Nano Dimension Survey Uncovers High Costs, Risks Associated with
Prototyping Printed Circuit Boards Off-Site
Building multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs) for professional-grade
printed electronics requires high-quality and predictable materials and
equipment. Companies that are involved in electronics manufacturing and
design typically outsource production, are investing significant
capital, and experiencing long turnaround times with PCB prototypes.
They are looking for cost-effective, faster, and safer means for doing
so.
That’s according to a new survey conducted by Nano
Dimension Ltd., a leader in the area of
3D printed electronics, (NASDAQ, TASE: NNDM). The 3D PCB Printer
Readiness Survey, conducted over several months, garnered responses from
nearly 300 electronics manufacturers and designers around the world.
Survey responders ranged from engineers to designers and project
managers, serving in a variety of production roles. Industries ranged
from PCB manufacturers and OEMs to engineering, defense, manufacturing,
aerospace, electronics, medical, sensors and wearables,
telecommunications, energy and others.
Among the key findings, 16 percent of respondents said their companies
spend more than $100,000 each year on PCB prototypes, and 17 percent
spend between $50,000 and $100,000. Forty-four percent of respondents
noted PCB spending of between $10,000 and $50,000 annually. Just 23
percent of respondents said their companies spend less than $10,000 on
PCB prototyping each year.
“The off-site PCB prototyping process is rife with downsides: it’s
expensive, it’s time consuming, and it puts intellectual property at
risk,” said Simon Fried, Chief Business Officer at Nano Dimension. “The
market has seen 3D printers rapidly prototype other kinds of products
and the results of our survey reflect a market that is ready for 3D
printing to now usher in a new era of PCB engineering. The time is now
for engineers to print their own quality multilayer PCB prototypes in
house- cheaply and quickly.”
Ninety-three percent of all survey participants said their companies
work with short-run, low-volume external PCB prototyping services at
some point each year. Sixty-two percent of the survey respondents noted
the PCBs their companies create and use have high layer counts, which
means their designs are more complex and the PCB prototyping process is
expensive.
Notably, nearly two in three survey respondents worry about the security
of their intellectual property when they send out their designs to third
parties for prototyping. Other concerns companies typically cite when
sending their prototype designs to outside firms include turnaround
time, expenses, and potential delays in getting their products to
market, particularly if prototypes need to be reworked several times.
While the bulk of the respondents were from North America, the survey
brought in results from around the world, including nearly every
European nation, Australia, India, Israel, and a variety of Asian,
African and South American nations. Respondents included a mix of
company sizes, with nearly three in four working for companies of fewer
than 500 employees, and slightly more than one quarter working for
companies with more than 500 workers.
According
to BCC Research, the global market for electronics contract
manufacturing (ECM) services should total $515.6 billion in 2015, reach
nearly $561.2 billion by 2016, and $845.8 billion by 2021, a five-year
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6% from 2016-2021.
About Nano Dimension
Nano Dimension Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE:
NNDM), founded in 2012, focuses on development of advanced 3D printed
electronics systems and advanced additive manufacturing. Nano
Dimension's unique products combine three advanced technologies: 3D
inkjet, 3D software and nanomaterials. The company's primary products
include the first 3D printer in development dedicated to printing
multilayer PCBs (printed circuit boards) and advanced
nanotechnology-based conductive and dielectric inks.
Nano Dimension trades on the NASDAQ and TASE under the symbol NNDM. The
Bank of New York Mellon serves as the depositary for Nano Dimension.
Visit us on the web at www.nano-di.com;
on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/nano-dimension?trk=company_logo;
and follow us on Twitter @3DPCB.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words
such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions or variations of such words
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Because such
statements deal with future events and are based on Nano Dimension's
current expectations, they are subject to various risks and
uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of Nano
Dimension could differ materially from those described in or implied by
the statements in this press release.
For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss the
potential of our technology and that it may reduce the number of
critical systems in a printer and thus allow for a significant reduction
in production cost, increase printing speed, system miniaturization and
increase overall system reliability, and also when we discuss that our
technology may reduce cost and complexity. In addition, we cannot assure
that any patent will issue as a result of a pending patent application
or, if issued, whether it will issue in a form that will be advantageous
to us. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press
release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those
discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Nano Dimension’s Annual
Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”) on March 8, 2016, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC.
Except as otherwise required by law, Nano Dimension undertakes no
obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or
to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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