The US has been ranked as the most possible country for executing and getting the advantages of 3D printing technology. This is according to recent research by 3D printer maker, Ultimaker and consultancy Savanta Group.
The earliest 3D printing Sentiment Index ranks the 3D printing savviness of a country. This is through examining five aspects; adoption, install base, market awareness, and 3D printing growth indicators.
Other aspects include ease of adoption, technology infrastructure, optimism, and perceived future impact. All these statistics are based on over 2,5oo interviews with experts from a range of industries and macro-economic analysis.
The United States comes top on the index because of its size, growth prospects, and technological maturity.
“Sentiments are the start of a domino effect.” Said director of the global research and analytics at Ultimaker, Rohit Jhamb. “Positive sentiments lead to positive behavior and investments, resulting in a future of significant and sustainable growth.” He added.
67% of worldwide respondents know the terms of additive manufacturing and 3D printing. A term that describes the level-upon-level process of 3D printing. And also 65 percent think that technology can revolutionize their industry.
The figures experience a notable increase when individually recognizing American respondents. For them, 87% think that that 3D printing provides huge benefits in understanding new thoughts and opinions. 77% of the users of 3D printing use the technology to make prototypes.
When it comes to market awareness, the US comes thirds behind the Netherlands and Switzerland. The US comes second for adoption after China that has 53 percent embracing 3D printing. 11 percent have utilized it for over five years.
“This research is the widest and most in-depth in terms of coverage that combines end customer voice with macro-economic indicators,” Explained Jhamb.
“It offers a complete view of the current ecosystem and future growth potential for 3D printing and shows that we have moved past the hype often associated with 3D printing. For potential stakeholders who haven’t embraced the additive manufacturing market and are hesitant about entering, this Index shows they should be unafraid to contribute and can expect a healthy return on that contribution.” He added.
Ultimaker is a Netherland based company and it was established in 2011. It works out of offices in Boston, New York, and Singapore. Ultimaker has over hired over 400 people.
“Being close to end-customers is something we always highly value,” states the CEO of Ultimaker, Jos Burger.
“These findings confirm our current strategy for delivering easy-to-use, reliable solutions that anyone can leverage to gain a fast ROI with 3D printing. In that sense, Ultimaker is uniquely positioned, since we provide the market with an open ecosystem of hardware, software, and materials.
“By delivering a complete solution that seamlessly integrates with existing workflows, we are on track to facilitate this positive future growth potential and continue to be the driving force to achieve true digital distribution and local manufacturing.” He noted.
