China's 3D printing industry 'needs global input'
China’s 3D printing industry needs more international cooperation, especially from the countries and regions along the Belt and Road initiative, speakers told a global 3D printing forum held in Shanghai that closed on Sunday.
With the help of global cooperation, 3D printing applications will be used in more high efficiency sectors, industry officials told the 2017 World 3D Printing Annual Meeting in Songjiang.
Such sectors include aerospace, medical, nuclear power generation, automotive, machinery, electronics, culture and creation and education.
The forum, organized by the Shanghai Additive Manufacturing Association, attracted 400 industry officials from 3D printing organizations and almost 100 speakers from overseas regions, as well as government officials.
The new technology is in line with the Made in China 2025 strategy of boosting innovation and transformation in traditional industries.
The 3D printing has become one of the “key engines” of China's economy development, Zhang Ying, chief engineer of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology Development, told the forum.
During the forum, the local additive manufacturing association signed international cooperation agreements with overseas 3D printing organizations in Singapore, Belarus and South Korea. Meanwhile, the local association also announced it will establish a batch of offices in the United States, Singapore, South Korea and Belarus to boost global collaboration, especially in Belt and Road countries.
China will become a “front-runner” of the 3D printing industry, the forum was told. By 2018, 3D printing will be a mainstream technology adopted by large and established document printers, contract manufacturers and electronics vendors, according to US-based research firm International Data Corp.
Revenue in China’s 3D printing industry is likely to be 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) by 2020, five times that in 2013, analysts said.