3D printing technology and its impact on Chinese manufacturing

For both developed and developing countries, manufacturing plays a crucial role in international competition. There is a growing consensus that 3D printing (3DP) technologies will revolutionise the development of global manufacturing. Although considerable research has previously been conducted to define the technological and economic benefits of 3DP on global manufacturing, minimal research has linked 3DP with Chinese manufacturing (CM). Therefore, to address this research gap and to investigate 3DP’s potential impact on alleviating CM’s development issues, this paper explores the definition, characteristics and mainstream technologies of 3DP, presents the current situation and the main problems of CM, and analyses the potential impact of 3DP on the development of CM. Then, this study introduces the current 3DP promotion and industrialisation situation in China as well as the issues with promoting 3DP in CM.