1) Please share your story on the journey towards Technology Adoption
Apis Cor has been working on the 3D printing technology in construction for pretty long period of time and faced a lot of challenges. Construction is very complicated industry and a lot of works are still implemented manually so currently 3D printing cannot fully replace traditional methods of construction as we print only walls. Despite we learned a lot and significantly improved the technology there are still a lot of work ahead to reveal all advantages of construction 3D printing.
2) How do you think 3D printing has improved and impacted the quality of people’s life?
3D printing allowed to reduce costs of manufacturing in many industries that directly affects the cost of end product. 3D printing also provided new solutions in medicine which dramatically changed lives of many people.
3) What do you think the future of 3D printing holds? What new developments can we expect in the next 5 years?
I believe that the most promising and exciting areas are construction on Earth and in space. 3D printing in space will open new horizons in space exploration by building of space stations and habitat on other planets.
4) What does 3D Printing mean to you and to your business success?
Personally, I am honored to be involved in the technology that can make our world better and will help a lot of people around the world to change their living conditions. Big companies and even governments are very interested in construction 3D printing technology and collaboration with them will give us opportunities to scale the technology faster in future.
5) What new business opportunities can we look forward to in Industry 4.0, especially in your industry?
3D printing can bring whole construction process into digital world – from designing of the buildings in VR to fully automated construction process controlled by digital code.
6) From your experiences what are the limitations/roadblocks for companies using Additive Manufacturing and what advise will you give to startups wanting jump on the bandwagon?
Many people underestimate the complexity of additive manufacturing which is caused by integration of several disciplines like software, hardware and material science. Companies should put more time for R&D and testing before entering in the market.
7) Is 3D Printing the game changer for the Industrial revolution 4.0 and is it here to stay for the long haul?
Yes, I believe that 3D printing technology dramatically will change traditional manufacturing that can help to bring humanity on the next level of technological progress.