Industry experts speculate that 3D printing could benefit from being integrated with the Internet to lead to explosive growth.
State Council Premier Li Keqiang presided over a meeting recently that discussed how to develop advanced manufacturing and 3D printing.
A few days earlier, experts from Germany, the United States, South Korea and China discussed similar issues. The result of the meeting was a consensus that the best way to improve the 3D printing industry was by integrating it with the Internet.
Currently, 3D printing in China is underdeveloped, and the market is full of low-quality products. Operators also do not have the core technologies necessary to innovate.
According to Zhou Gongyao, vice chairman of the World 3D Printing Technology Industry Alliance, the current situation is the result of there being no common platform where knowledge and talent in China can support the industry's development.
Li Zhuozhi, chairman of De Tao, said that it would be better if all beneficial factors support each other in order to generate greater innovation of higher economic value and effect.
At the moment, the different parts of the 3D printing industry chain, namely software, scanning, production, printing and equipment, have all been operating independently from each other.
Yao Yujie, director of the China Center, Technical University of Dresden, said that companies who only focus on developing their own products without considering customer feedback will die out.
Zhou said that with the Internet, clients can see their innovations by using 3D printing.
Many Chinese firms have expensive 3D printing equipment but have limited ways to use them in business. The Internet can change that, Zhou added.
Users can also use the Internet to find different materials for 3D printing. Firms can also use the Internet to find customers.
When it comes to 3D printing, the U.S. is currently the most successful country in the world. Some Chinese companies have tried to copy the same business models as U.S. companies, without much success.