If you had started 30 years ago, you could have become a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM). And if you entered six years ago, with $50 million, your current course could still work. But, especially for someone starting a business now, I think that there are only four real options left. The first is to create a revolutionary new additive manufacturing (AM) technology that clearly surpasses the capabilities of existing solutions for a specific market — and raise enough capital to achieve profitability. The second option involves revamping a business that others consider “done” — and doing it better.

The first option is one of those ephemeral things, a mirage in the slide deck that enough people are concerned with. And it would be difficult. The second option is possible but tricky for many players, and I’ll explore it in another article.

The third option is to simply rejig your business model in a way that makes it easier for people to give you money. That’s the one we’re focusing on here. And finally, there’s the fourth path, to own an application. Surprisingly few companies are doing this. A lot of people are dismissive of applications, many firms are looking at different applications, but few firms completely own them. To me, this is the most successful strategy to deploy now.

We all know that additive is difficult to learn and almost impossible to master. Countless hours have been spent learning and industrializing AM. The companies that now deploy additive at scale or in critical areas have had to take risks and invest a lot to get there. Meanwhile, most of the market is focused on prototyping, low-volume manufacturing, and high-mix and low-volume manufacturing. Serial production of parts well-suited to AM is, of course, a much better business. We know that some applications are better than others. Often, people search for an application with one or two advantages and stop there. But we know that some applications have eight or more distinct advantages. A part in one application may be a winner because it is lighter, better buy to fly, uses part reduction, is easier to maintain, is lower cost, has better flow, has better thermal properties, has a built-in crumple zone, and is easier to make. With that many advantages, everyone in the value chain will want to move to 3D printing — and do it with you. It’s often more important to keep on looking than to settle for convenient applications. In markets, people often look for an attractive market, a high-value market, or one that maximizes the advantages of AM. Some, however, have focused on large markets that are high value, with expensive parts, with expensive alternatives, that are growing quickly and need the advantages of Additive. Too few companies in our industry have done this. Let’s look at one possible industry.

Some of the advantages of 3D printing Optisys complex assemblies and repurposing functionality.

Satellite RF Components

One of my favorite applications is in satellite radio frequency (RF) components. RF components in satellites are used for communications, receiving, transmitting, filtering, processing, and mixing signals. The satellite market is growing rapidly, with expectations of a sevenfold increase, potentially launching up to 70,000 new satellites in the next five years. In 2020, there were just 5,700 satellites in orbit. That is truly explosive growth, and companies are expanding. The reason for the growth is lower space launch costs, competition in launch/satellites, many emerging businesses using satellite constellations for sensing, coms, and more, an insatiable appetite for global TV, data, and internet transmission, the idea of all conquering data services for internet connectivity and business intelligence, the march of Moore’s law, and government intelligence needs. A lot more money is flowing into the New Space industry as well from investors following all of these possibilities. To learn more, we have a 3D Printing Market Opportunity research document for sale here.

Satellites are difficult to manufacture and require highly skilled personnel working in cleanrooms for final assembly. Premade 3D printed products made elsewhere save a lot of floor space, money, and time. For companies that want to focus on assembly and meeting project goals, outsourcing components is tempting. Lightweighting is, of course, important in this market, as is functional integration, part count reduction, and scalable production. But, size, weight, and power (SWaP) are especially important in RF components generally and have an extra costing dimension in the expensive realm of space. Buy-to-fly is also important, and concentrating manufacturing risk on the AM process steps is particularly interesting in high-cost-of-quality environments and clients who love Six Sigma, a quality-control method focused on doing things with fewer mistakes.

Companies now face issues in producing these devices, and late-stage production errors kill productivity here. Horn antenna and other structures work very well with additive and can be optimized. In many designs, 3D printed RF components significantly outperform conventionally made devices. RF components are key components of secure military communications from satellites to all ground vehicles, jamming technologies, close defense technologies, radar, missile components, jets, and more. In addition to drones, Ukraine has proved that the EM (electromagnetic) domain is of key importance in the battlespace. Newer vehicles will need better, jam-resistant communications. Rather than only selling RF components for inside the satellites, there are also many possibilities to sell 3D printed RF components to the vast number of terminals in homes, on cars, on planes, and on ships. Making RF components is difficult, and even experienced, well-funded firms struggle with things like AESA (active electronically scanned array) antennas. At the same time, steerable antennas and other developments mean that new players with better hardware have a unique chance to break through in this market. Already, it should be clear that RF components, generally but specifically for satellites, are a huge opportunity for AM.

Advantages of Focus

But there are also a lot of additional advantages to sticking to one application. The materials get reduced quickly, and you know what level of quality and cost is expected. Your customer base is reduced, and you can understand them better. You understand their needs better. You know where you need to perform and where you can afford to lose focus. With branding, sales, and execution, you know where you need to win. Now, there are more applications and areas that are very promising. But, given the huge opportunity in satellite RF components, why are there only two startups, SwissTo12 and Optisys, focused on this market? Yes, there is work being done by the Primes, but there is a sea of opportunity out there for companies to capitalize on. Yes, the business world is tough out there now. But by ignoring the most promising applications, you’re making it needlessly difficult for yourself.