China’s Secret Weapon: Giant 3D Printers?

Image: Francisco Anzola/Flickr

3D printing has been touted as one of the emerging technologies that could help the US economy by breathing new life into its floundering manufacturing sector. In the process, the reasoning goes, many jobs that have migrated to Asian countries could be brought back to American soil thanks to the growth of localized “maker spaces” and other new production paradigms. There’s one major problem, however: what’s stopping other countries from throwing themselves behind the new tech as well?

That’s the subject of a recent article by Alan Gardner in the 3D printing-focused website 3dprint.com about China’s growing interest in the technology. Chinese investment in 3D printing in and of itself isn’t anything new—as USA Today reported late last year, the country has already begun “furiously developing its own 3D printing industry” to rival those seen in the U.S. and Europe. But while China is still “far behind the U.S.” in this regard, Gardner suggests that it could soon have an advantage thanks to a new breed of “gigantic 3D printers.” One Chinese company unveiled what it claimed was the world’s largest 3D printer (1.8 meters in diameter) last June, and Gardner reports that another is expected to finish work on an even larger one this month.

“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,” Gardner wrote.

What does this mean for China and the rest of the world economy, exactly? As with much news about 3D printing, it’s not entirely clear how profound the technology’s impact will be. But if the country’s increased investment in the industry pays off, it could help accelerate other domestic trends.

A recent Economist cover story pointed at that China is now poised to become “the next consumption superpower.” The economy was worth more than $9 trillion in 2013. While it still only accounts for 8 percent of the world’s private consumption, it made the largest contribution to the overall growth in global consumption from 2011 to 2013. Slowing growth and political regulation, however, are making it harder for foreign companies to maintain a strong presence in the market or edge their way in anew.

The expansion of 3D printing could therefore have a two-fold benefit for the country: on the manufacturing level, it could give Chinese companies a renewed competitive edge for domestic production. And as for consumption, the boost that 3D printing gives to researching and developing new prototypes could help companies—foreign and national—design products that are better tailored for local preferences, a boon for anyone trying to set up shop in such a large and diverse market.

Of course, the technology behind 3D printing can’t solve everything on its own. If the country wants to maintain its reputation as “the factory of the world” it will have to retrain a work force to add these new gadgets to the assembly line. Seeing as Foxconn president Terry Gou said last year that he thought 3D printing was just a “gimmick,” its clear that some major manufacturers still aren’t convinced that the “maker movement” craze is worth its weight in CAD files. But the USA Today and Economist reports both suggest that many experts are still advising the U.S. to throw more of its weight behind 3D printing if it wants to maintain its lead.