5 Workforce skill is tempering adoptionĮxecutives with whom we spoke stated that they, too, are aggressively ramping up efforts to leverage AM’s potential in production settings, and to further integrate it into their existing manufacturing operations.
4 Just five years prior to this, in 2011, this number was estimated to be around US$246 million. In 2017, for example, nearly a billion dollars were spent on AM for end-use production parts, approximately a one-third increase from the previous year. 2 While AM’s use in directly printing components is still maturing, its long-term appeal-that it can be used to more effectively and efficiently produce functional parts and products for the industrial manufacturing sector-is why most companies continue to invest in it. Over the last several years, the use of AM has slowly shifted from a purely rapid prototyping solution to a production-worthy manufacturing technology. The promise of AM: Functional production applications We supplemented our primary research with extensive secondary literature reviews.
Our industry expert interviews involved professionals from a variety of company sizes and industries-all with an active interest in AM-related workforce initiatives. Our academic interviews involved institutions with substantial coverage in addressing AM-related issues, particularly around talent shortfalls. In carrying out our primary research, we conducted 11 interviews with academic institutions and seven interviews with industry experts. This report is the end result of our primary and secondary research efforts. The purpose of this report was to gain an understanding of the issues and opportunities that both industry and academia face in shaping the next generation of AM professionals.
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