Editor's note: South Korea has been steadily increasing its involvement in additive manufacturing (AM), especially since 2010The "0" strategy puts additive manufacturing at the forefront. In 2014, a 10-year plan for 3D printing was developed by multiple departments in South Korea to support the development of the industry. Recently, South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT raised its R&D investment target to $70 million in 2023 to encourage the development of 3D printing, which is currently home to about 400 3D printing companies.
* |3dprint
Author | sangmin "simon" lee
Compile |Resource Library.
First, the development trend
South Korea's 3D printing industry continues to grow, with many companies investing in productivity improvements, restructuring the ** chain, and manufacturing innovation. The development of automation of the additive manufacturing process is an important trend in the Korean industry, including the entire additive manufacturing process, such as workflow, equipment operation, and post-processing, in response to Industry 40 in the growing demand for digital manufacturing.
Another trend is the use of additive manufacturing technology to increase the production of on-demand and personalized products. With the continuous advancement of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and additive manufacturing technologies, the production of on-demand and personalized products is becoming more attractive in the manufacturing industry. Especially in the digitally-driven medical, dental and apparel fashion industries, the production of customized products such as implants, prosthetics and shoes has increased significantly.
In addition, the production of 3D printed parts in the Korean additive manufacturing market has also increased, and more and more users are adopting large-scale additive manufacturing solutions for unprecedented applications in the automotive and semiconductor industries.
There is also a growing demand for high-strength, heat-resistant engineering plastics in the Korean market that can replace metal parts in the electrical, electronic, automotive and machinery industries. Especially in the fast-growing electric vehicle industry, in addition to efforts to reduce weight, the use of engineering plastics in response to environmental regulations is also increasing significantly. In high value-added industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, and dental, the demand for metal additive manufacturing technology is also increasing, further expanding the relevant market.
However, South Korea's 3D printing industry is still in its early stages of development, and the dependence on foreign products is deepening due to the leading position of foreign companies such as Stratasys, 3D Systems, EOS, etc., in terms of high-tech and applied industry knowledge. Nevertheless, Korean companies are making significant progress in developing additive manufacturing-related technologies and applications, and the market is expected to grow further. Next, we will witness the development of 3D printing in South Korea from 10 application fields, which involve specific applications and participating companies and institutions.
Second, the development of the overview
1. Aerospace
South Korea's aerospace industry has made significant progress in integrating 3D printing technology, mainly for prototyping. The integration of this technology is critical for critical components such as engines and communication equipment. Although its application is still limited due to the lack of mature standards and limitations of material capabilities.
In this space, major players like Korean Air are at the forefront of using 3D printing to create high-efficiency engines, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has successfully applied metal 3D printing technology to create a dual regenerative regenerative cooling burner for liquid oxygen methane engines.
Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
The Korea Industrial Technology Research Institute (KIIT) has also made an important contribution in this regard, developing a technology for manufacturing spacecraft propellant tanks using 3D printing. This innovation resulted in a 12% increase in space efficiency and a 27% weight reduction compared to conventionally manufactured parts, demonstrating the great potential of 3D printing to improve the performance and efficiency of aerospace components.
Despite these achievements, the aerospace industry still faces challenges in the wider adoption of 3D printing technology. The lack of specific performance standards for 3D printed parts is a major obstacle, which makes it difficult to evaluate performance and apply it in practice. In addition, current limitations in material properties and technical capabilities also limit the load-bearing capacity of printed parts, which is critical in aerospace applications. There is an urgent need for industry-specific 3D printing process and equipment development to meet the needs of the aerospace sector.
2. Automobile traffic
The automotive industry is an important part of South Korea's manufacturing industry, so additive manufacturing has great potential in the country. Due to the ability to quickly prototype and reverse engineer parts, additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular in the automotive industry, especially in areas where design needs change frequently and timelines are of the essence.
However, while additive manufacturing is primarily used to prototype parts such as battery modules, interior components, robot sensor mounts, wheels, instrument panels, door panels, and steering wheels, its widespread application faces challenges and is currently difficult to achieve due to durability issues and high production costs.
Despite these challenges, the future of additive manufacturing in the automotive industry remains promising. Metal 3D printing of autonomous robotic products for part production, urban air mobility (UAM) applications, and weight reduction is a potential direction for the industry. These innovations enable the manufacture of more durable parts and lower production costs, ultimately leading to better quality products for consumers.
Hankook Tire.
Hankook Tire, for example, uses metal additive manufacturing technology to mass-produce next-generation tire hoops, and plans to do a similar job with integrated tire molds.
In the Korean market, 3D Solution, as one of the well-known companies in the automotive field, has become the official supplier of Hyundai Motor in 2020, providing 3D printing fixtures for its production line. As one of Hyundai's main partners, AJIN Industrial has adopted EOS equipment and is actively researching metal additive manufacturing technology. These companies are striving to make additive manufacturing more efficient and cost-effective while maintaining its position as a core driver of innovation, which is likely to drive the widespread adoption of additive manufacturing in the automotive industry.
3. Medical Dentistry
Additive manufacturing is mainly used in the medical field to create patient-specific medical components and surgical guides to improve the efficiency of surgery. Polymers and metal materials have been widely used in the manufacture of a variety of medical devices, such as prosthetics**, voice molds, implants, interbody fusion devices, spinal cages, and more. For example, **cancer surgical guides, etc., are also produced using additive manufacturing technology. In addition, tools such as simulators and drug development in the pharmaceutical industry are also important application areas for additive manufacturing.
Anymedi Solutions is an additive manufacturing company focused on surgical applications. They are known for making surgical guidelines for patients, with a particular expertise in complex cancer surgeries and aortic reconstruction. They developed and commercialized the world's first 3D-printed surgical guide for the removal of breast cancer for patients, which is considered an innovative technology in the medical field and is already being used in several leading medical institutions. They have completed more than 700 clinical demonstrations, published 13 academic papers, and obtained three patents. Their breast cancer guidelines are FDA CE certified and are widely used worldwide.
The Medip software developed by Medical IP converts CT and MRI scans into 3D models through artificial intelligence technology. This software is the first medical software in Korea to receive FDA CE certification. Their innovation has led to the development of 3D printing solutions that mimic the physical properties of human organs, which is a major breakthrough in medical 3D printing technology.
In 2021, Dentium, a well-known Korean dental company, launched the "Rainbow Metal Printer", a metal additive manufacturing device designed to meet the needs of the dental industry. The device is currently primarily used in the production of medical spine cages and is being further developed to be used in more dental fields, demonstrating dentium's commitment to advancing dental technology through additive manufacturing.
***t&r biofab
Additive manufacturing has also expanded into bio-3D printing. T&R Biofab, a pioneer in 3D bioprinting technology in South Korea, is nearing the first FDA approval for its craniofacial implant (CFI), marking an important step in the company's expansion into the global market and highlighting the huge potential of 3D bioprinting for medical applications.
4. Power equipment
The industry has begun to adopt 3D printing technology to localize power components, apply high-performance and difficult-to-machine materials, and optimize manufacturing processes. At present, the application scope of 3D printing technology includes gas turbine components and nuclear cooling pump components, focusing on the localization of components and expanding the application field.
***doosan enerbility
Doosan Enerbility has developed more than 1,600 additively manufactured parts, including 400 products produced on a small scale. Their self-contained "gas turbine combustion chamber nozzles" produced using additive manufacturing technology are a notable achievement.
Hanwha Aerospace has also begun to localize gas turbine parts using additive manufacturing technology. In 2022, they launched the national project "Development of Nickel-based Super Heat-Resistant Alloy Composite Shape Materials and Parts Manufacturing Technology", which aims to develop nickel-based superheat-resistant alloy additive manufacturing materials and localized parts manufacturing technology for gas turbine equipment and propulsion engines for the aerospace industry by 2025.
In addition, in 2020, Korean Western Power successfully demonstrated the first application of 10 of the 15 parts manufactured using 3D printing in the field. During the three-month operation, the parts showed no performance degradation such as vibration or leakage, proving the reliability of the 3D printed components in real-world applications.
5. National defense military
In the defense and military sectors, the motivation for adopting additive manufacturing is primarily to produce military parts that are discontinued or difficult to source. The technology, which covers both plastic and metal materials, is already being used to manufacture parts for various military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicle (u**) components, and to perform virtual construction simulations.
Future development plans include expanding the use of additive manufacturing to produce critical metal components for South Korea's amphibious assault vehicles (KA**) and other defense hardware. Between 2019 and 2021, the Ministry of National Defense saved about 2.1 billion won in costs by producing more than 13,000 parts using additive manufacturing technology.
***lig nex1
LIG NEX1 signed a memorandum of understanding with Optisys to jointly design and develop metal 3D printed antennas, and in 2022 established a cooperation system for digital manufacturing technology. Since 2020, Lig Nexon has been applying metal additive manufacturing technology in the defense sector and has established an in-house metal 3D printing center facility.
6. Consumer Electronics ICT
In the Korean electronics industry, 3D printing technology is mainly used in prototyping and spare parts production. Although electronics are an important part of South Korea's economy, and additive manufacturing has great potential in this area, its application is still limited by manufacturing costs and production efficiency. However, additive manufacturing has the potential to produce high-end electronics and peripherals, while also meeting the future demand for low-volume customized products.
LG Electronics' Changwon R&D Center uses 3D printing technology to reduce model production time by 30% and save KRW 700 million per year in costs at LG Electronics Refrigerator Research Center.
7. Clothing fashion
While the main reason for adopting 3D printing is to make fashion-related prototypes easier, some Korean companies generate revenue by offering custom services such as custom suits and personalized eyewear. Utilizing 3D scanning and 3D printing technology, Breezm provides custom eyeglass frames that fit individual face sizes, shapes, and skin tones, demonstrating the versatility and personalization capabilities of additive manufacturing in consumer applications.
***breezm
With nine stores in South Korea, Breezm has visited approximately 50,000 customers in the past five years and achieved cumulative sales of KRW 15 billion. Based on its technology, Breezm plans to open an offline store in Manhattan in the first quarter of 2024.
8. Building construction
In the construction industry, additive manufacturing has been used to improve production efficiency, save costs, and implement ESG management practices. Although current laws in South Korea restrict the use of 3D printing in habitable structures, resulting in limited revenue generation, there is still potential for future applications in construction.
***bando construction
Bando Construction, a leading construction company in South Korea, has partnered with 3D printing specialist Hisys to launch the first robot-based 3D printing technology in the Korean construction sector. Recently, Bando Construction successfully constructed a molding wall structure at the Bando Yubora Centum condominium site in Seodae-gu, Daegu, using a robotic printer.
9. Semiconductors
Additive manufacturing in the semiconductor industry is still in its infancy, and there are a number of technical challenges that must be addressed before the technology can be fully utilized. Overcoming the need for high-resolution printing, suitable materials, and new standards and certifications are some of the challenges. Despite these challenges, additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize the industry by facilitating more efficient design, manufacturing, and testing processes. This technology can help semiconductor companies stay competitive in a rapidly changing technology environment. As technology continues to evolve, it is expected to play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of the industry.
Wonik IPS, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, installed EOS' AMCM M450-1kW metal machine at its factory earlier this year. In addition, Dongwon Parts, a manufacturer of semiconductor equipment components, signed a memorandum of understanding with EOS to expand its cooperation in metal 3D printing technology for printing semiconductor parts and installing machines in-house.
10. Shipbuilding
Additive manufacturing is currently used in the Korean shipbuilding industry to develop a variety of ship components, including propellers. However, the wider adoption of traditional additive manufacturing techniques is challenging due to limitations in meeting part size, weight, strength, and other specific requirements. Despite the current limitations, the use of additive manufacturing to produce large engine parts is still promising in the industry.
In 2022, major Korean entities, including Hyundai Heavy Industries, Kitech, Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency (UIPA), DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas), SY Metal, and K-AMUG, signed business agreements for the development and certification of ship propellers based on additive manufacturing technology.
III. Conclusion.
Overall, South Korea's adoption of 3D printing reflects its strategic and multifaceted approach across industries. From aerospace and automotive to defense, medical, consumer electronics, and fashion, the country is leveraging additive manufacturing for innovation, efficiency, and customization. While the Asian market generally faces challenges such as careful integration approaches, prioritizing clear incremental benefits and efficiencies in additive manufacturing applications, South Korea is working to integrate this technology into traditional manufacturing and explore new applications. The strong investment and support, coupled with the joint efforts of industry players, is laying the foundation for South Korea to become a key player in the global additive manufacturing space.