DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña made the call during the Additive Manufacturing Center-Materials Development Stakeholders’ Forum held on Thursday.
He cited that additive manufacturing , which is often referred to as 3D printing, is one of DOST’s priority programs.“In this time of the pandemic, brought about by coronavirus-2 , additive manufacturing played a great role in providing 3D printed devices to fill in the shortage of medical devices and personal protective equipment to include face shields, face masks, and valves,” the DOST chief said.
Citing the forecast made by Frost & Sullivan’s Global 360 Research Team in 2016, De la Peña noted that the global additive manufacturing market by value is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 15 percent from $5.31 billion in 2015 to $21.50 billion by 2025, due to increasing demand for 3D printing from industries such as automotive, dental, manufacturing, and health care.