FACTORY OF THE FUTURE
In October , Manufacturing Digital shared its top ten predictions for 2026 . High up on that list was the growing adoption and innovation of additive manufacturing . Why ? Because it is the manufacturing method of the future , enabling rapid prototyping , superior customisability , sustainability , greater supply chain flexibility , safety , cost and inventory savings .
According to market research , additive manufacturing is set to hit a global market size of US $ 83.56bn by 2030 . This is being driven by its strategic and creative value , harnessed by manufacturers across many industry verticals .
Earlier this year Manufacturing Digital reported on Adobe ’ s PDF Print Engine . A tool for 3D digital textile printing , the engine has enabled textile manufacturers to unleash new heights of creativity , customisation and precision .
They can now reproduce vectors , fonts , gradients , motifs and more without fear of pixelation , while honing in on colour accuracy , producing garment prototypes without the associated waste .
“ This is a longstanding principle in pre-press , going back to the desktop publishing revolution of the 1980s ,” Mike Scrutton , Director of Print Technology and Strategy at Adobe , says .
“ The net is that when text , images and graphics are rendered by Adobe PDF Print Engine , the resulting bitmap – which instructs the inkjet heads where to deposit the droplets – takes full advantage of the colour gamut of the press and also its other capabilities .”
74 December 2024