China’s Huge 3D Printers, Soon Able to Print Automobile Sized Metal Objects

IMTS

Share this Article

One of the biggest possible economic impacts of 3D printing  to the U.S. economy is the fact that it may eventually allow corporations to bring jobs back onshore from China. The United States outsources a large number of jobs over to Asia as a way to cut labor costs. 3D printing and robotics promises to change some of this, as companies can utilize industrial scale 3D printers and automation to manufacture parts for their products, cheaper than even the labor force in China can produce them. That’s if, of course China lags behind in their adoption of these technologies.

It appears, however that China is investing heavily in 3D printing, just like those in the U.S. and Europe. Their corporate and government leaders clearly can identify an emerging technology and its possible economic impact on the future of China. In fact, back in June, China announced a gigantic 3D printer, which they claimed was the world’s largest at the time, with a 1.8 m build diameter. Basically the thing could print out a nice sized bathroom vanity if you wanted it to.

This isn’t where it ends though. 1.8 meters is nothing compared to what China has done since, and plans to do within the next month or so. Southern Fan Co. (As Translated from Chinese), a company also located in China, put out a press release in November of last year, indicating their plans to develop what would turn out to be, by far the largest 3D printer yet. The printer, once complete, sometime this month, according to past releases large 3d printerby the company, will be able to print out metal objects approximately 6 meters, or 18 feet in diameter. Yes, if the printer works as it’s supposed to, the company will be able to print out the entire frame of just about any four wheeled automobile on Earth.

The implications for such a development would be huge for the company, but also for China, who in the last 12 months has really made it a priority to develop their laser sintering technologies. There are already several large scale industrial 3D printers in China, including the one in the image above, in which a team at Beihang University has been able to print out several complex titanium alloy structures. This includes parts used in satellites, rockets, and nuclear power plants. These are actual parts, and not prototypes for parts. Also larger parts such as titanium alloy landing gear for jets, as well as large main force bearing frames of air crafts have been, and continue to be produce by this printer.

Discuss this story here: https://3dprintboard.com/showthread.php?1667-China-s-18-Foot-Diameter-3D-Printer-Coming-Soon

Share this Article


Recent News

Will There Be a Desktop Manufacturing Revolution outside of 3D Printing?

Know Your Würth: CEO AJ Strandquist on How Würth Additive Can Change 3D Printing



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Featured

Pressing Refresh: What CEO Brad Kreger and Velo3D Have Learned About Running a 3D Printing Company

To whatever extent a business is successful thanks to specialization, businesses will nonetheless always be holistic entities. A company isn’t a bunch of compartments that all happen to share the...

Würth Additive Launches Digital Inventory Services Platform Driven by 3D Printing

Last week, at the Additive Manufacturing Users’ Group (AMUG) Conference in Chicago (March 10-14), Würth Additive Group (WAG) launched its new inventory management platform, Digital Inventory Services (DIS). WAG is...

Featured

Hypersonic Heats Up: CEO Joe Laurienti on the Success of Ursa Major’s 3D Printed Engine

“It’s only been about 24 hours now, so I’m still digesting it,” Joe Laurienti said. But even via Zoom, it was easy to notice that the CEO was satisfied. The...

Featured

3D Printing’s Next Generation of Leadership: A Conversation with Additive Minds’ Dr. Gregory Hayes

It’s easy to forget sometimes that social media isn’t reality. So, at the end of 2023, when a burst of doom and gloom started to spread across the Western world’s...