - Technological Developments and Applications. Contents that will be covered in this webinar include: An overview of PIC technology; Drivers of increased data demands from data centres; PIC trends in the communications industry; and PIC adoption in other markets

As high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, and even consumers become increasingly data-hungry, hardware struggles to keep pace. In addition, the need for real-time assessments of moving data points - such as for the accurate velocity-mapping of other objects in autonomous systems and facial recognition for security systems - is crucial to an increasingly hands-free society.

Is this the year of rapid graphene sales? Are we slipping deeper into a disillusionment phase? Who will emerge as the market leaders? Is consolidation inevitable? 2023 will be a telling year for the industry.

"Diverse and Developing" - the only way to describe the current breadth of the polymer materials portfolio for additive manufacturing. From materials that vary in form factor (i.e., powders, resins, filaments) to material properties (i.e., flexible, reinforced, tough, etc.) to application (i.e., medical, industrial, dental, etc.), it can be difficult to define suitable enough categories that adequately cover this diverse market.

Tuesday 29 November 2022 - This webinar includes case studies showing successful commercialization examples from 2022 across multiple market sectors; Discussion of anticipated announcements in 2023; Brief assessment of the status and potential of printed/flexible electronics; and Identification and assessment of technological gaps likely to be an R&D focus in 2023

The true description of graphene is that of a single atomic layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal array. However, the nanocarbon material landscape is much more complicated than this simple statement, with single-layer, few-layer, multi-layer, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and both graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) all to be considered as types of graphene.

Thursday 27 October 2022 - This webinar will identify technical and material trends within the polymer 3D printing market; highlight key developments influencing polymer AM's rise, including discussion on relevant players and news; and present IDTechEx's outlook on the polymer AM market

With so much focus being put on 3D printers, it can be easy to lose sight of the many other important sectors that make 3D printing, especially industrial additive manufacturing, possible. It takes an entire ecosystem, including materials, software, post-processing, quality assurance, services, specialized training, and more, for 3D printing to be utilized in high-value industries and applications

IDTechEx finds that demand for polymer materials by mass far exceeds that of metal materials for 3D printing. IDTechEx finds that polymer 3D printing is moving beyond prototyping to high-value adoption by end-users, which will propel its growth to US$21.1 billion in 2033.

Is Graphene Green? This question comes up an increasing amount. Green drivers and ESG investments are an obvious focus across the supply chain, but where does graphene fit into this discussion? IDTechEx explore the answer in this article.

As of mid-2022, the global graphene and graphene oxide installed capacity easily exceeds 12,000 tonnes per year, but utilization is low as the orders lag significantly behind. Is this a natural part of the commercial journey, or has hype overcome reality? Is this a case of "build it, they will come", or are there real market needs? What does the future hold for these graphene manufacturers? IDTechEx provides an independent perspective on these questions and more.

Thursday 22 September 2022 - This webinar will discuss the sectors that 3D printing is currently having success in; analyze the barriers limiting additive manufacturing adoption in other industries; highlight the applications where 3D printing has high growth potential; and present IDTechEx's outlook for the AM market

The past decade has seen an ever-increasing number of companies within the graphene market, with a seemingly constant stream of new material suppliers appearing. As is the case for any well-established industry, market stability and profitability are expected to go hand in hand with the emergence of a handful of dominant players within the material supply chain.