America has been the clear leader in the technology sector, especially when it comes to emerging technology like 3D printing and scanning. Manufacturers in the U.S. are quickly adopting 3D printing as a way to cut costs, shorten time for production, and expand their designing options. Japan has been left behind, fearful of losing a portion of their manufacturing market to the U.S., as well as other nations.
This week the Japanese Government announced a major initiative to create an alliance, in which they will invest heavily into next generation 3D printing technology in order to recapture their manufacturing success. The alliance will be spearheaded by the Government’s 3.8 billion yen ($36.5 million) contribution, but that will just be the start. There are a total of 27 companies, which include, Mitsubishi , Nissan, Panasonic, Kawasaki, and others. These companies will all contribute 500,000 yen per year to the alliance. in addition several University are involved in the research and development that this new alliance will pursue.
They hope to have the first 3D printer prototypes ready sometime next year, with finished machines ready by 2019. The alliance will look to produce printers capable of creating titanium-based products such as airplane parts and joints, using molten metal, via laser sintering.
It appears we are entering some sort of economic arms race, where nations are looking to technology to maintain their manufacturing advantages. China, the U.S., Britain, and Japan all have major initiatives in place to fund 3D printing technology in some way. Discuss Japan’s future within the 3D printing industry at 3PrintBoard. (Source: Nikkei)
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
You May Also Like
3D Printing Unpeeled: Wind Turbines, Probiotics and Lenses
TPI Composites, ORNL and Ingersoll Rand are working to make wind turbine tooling segments that can be 18.3 meters long. These elements also include resistive wires that help keep the...
3D Printing Unpeeled: Digital FDM Filament for Functional Gradients
Just published in Nature, a paper by a Seoul National University team looks at “3D printing with a 3D printed digital material filament for programming functional gradients.” Sang-Joon Ahn, Howon...
3D Printing Unpeeled: $5000 Cold Spray 3D Printer, Roland DGA & Living Materials
The AeroForge is a $5000 cold spray metal printer for copper made by a student team at Rice University. In a paper for ACS Central Science a team from Nanjing...
3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: April 28, 2024
In this week’s 3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup, the Ceramics Expo is taking place in Michigan, Stratasys continues its advanced training courses, and SPE is holding a Polymer Characterization...