In the thirty years since the founding of the 3D printing industry, countless printing technologies have been invented, patented, and commercialized - from fused filament fabrication to digital light processing, selective laser melting to binder jetting, material jetting to sheet lamination, and every unique printing technology in between. With every new technology, the additive manufacturing market has grown its ability to expand into new applications, end-users, and industries. From this perspective, 3D printers can be considered the core foundation underlying the additive manufacturing industry's growth in recent years.

Wednesday 8 December 2021 - How has COVID-19 affected the 3D printing industry? Is the industry already on the path to recovery, or is the pandemic a major setback to AM's progress? What do the IPOs, mergers, acquisitions, and SPAC-offerings mean for the future of 3D printing? and more.

Within this year of recovery, IDTechEx has noted the development and/or continuation of micro-trends within each major 3D printing subspecialty: polymer, ceramic, composite, and metal additive manufacturing. In this article, IDTechEx identifies and explains the micro-trends for each material specialty that are worth keeping an eye on going into 2022.

Thursday 9 December 2021 - Assessment of the key mergers and acquisitions; Important funding rounds across; Notable partnerships; Establishment and expansion of production facilities; Role in key application areas including electronic devices, energy storage and 3D printing; Progression in various fields of green technology

With the pandemic still raging, supply chain disruptions, the chip shortage, climate catastrophes, and geopolitical turbulence, it is safe to say 2021 has not been smooth sailing. The materials and chemical sector provides the backbone of every industry and remains under pressure from all these challenges. In this article, IDTechEx highlights the key news from their independent perspective on this crucial industry.

The massive new challenges of desertification, rising sea levels, starvation, increasingly violent weather, dysfunctional national governments and the accelerating move to cities can be tackled on a human scale.

Will the capacitive human-machine interface (HMI) components of the future be produced using IME, or will the simpler currently utilized manufacturing methodologies persist?

Friday 12 November 2021 - covering recent progress with smart cities and what is likely to happen in 2022. It deals with both new cities and existing ones that are radically modernising. Learn how the objectives are now far more ambitious

Thursday 11 November 2021 - The latest commercial developments in the field; Assessment of the different strategic approaches being adopted; The key technology pillars required for a MI approach; Industry pain points; and Application case studies

Recently, ceramic 3D printer and material manufacturer Tethon 3D announced a partnership with composite 3D printing start-up Fortify to develop more technical ceramic materials for 3D printing. By increasing the portfolio of advanced ceramics available for 3D printing, the two companies aim to advance the adoption of ceramic 3D printing in technical applications.

Digital transformation is the buzzword in every sector; materials science and chemistry R&D is behind the curve but certainly no exception. The prospects are, of course, very attractive, but the reality far, far harder. This article looks at the status of this transformation, the enabling solutions, and those unresolved pain points.

With global warming kicking in and rising sea levels displacing millions to arid regions, there needs to be much more cooling of buildings. Two new passive options need to be welcomed that use readily available, non-toxic substances - metamaterials and unprecedentedly white paint reflecting maximum sunlight away from a building.

Thursday 21 October 2021 - IME offers multiple advantages relative to conventional mechanical switches, including reduction in weight and material consumption of up to 70% along with a much simpler assembly. Given these benefits, and increasing interest from OEMs/manufacturers/material suppliers, IDTechEx forecasts IME to be a $1.5bn market by 2032.

Ideas have moved on from a smart city being a dystopian world of sensors everywhere and people control by artificial intelligence - smart cities are primarily about progressing to water, food, and power independence and minimal transport. How to make smart cities in both deserts and the sea must be figured out.

This year, the first company to enter the ceramic 3D printing landscape - Lithoz - is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In this article IDTechEx highlights the market-leading 3D printing processes in the world of additive manufacturing.

Wednesday 27 October 2021 - This webinar explains how the industry of cement, concrete and allied products is entering a perfect storm. Not like diesel vehicles being wiped out but more a confluence of a further industry shakeout into volume and niche players and everything changing.

Space. The final frontier, the first step in a journey just beginning, or a horrifying void matched only by your deep fear of the ocean? Whatever your feelings on space, technology has been steadily pushing forwards to take exploration further, faster, and foodier than ever before.

The ability to develop new materials and bring them to market ever faster is an obvious goal. There continues to be countless developments that improve chemistry and materials science R&D, but perhaps none represent the same paradigm shift that materials informatics offers. Major industry players are waking up to this as the technology matures.

Electric vehicle battery packs have increasing requirements concerning their thermal runaway mitigation strategy. Meanwhile, the aerogel industry is overly dependent on oil & gas and in need of diversification. Could this be the perfect match between a problem looking for a solution and a solution looking for a problem?

In-mold electronics enables electronic functionality to be embedded within molded and thermoformed plastic components. With the integration of capacitive touch, lighting, and even haptics alongside size and weight reductions of up to 70%, IME is an efficient approach to making curved touch-sensitive interfaces. Given these benefits, IDTechEx forecasts IME to be a $1.5 billion market by 2032, with applications mainly within the automotive and consumer goods sectors.