“The days will come when you can produce your pizza or birthday cake from your home 3D printer in a few minutes. Serious progress has been made in organ production from bioprinting, that is, 3D printers. Treatment processes in dental designs are transferred to artificial intelligence. Environmental pollution is prevented. Developments in the automotive industry are exciting… The global 3D printer market reached a volume of 20.68 billion dollars in 2023. It is predicted that the volume will exceed 120 billion dollars by 2030.”
3D printers are on the agenda again with new technologies. These products, which are used especially in the healthcare sector, are also strengthening their position in the food and jewelry sectors. Regarding the developments, we had an interview with Nikita Türkmen, Technology R&D Manager of 3bfab, a Turkey-based manufacturer that exports to more than 60 countries, about the company’s plans, investments and future technologies.
1- In which areas/sectors are 3D printers used? Can we talk about the advantages of using 3D printers for some sectors? If an investment needs to be made, what minimum investment should be made to get a return?
3D printers are widely used today in sectors such as automotive, aviation, healthcare and jewelery. The advantages it brings to these sectors include rapid prototyping, cost savings and design flexibility. As 3bfab, we provide services in the field of health and jewelry. In the field of dental health, patients can complete their dental treatment within 1 hour, without ever leaving the clinic, thanks to 3D printers, instead of the process that normally takes weeks. We have very successful designers in our country, which is a leader in jewelry production. It takes days or even months for a designer to deliver his product to a customer abroad. Thanks to 3D printers, this process is safely reduced to hours, and products are delivered and written to customers digitally. Investment costs for these sectors vary depending on the technology and scale to be used, but for entry-level professional use, a budget between 10,000 and 20,000 dollars is sufficient.
2- Do 3D printers attract enough attention? In fact, it started an era in itself. In this context, can you meet every need with your product range? As 3bfab, what is your point in R&D and innovation? Could you please explain with data?
3D printers gained and lost popularity as hobby printers for the home user. But on the contrary, it has become the backbone of prototyping and production in the business world.
The global 3D printer market reached a volume of $20.68 billion in 2023. It is predicted that the volume will exceed 120 billion dollars by 2030.
Founded in 2013, our company started R&D studies in 2017. In 2018, we received the title of R&D Center with the appreciation of TÜBİTAK and our Ministry of Industry and Technology. With our R&D studies, we started to produce solutions in the fields of jewelry and dental health. We first started with the jewelry industry. This field requires taking very precise detailed prints. At the same time, model design security is very important in the jewelry industry. The designer’s model is private and must remain confidential. In order to protect this design during the production stages, we create the .nova extension file format, which is the first secure print software in the world, so that the models can be written safely. In addition, our customers can send models to their customers overseas from this secure printing service and use them without any problems.
By creating an artificial intelligence-supported jewelry platform integrated into this secure system, we enabled jewelry manufacturers with 3D printers and jewelry designers to meet, which is also a first in the world. Customers can log in to the platform, choose the designers’ models and place orders. The orders placed are prepared with artificial intelligence and sent safely within a few minutes to the jewelry manufacturer that owns the 3D printer. Thus, a market was created and a significant contribution to the environment was made. In normal processes, due to confidentiality reasons, designers must produce these models themselves and physically deliver them to their customers; This is an expensive and time-consuming process. Models may be damaged due to logistics reasons, costs may increase depending on the location of delivery, and it may take time for the models to reach the customer. To make a comparison, for example, for a customer who purchases a jewelery design worth 1 kilogram of gold at a fair, it takes 6 months for the products to be prepared and delivered to him. It takes only 30 minutes to deliver safe and ready-to-print models to our customers who order the same products from the artificial intelligence software platforms we developed for the 3D printer.
Our country is in high demand for dental treatments. There are serious demands from abroad, especially for Antalya and its surroundings. Since the patients come from abroad, their treatment process should be kept as short as possible. Thanks to the platform we developed here, our doctors can upload patients’ oral scans to the system, and thanks to our artificial intelligence-supported software systems and expert laboratory personnel, they can respond to the most appropriate treatment in the fastest way.
The printers we have developed in both sectors have the title of being the fastest in the world in their respective fields. In addition, all hardware and software of our 3D printers are developed domestically and nationally, entirely in-house.
3- If we consider the cyber security aspect of the business… 3D printers can be purchased not only for the sector, but also for personal use, hobbies, etc. in some cases. Does the connection of these devices with other devices (IoT) create a situation that is vulnerable to attack in both individual and sectoral use? If so, do you have any studies and precautions on this issue?
Yes, one of the issues we pay most attention to as a company is cyber security. With new solutions and new technologies, cyber attacks are also increasing and developing at the same pace. Networking 3D printers as IoT devices poses cybersecurity risks. There are threats such as unauthorized access and data theft… Therefore, if this feature is not used in devices purchased for personal use or hobby, it should be turned off, but if it is used, software updates should be made on time. We periodically undergo tests for our own products, thus proving the quality and safety of our products to our customers. We follow industry standards with all the software we develop. Our company has all the necessary certificates in the healthcare sector and operates in accordance with national and international standards.
4- You are in more than 60 countries… What can you say if you compare the usage / market in Turkey with the usage / market abroad?
Our company, which has become a global player, has offices in 7 different locations around the world and exports products to more than 60 countries. In addition, the resins used in our 3D printers are completely domestic production. With the work done by our Chemistry R&D department, we created the powerresins brand, which is a global brand, and thus we achieved very high volume exports. In addition, we continue to work on organ production with bioprinting, that is, 3D printing. Our goal in the future is to contribute more to this field.
The use of 3D printers is increasing in Turkey, but it is still in the development stage compared to the global market. Technology is more integrated and widely used abroad, which shows that the market is more mature. In our country, there is a serious use in the field of health in Antalya and its surroundings. For this reason, we have a branch that only serves this region. In addition, there is a very intense use of jewelery design and production in Istanbul and its surroundings. The current market volume of America alone has exceeded 5 billion dollars. This volume consists of rapid prototyping and the healthcare sector. America is followed by Central and East Africa and Asia with the largest proportion. As the only domestically produced 3D printer manufacturer in Turkey, we continue to provide our services with our own resources.
5- There is also an export part of the job for you… How much volume are we talking about here? In your opinion, as Türkiye, what position do you think we are in regarding 3D printing?
Today, we are talking about a volume that has reached 20 billion dollars. We are a global company that produces domestic 3D printers, domestic 3D printer software solutions and resin for these devices in Turkey. 70% of our customer potential is abroad. A large portion of our sales are made through export. For this reason, we opened our offices in Dubai, the Netherlands and the USA in order to serve our customers abroad more closely.
6- What is your difference in the market?
We produced the world’s fastest 3D printer. Our secure printing system for the jewelry industry was put into service in 2018 and was also used by our competitors. We think this is an important development for competitiveness. We implemented the world’s first artificial intelligence-supported jewelry platform and developed a 3D printing jewelry platform software that unites designers and manufacturers. In addition, our artificial intelligence-supported system analyzes the operating statistics of our devices and prevents and detects malfunctions. This system also provides significant advantages in terms of technical service for sensitivity in the jewelery and health sectors, where there is a race against time.
7- 3D printers have been in our lives for a long time. To what point did it come? Especially in 2024, when artificial intelligence is talked about a lot, what changes will or will there be in the future of 3D printers in this context?
3D Printers are used in a wide range of areas, from prototyping to mass production. Significant progress has been made so far in terms of technology, material diversity and printing speed. With the integration of artificial intelligence, 3D printers are expected to become smarter and more efficient. Developments in the field of healthcare are especially exciting. Serious progress has been made in organ production with 3D printers (bio printing). We also carry out studies in this field together with Marmara University. Thanks to artificial intelligence, human errors are minimized. We have started to transfer the design processes required in the field of health, especially dental treatments, to artificial intelligence. When it uses a manufacturing method that incorporates 3D printers, it leaves almost no waste material. When there is too much waste material in primitive production methods, this also creates environmental pollution. There are serious developments in the automotive industry. However, in the future, the contributions of artificial intelligence will pave the way for faster, more efficient and more cost-effective production. With organ production in the field of healthcare, there will be hope for patients waiting for transplantation. In addition, serious breakthroughs are expected in the field of food production with 3D printing.
8- And trends… What are the trends regarding 3D printers? What awaits us?
This topic could be food production. Studies are being carried out in this field, but it is somewhat overlooked. The days will come when you can produce your pizza or birthday cake from your home 3D printer in a few minutes. This technology brings new opportunities for personalized nutrition plans and aesthetic presentations. Innovative applications will become possible, especially in the restaurant and food services sector.
Source: www.technopat.net
