Search

Home > Additive Snack > The State of AM in Asia
Podcast: Additive Snack
Episode:

The State of AM in Asia
Category: Technology
Duration: 00:59:09
Publish Date: 2026-04-10 04:00:00
Description:

Host Fabian Alefeld speaks with Japan-based additive manufacturing consultant Peter Rogers about the state of additive manufacturing across Asia Pacific. Rogers contrasts Japan’s advanced but risk-averse manufacturing culture - strong in incremental optimization, with slower certification (notably medical) and limited defense budgets - with faster-moving but smaller markets like Australia/New Zealand, where mining drives demand for rapid, remote part supply. They discuss China’s manufacturing scale and government support, its growing dominance in desktop FDM, and how low-cost Chinese metal PBF machines can win and retain service-bureau business despite Western strengths in quality and productivity. Singapore is highlighted for academia and MRO, while Korea spans shipbuilding, semicon, automotive, and defense. Southeast Asia is still production-focused with limited local R&D, whereas India is rising as an English-speaking engineering and R&D hub for global OEMs. Both see lowering costs and AI enabling broader, consumer-facing AM applications.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:49 Peter Rogers Background

03:32 Moving to Japan

05:12 APAC Additive Overview

09:23 China Manufacturing Dynamics

13:27 Reshoring and Kaizen Mindset

18:45 Traditional Skills vs Additive

20:57 Japan Nearing Inflection Point

25:06 Top APAC Applications

29:02 Japan Korea Industry Mix

30:31 China Scale And Funding

33:18 FDM Race To Bottom

34:27 Bambu Ecosystem Advantage

36:53 Metal AM Price Expansion

38:23 Chinese Metal Machines Case

40:30 Competing On Productivity

44:10 Southeast Asia Adoption

47:06 India RnD Powerhouse

49:46 Future Consumer Breakthroughs

52:40 Japan Pushing DED Limits

55:30 AI Lowers Barriers

57:13 Wrap Up And Farewell
Total Play: 0