Desktop 3D Printers Just Killed the Industrial Market — Now Printing Aerospace Parts With High-Temp Materials

The Desktop Revolution Has Arrived

A new generation of sophisticated desktop 3D printers is revolutionizing the additive manufacturing market. Bambu Lab, Creality, and Prusa Research have leaped ahead over the past few years, and the gap between desktop and industrial is closing fast.

These companies have, in effect, digitized extrusion on fast printers with high yield and great surface quality. Competition in this segment is ruthless and fast-paced, with millions of these systems being sold globally.

From Toys to Aerospace Parts

3D printing was initially a hobby for the hardy, techy, and perseverant. Now it is becoming a tool to make things for another hobby — but those hobbies now include aerospace and defense.

We are seeing electronics housings, military components, drone components, industrial machine parts, and factory automation components being produced at scale on desktop machines. Many companies are turning off older industrial systems and buying desktop machines instead.

The Materials Revolution

What is driving this shift? A broader selection of lower-cost materials, coupled with reliability and speed.

Polycarbonate

One new material that has become viable on desktop machines is Polycarbonate. This high-impact, resistant material prints very well on systems like the Prusa Core One. You can make large housings, cases, protective gear, and long-lasting parts with it. Heat resistance exceeds 110C, and strength is excellent.

Victrex LMPAEK

Victrex's LMPAEK (Low-Melt Polyaryletherketone) has successfully been 3D printed on the Bambu H2D. This high-strength material was previously only available on industrial machines costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tullomer

Z Polymer's Tullomer is a crystalline polymer designed specifically for desktop machines, to be used in place of PEI and PAEK materials. It offers temperature resistance over 200C, is PFAS-free, has a V-0 flame rating, and excellent chemical resistance. At $275 for a 500g spool, it is a quarter the price of many systems now printing it.

Tectonic 3D

Tectonic 3D has developed KRATIR PP-CF, being used to manufacture drone bodies that are just one single line of filament thick. They also have EN45545-2 and FAR-approved materials for rail and automotive use.

Colorfabb Varioshore TPU

Perhaps most impressive is Colorfabb's Varioshore TPU — an elastomer where you can alter the shore hardness locally by altering your nozzle temperature. Hard and soft regions can be printed in a single print run using a single nozzle, enabling low-cost yet high-performance insoles and shoe components.

The Market Impact

Bambu Lab is probably the highest-grossing 3D printing firm out there. The P2S printer is available for 519 EUR (around $560) with excellent AMS unit for 749 EUR. The Prusa Core One at 1,699 EUR delivers 95%+ yields reliably.

Many firms in the industrial market will be pushed aside and bankrupted by the spread of more accurate desktop systems. The uptake of 3D printing at large enterprises is accelerating thanks to these desktop machines — and the materials revolution is only accelerating that trend.