The Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) was officially launched on 1 December 2014 and funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF). 

According to the Wohlers report, the additive manufacturing industry grew by 21% to $7.336 billion in 2018, and is forecasted to climb to $35.6 billion by 2024. With a rising demand for customised products, additive manufacturing is set to move beyond the prototyping stage and finds relevance in almost all industries. To take advantage of this tremendous growth, SC3DP will collaborate with leading industry partners to undertake research work in 6 identified industry pillars: (1) Aerospace and Defence, (2) Building and Construction, (3) Marine and Offshore (4) Future of Manufacturing (5) Bioprinting and Food and (6) Electronics.

With a pool of multi-national and multi-disciplinary researchers and staff, SC3DP aims to create a vibrant and collaborative research space. SC3DP is one of the leading research institutes in additive manufacturing and has published a large volume of research papers in the field. SC3DP works very closely with local and international companies and enterprises on innovation and development of 3D printing for industry use, and facilitates industry seminars and visits to our laboratories for industry players to explore the potential of 3D printing.

Going forward, SC3DP will continue to pursue research into design and material development. There will also be a stronger focus on technology translation and establishing standards and certification for additive manufacturing.

By enabling research development, technology translation and development of standards and certification, SC3DP strives to position Singapore as a leader in this new and fast growing technology, and further strengthen Singapore’s existing strong manufacturing capabilities.