An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: A How-to Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges

The document assesses the industrialization of additive manufacturing (AM), noting that while the technology has matured, adoption is hindered by high costs, lack of standardization in regulated industries, and gaps in the digital process chain. It highlights three key opportunity drivers: the digital process chain, novel AM materials, and qualified supply chains, illustrated through case studies from Trinckle, Johnson & Johnson, and Deutsche Bahn. The report recommends an iterative, market-pull approach to adoption and outlines six key enablers—including cost reduction and know-how development—to move AM toward serial production and mass customization over the next 5 to 10 years.

• Production costs remain the primary obstacle to AM adoption, driven not only by machine and material expenses but also by high quality-assurance costs and expensive post-processing, which constitutes a significant portion of total part costs.
• Standardization is a critical bottleneck, particularly in regulated sectors such as aerospace, rail, automotive, and medical industries, where the lack of defined standards slows market growth and complicates liability and approval processes.
• The digital process chain is currently fragmented, with a lack of interconnection between software from different suppliers leading to intermediate steps that reduce quality and inconsistent data sharing.
• Successful AM implementation is characterized by three distinction clusters: the exploitation of the digital process chain (e.g., automated design for orthoses), the use of novel AM materials (e.g., bioresorbable polymers for medical implants), and the creation of qualified, flexible supply chains (e.g., certified spare parts for railways).
• The report recommends four best practices for firms adopting AM: implementing in iterations to manage the learning curve, using a 'market-pull' strategy based on customer needs rather than 'technology-push', collaborating with external partners to fill competence gaps, and establishing a clear AM strategy with top-level management support.
• Experts predict a transition over the next 5 to 10 years toward industrialized serial production and mass customization, with the potential for a disruptive 'digital warehouse' model where product data is shipped instead of physical inventory.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: A How-to Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Additive_Manufacturing_Breakthrough_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: A How-to Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Additive_Manufacturing_Breakthrough_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: A How-to Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges |date=January 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Additive_Manufacturing_Breakthrough_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022additive, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{An Additive Manufacturing Breakthrough: A How-to Guide for Scaling and Overcoming Key Challenges}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Additive_Manufacturing_Breakthrough_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }