Apsara Horizon is the dialogue segment of Alibaba Group’s Apsara Conference. It features figures who are engaging with Asia’s cutting-edge technologies. In these dialogues, esteemed guests share their stories and perspectives on the challenges, opportunities, and future of their respective fields. The topic of the first conversation on October 19 was “Creating the future with 3D printing,” with guest speakers Sasha Yuan, senior marketing manager of LuxCreo, and Anirudh Agarwal, founder of Anrich3D.
Acknowledging that 3D printing is no longer a novelty, both guests agreed that the technology has evolved to be applied in various manufacturing scenarios. Taking Anrich3D as an example, one can now create customized, nutritious meals through 3D printing. Sasha Yuan from LuxCreo said that daily goods such as spectacles and teeth aligners are now more accessible to consumers because of 3D printing. Taking into consideration that low printing efficiency remains an industry-wide challenge, Yuan noted that LuxCreo’s technology has been developed to a stage where their stations can print up to 120 cm per hour.
While the value of 3D printing was highlighted by both guests—sped-up manufacturing, lowered cost, and a high degree of customization—they pointed out the challenges in convincing customers to adopt these services and products. Agarwal said that the concept of personalization in food is still unfamiliar to people in Asia, particularly compared to consumer recognition in the United States and European countries. Moreover, Agarwal highlighted that the food printing vertical is still in its early stages of development, and Anrich 3D is still “figuring out the limits” of the current technology.
Rounding off the conversation, both guests shared what they imagined the future of 3D printing to look like. Check out their full conversation: