The 3D printing possibilities are potentially endless, and additive manufacturing is already a driving force behind innovation across several industries.
That the world of 3D printing innovation is continuing to advance is evidenced by Internet search data. This isboth at the level of consumers, where Hasbro announced it will soon be able to scan and 3D print your own face onto your favourite action figure, and for industry.
New research predicts the overall 3D printing market will grow by 24 percent to reach $44.5 billion by 2026. In relation to this, 3D printing experts Hubs.com have been assessing which innovations are the most anticipated globally.
This comes as technology becomes more affordable and innovative. The latest trends show that 3D printed homes are the industry’s most Googled innovation globally, racking up 76,000 monthly searches on average.
This is followed by technology advancements in the food industry, scoring as the second most searched. Following this, fashion items such as shoes, jewellery, and dresses all appear in the top 15 list (these types of items come as designers showcased 3D printed designs at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year).
The 15 most Googled 3D printed advancements are:
| Innovation | No. of monthly global searches |
| 3D printed house | 76,000 |
| 3D printed food | 9,800 |
| 3D printed car | 6,800 |
| 3D printed shoes | 5,500 |
| 3D printed organs | 5,500 |
| 3D printed jewellery | 5,300 |
| 3D printed boat | 4,300 |
| 3D printed drone | 3,000 |
| 3D printed prosthetics | 2,700 |
| 3D printed rocket | 2,400 |
| 3D printed furniture | 2,200 |
| 3D printed plane | 1,500 |
| 3D printed robots | 1,400 |
| 3D printed dentures | 1,200 |
| 3D printed dress | 1,000 |
With homes featuring at the top of the list,2021 saw the first 3D printed house sale take place in the Netherlands, and now innovative developers in the US are keen to catch up.
It was recently reported that the small town of Pulaski, Virginia, is set to become home to 200 such houses built over the next five years using the time- and labour-saving technique that involves a massive 19-ton robotic printer.
With food, 3D printed meat receives 4,500 searches a month, thanks to a break-through advancement last year. In 2021, an Israeli bioprinting company announced that it succeeded in printing a 104-gram cultivated steak. Made of real cultivated fat and muscle cells, the steak is believed to be the largest cultured steak produced to date. The achievement represents another step on the road to the mass production of cultured meat, an important milestone in combating climate change.
Filemon Schoffer, cofounder & CCO from Hubs.com tells Digital Journal: “Overall, we expect to see more signs of growth in 3D printing in 2022 and beyond. Enhanced automation, scalable quality controls, advances in interoperability, reduced material and processing costs and further industry consolidation, among other key factors, will help 3D printing become the robust industrial manufacturing process that befits its massive potential.”
