Benchmark Study of Industrial Needs for Additive Manufacturing in Finland

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a modern way to produce parts for industrial use. Even though the technical knowledge and research of AM processes are strong in Finland, there are only few industrial applications. Aim of this study is to collect practical knowledge of companies who are interested in industrial use of AM, especially in South-Eastern Finland. Goal of this study is also to investigate demands and requirements of applications for industrial use of AM in this area of Finland. It was concluded, that two of the reasons prohibiting wider industrial use of AM in Finland, are wrong expectations against this technology as well as lack of basic knowledge of possibilities of the technology. Especially, it was noticed that strong 3D-hype is even causing misunderstandings. Nevertheless, the high-level industrial know-how in the area, built around Finnish lumber industry is a strong foundation for the additive manufacturing technology.