Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a very real impact on the sector, both globally and locally, all signs are that additive manufacturing (AM) – popularly called 3D printing – is set to grow rapidly in the coming years, both in South Africa and around the world. That was a clear consensus at the recent annual conference of the Rapid Product Development Association of South Africa (Rapdasa) – the representative body of the local AM sector – held in Pretoria at the International Conference Centre of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). “Globally, the short-term impact of Covid-19 on AM was a substantial deceleration of its growth rate, but no actual contraction occurred,” highlights Loughborough University (in the UK) computer-aided product design specialist and a Rapdasa conference keynote speaker, Professor Ian Campbell. “But AM showed itself to be a great responder to the critical needs created by Covid-19. This has likely given the technology a great boost.”
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