Ink jet and printing technology leader Canon has unveiled its plans to enter the 3D printing market, with an entirely new 3D printer designed in-house.
Analysts say the entry of the two printing giants, Canon and HP, will have far-reaching effects in the 3D printing industry, particularly in the area of print materials. Both Canon and fellow printing giant HP have cheaper and faster 3D printing as core parts of their strategies.
3D printing is already used by many engineers to quickly build scale models directly from 3D plans during the design stage, and to create rapid working prototypes of parts, devices, machinery.
In fact, both HP and Canon are focused on advanced prototyping activity, at least in the short term, putting them in line with the current state of the 3D printing market.
Both companies’ initial printers will only use polymer printing materials. While Canon’s printer technology has not been revealed in detail, HP’s proposed Multi Jet Fusion process will use existing thermoplastic powder materials, similar to the polymer powder bed fusion systems that 3D Systems, EOS and other existing 3D printing players utilise.
Industry analysts SmarTech says Canon and HP may dip their toes in rapid prototyping, but will shift their focus to high volume manufacturing eventually. Many users already see significant cost and time reductions in manufacturing by utilising 3D printing, and in some cases, the design of the product means there is no alternative way to get it manufactured other than via 3D printing.
The move to high volume 3D printing means print speed and costs will be more important than ever before. And the key to this trend from prototyping to bona-fide manufacturing is in material technology, with the introduction of new materials to serve specific end-use applications.
Therefore, SmarTech says Canon and HP will likely have to develop widespread material sets in their chosen medium of resins and powders.
While the 3D printing journeys for Canon and HP are just beginning, SmarTech says the presence and eventual adoption of both company's technologies will continue to bring innovation to the market for polymers. Their entry into the market will lead to continued growth and evolution in the market for 3D printed polymer materials.
According to SmarTech’s Professional 3D Printing Materials Advisory Service, markets for photopolymer resins and thermoplastic powders will combine to equal US$1.9 billion by 2020, representing 77% of the total market for polymer materials including filaments, binder jetting composites, and other polymers.