AMPOWER released an update to their very popular additive manufacturing technology maps.
The European AM consulting company has issued these increasingly detailed infographics for several years. They divide all AM technologies into categories and then list the companies providing those technologies. The charts make it much easier to find solutions in an ocean of providers.
AMPOWER now provides four infographics:
- Additive Manufacturing Software Technology Overview
- Polymer Additive Manufacturing Technology Overview
- Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Technology Overview
- Metal Additive Manufacturing Technology Overview
There is considerable detail in these overviews. The number of categories within them is substantial:
- Metal AM: 20 different processes
- Polymer AM: 17 different processes
- Ceramic AM: 12 different processes
- AM Software: 7 different categories
The charts in total list an astonishing 209 companies. There are many that you probably have never heard of — but they exist.
There are some interesting trends, as explained by AMPOWER’s Matthias Schmidt-Lehr:
“Despite ongoing consolidation, the number of OEMs continues to grow. However, a closer look reveals that most new entrants are from China, while the number of new AM companies in the US and Europe is steadily declining.
At the same time, some existing companies are facing serious challenges, and we anticipate that in the coming years, many logos will disappear from the map.”
These observations align with our own feelings after attending several recent trade shows.
One challenge facing AMPOWER is the ability to squeeze all these company logos into an increasingly dense chart. Schmidt-Lehr writes:
“We are now automating the map generation process and trying to stack the logos as best as possible. Not an easy task given the different aspect ratios of all the logos and different levels of details. I tell you the same I am telling my kids every day: “we try our best, but we can never treat you all exactly equally.”
It’s even more complicated than you might realize: each logo, no matter how small, is hot linked to the company’s website. I can’t imagine how much work is required to produce these charts.
Amazingly, all of these detailed charts are freely downloadable at AMPOWER’s website, and they often hand out large format printed versions at trade shows.
Once again, thank you, AMPOWER!
