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Central Europe
April 28, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 11
Another problem is, of course, cost, which de- pends on the type of materials to be processed, whether the materials can be substituted or must remain the same, and the number of parts that need to be manufactured. The IDC research reveals that some CEE manufacturers have been able to reduce their initial investment by buy- ing 3D printers from small local manufacturers – Czech 3D printing company Prusa Research
is recognized as one of the leaders in producing 3D printers of its kind in its price range and has already sold tens of thousands of printers world- wide. However, most companies that require high- end printers designed for use in production are still large, often foreign, multinationals.
It’s unsurprising, then, that large foreign compa- nies are still the principal source of high-end AM technologies in the region. “We can confirm the inflow of AM technology know-how and experience from abroad from mother companies operating out of more mature markets,” says IDC’s Kuban.
The Czech government says universities such as the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague will be critical partners for the success of the
3D printing push. And here lies another major problem for AM in the Czech Republic, which is that there is a lack of experts with the necessary technical ability and experience in the country and wider region.
The Prague School of Economics/EY survey notes there is a limited amount of additive technology pro- fessionals in the labour market due in part to insuf- ficient supply of relevant fields of study at technical schools and universities. 38% of the companies surveyed cited a lack of know-how as one of the main obstacles to the introduction of 3D printing.
IDC’s Kuban says the “painpoint” of many CEE companies is that they are unable to expand the number of people with corresponding 3D experi- ence, especially designers who can not only use 3D tools, but also “think 3D”.