Micro 3D Printing Markets

BY Nita Vaidya-Zannino

A veteran of the 3D printing industry, Dr. Phil Reeves worked on a project to evaluate the micro 3D printing market and how it stacks up as a viable alternative to current micro manufacturing methods.

Dr. Phil Reeves is a leading consultant on Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing (AM/3DP) business strategy and investment. Phil has worked in the field of AM/3DP for over 25-years, having gained a Ph.D. in the subject from Nottingham University (UK) in the mid-1990s. Since this time, Phil has worked in several AM/3DP related roles including R&D, business development, corporate strategy & consulting. In 2003 Phil founded leading AM/3DP consulting firm Econolyst Ltd which was acquired by Stratasys in 2015. Between 2015 and 2018 Phil was the global Vice President of consulting at Stratasys, the world’s leading 3D Printing technology vendor. Phil is now the managing director at Reeves Insight Ltd.

In July 2020, Dr. Reeves finished a 4-month assignment for leading micro 3D printing technology vendor Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). For those not familiar with the BMF projection micro-stereolithography or PµSL process, it’s a photocurable resin 3D printing process with the capability of making parts at extremely high resolution. The BMF 130 machine builds components in layers as thin as 5µm, with an X/Y resolution as small as 2µm.

These capabilities should positions the technology squarely within the micro-manufacturing domain, as both a unique and credible prototyping solution and a production alternative to established micro-manufacturing methods. But, which methods can it displace and for what applications and in what materials? Moreover, is it uniquely positioned in the market and if so, how much better is it than other contenders? For the answers to these questions, BMF turned to Reeves Insight.

Learn more about the work Dr. Reeves completed for BMF by clicking below.

Read the full article here.