Outlook
Selective laser melting of metallic powder bed

Additive manufacturing of metal parts is no longer limited to the production of prototypes or small batches. 345 metal manufacturing machines were sold in 2013, compared to 170 in 2011. A new type of factory is emerging, disrupting the status quo of traditional means of production. Examples include injectors for aircraft engines, which will be able to be produced in series of 40,000 units per year from 2020 onwards with around 100 machines in the Avion unit, and turbine blades, which are already being manufactured in series of several tens of thousands of units per year. However, sales of metal additive manufacturing machines accounted for less than 4% of the number of additive manufacturing machines sold in 2013.