Taiwan and China race for 3D printing tech edge

Want China Times, Hsu Chang-ping and Staff Reporter 2014-11-24

A 3D printing machine. (Photo/Yen Chien-long)

Taiwan's government has to put more effort into developing polymers and metallic materials to provide for 3D printing, which has become increasingly popular in Taiwan and China, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

China's government is reportedly providing all sorts of resources into the development of 3D printing, including capital and land. A spokesman for Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore have all fallen slightly behind in this new technology, but are making efforts to upgrade.

In the future, Taiwan's government will gradually build up its niche market in 3D printing in the industries involving cultural creativity, biomedicine, electronics, toys and molds.

China has already invested US$240 million in the industrial parks of Zhuhai, Qingdao, Wuhan and Chengdu to develop the industry, according to the ITRI.

WestingCut Industrial Technology, in the province of Anhui, has been collaborating with the Chinese government in developing 3D printing technology. It has invested NT$7.5 billion (US$242.32 million) to establish the Xery 3D Printing Science & Technology based in Haozhou. The factory will produce 50,000 3D printers for household use, 20,000 printers for business use, and 5,000 printers for industrial use a year, as well as 500,000 tonnes of material used for 3D printing.

WestingCut chairman Yu Jinhu said that the US and Taiwan are aggressively developing 3D printing technologies, and that the cost for the printing equipment will be lower in the future, making the prices of printed products more affordable. By then 3D printing will become more popular and trigger another revolution.

ITRI said that Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Affairs wish to develop 3D metal printing instead of plastic. The technology will be first applied in the production of car parts.