{"id":3953,"date":"2020-07-08T11:36:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T15:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:07:29","slug":"barriers-to-adopting-additive-manufacturing-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/barriers-to-adopting-additive-manufacturing-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Barriers to adopting additive manufacturing (Part 2) – smoothing the adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In part 1 of this series on the <\/em>barriers to adopting additive manufacturing<\/a>, we discussed some of the industry’s challenges that are keeping companies from fully adopting additive manufacturing. In this second blog, we will explore how to convert the customer’s hesitancy into enthusiastically embracing additive manufacturing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aaron
Aaron Frankel, vice president of Siemens additive manufacturing software program<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our primary objective for additive manufacturing in Siemens Digital Industries is to help companies understand and navigate the core additive process, its methods and benefits. We work with amazing partners in developing an environment that fosters collaboration. We recognized early on that to industrialize additive and encourage adoption, required joining forces with experts. That is why Siemens has built a vast network of partners, both within our businesses and across software and hardware industries in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnering with experts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All this effort focuses on the customers’ needs. We concentrate on their strategic endeavors and work meticulously in the initial stages to outline their objectives while aligning with our partner ecosystems to ensure technology roadmaps are in sync.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration is essential on the business side to assist customers in going to market by supporting them as they ramp up their additive operations. We have a broad solution base that spans motion control and automation capabilities. Additionally, we provide factory automation capabilities and methods to connect and drive sophisticated 3D printing machinery. This dynamic ensures that the software provides the proper interfaces and abilities for the 3D printing hardware to produce repeatable, quality parts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We realize one company can’t develop all the software that our customers need for an industrial additive solution. Therfore, we’ve developed deep strategic relationships with key software partners to integrate essential technologies and capabilities into our solution sets that promote and preserve the customer\u2019s digital thread from designing through manufacturing. The user can access all the capabilities\u2014whether ours or our partners\u2014seamlessly within our user interface, while the proper data structures are maintained to ensure data continuity. When customers make a design change, it ripples up from the design through the process plan to produce the parts on the equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By cultivating relationships with major machine OEMs, we\u2019re developing additive printing and post-processing capabilities that drive the equipment proficiently at precise fidelity levels. This expertise helps customers control the process to achieve repeatable 3D quality parts. It\u2019s a broad, comprehensive approach requiring continual communication, dialogue and alignment with our partners, who are eager to accomplish the same goal \u2013 industrializing additive for the market. The result is a synergetic relationship \u2013 working with our partners to further advance additive manufacturing technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These partner relationships bring value to both sides. We learn from them and they learn from us. This collabortion is reflected in our products, with our customers benefitting from the strengths of all organizations, thus spurring the adoption of additive technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide range adopting additive manufacturing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All types of companies are striving to implement additive manufacturing. We\u2019re engaging with several companies who have been in the additive space for 5-10 years, and are advancing additive manufacturing within their organizations to expand product development, engineering and manufacturing operations. Whether a company is new to additive or has been using it for years, it\u2019s all part of a significant effort to scale up to industrializing additive manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These companies come from diverse industries, including: aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, energy, machinery, marine and medical.  And all are looking for a consistent set of capabilities and tools that their broader engineering communities can leverage. Ultimately, they’re aiming to use additive manufacturing to generate higher value for their customers’ products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current market is divided into the following three areas: <\/p>\n\n\n\n