The Zhitong Finance App learned that CaiTong Securities released a research report saying that metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology has many advantages over traditional precision processing: 1) shortening the development and implementation cycle of new products; 2) being able to efficiently form more complex structures; 3) achieving integrated and lightweight design; 4) high material utilization; 5) achieving excellent mechanical properties; 6) can significantly reduce the cost of a single piece for smaller batch production tasks. Currently, additive manufacturing is concentrated on the B-side. Additive manufacturing in China is mainly concentrated on the industrial side and the penetration rate is low. With the gradual spread of additive manufacturing thinking, the additive manufacturing industry may continue to enjoy high growth dividends, giving the industry an “optimistic” rating.

It is recommended to focus on: Platinum (688333.SH), Huashu Hi-Tech (688433.SH) (an enterprise with a full industrial chain layout of materials, equipment, and products); Chaozhuangke (688237.SH) (a small number of domestic enterprises that have mastered cold spray additive manufacturing technology and industrialized use).

The views of CaiTong Securities are as follows:

Six major advantages have established additive manufacturing as an important development direction for intelligent manufacturing in the digital age:

Additive manufacturing is also known as 3D printing technology. Unlike traditional manufacturing, which is “reduced” material manufacturing by removing material through mechanical processing such as cutting, additive manufacturing superimposes materials layer by layer from bottom to top, turning three-dimensional entities into several two-dimensional planes, greatly reducing manufacturing complexity. Compared with traditional precision machining, metal additive manufacturing technology has many advantages: 1) shortening the development and implementation cycle of new products; 2) being able to efficiently form more complex structures; 3) achieving integrated and lightweight design; 4) high material utilization; 5) achieving excellent mechanical properties; 6) for smaller batch production tasks, it can significantly reduce the cost of a single piece.

Multiple industries are penetrating simultaneously, and the room for growth is steadily opening up:

Currently, additive manufacturing applications have steadily penetrated from the early aerospace fields to medical devices, automobile manufacturing, consumer electronics, etc. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the scale of China's additive manufacturing industry grew from 1 billion yuan to 32 billion yuan in 2012-2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 41.42%. According to data from Zuo Shiquan's “Ten-Year Development and Prospects of Additive Manufacturing”, the scale of China's additive manufacturing industry is expected to exceed 100 billion in 2027, and the CAGR is expected to reach 25.59% in 2027. As residents' income levels rise, the medical/dental additive manufacturing market may rise steadily. With the application of high-end metals such as titanium alloys in the consumer electronics field, additive manufacturing space for consumer electronics will also steadily open up. Furthermore, with the gradual maturity of raw material manufacturing technology and further reduction in costs, the penetration rate of additive manufacturing in the automotive, scientific research, energy and other fields is expected to increase steadily.

Analysis of the additive manufacturing industry chain:

1) Upstream: Mainly a supplier of raw material preparation, core hardware and auxiliary operation systems. ① Raw materials: Non-metals and metals account for about 6:4 in the domestic market. Currently, the price of raw materials is about 10 times that of traditional powder of the same weight, improving material preparation technology or popularizing 3D printing; ② Core software and hardware: software mainly includes software systems and application software for the equipment industry. Currently, most of them are purchased from third parties, and the degree of localization needs to be improved. 2) Midstream: Mainstream 3D printing technology can be divided into three categories:

Extrusion molding (FDM), photopolymerization (SLA, DLP, PolyJet, etc.), and sintering/bonding (SLM, SLS, EBM, etc.), China's 3D printing equipment mainly uses SLS, SLM (accounting for about 32% in total) and non-metallic FDM (accounting for 15%). 3) Downstream: The downstream application methods of additive manufacturing are mainly divided into direct manufacturing, design verification, and prototype manufacturing. It is mainly used in aerospace, medical/dental, automotive, consumer electronics, etc., and the penetration rate is expected to increase steadily in the future.

Risk warning: risk of demand falling short of expectations; risk of deterioration of the competitive landscape; risk of raw material development falling short of expectations; risk of industry penetration falling short of expectations.