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标题: CCTV Reports 116.6% Export Growth as Chinese 3D Printers Draw Orders Worldwide [打印本页]

作者: admin 时间: 2026-11-14 20:11
标题: CCTV Reports 116.6% Export Growth as Chinese 3D Printers Draw Orders Worldwide
Source: CCTV Finance

3D printing is reaching new audiences. Experience stores are drawing foot traffic into shopping malls and changing how landlords choose tenants. On factory floors, 3D printing is finding a role in flexible small-batch production. Chinese-made equipment is also gaining buyers abroad and creating new opportunities for small-scale manufacturing.

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3D printing stores take prime spots in shopping malls
In leading retail districts of first- and second-tier Chinese cities, 3D printing experience stores are moving into prime locations. At the flagship store in Shenzhen Bay MixC, customers use AI to generate their own models and watch them print layer by layer. The store draws visitors even on weekdays, including technology professionals checking out the equipment and tourists who come specifically to try it.

One visitor from Beijing said they already owned a 3D printer and wanted to learn new ways to use it. A staff member said the company had opened 11 mall stores across cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. More than one million visits have been recorded in six months, and monthly foot traffic has exceeded 100,000.

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Children's play centers offer 3D printing classes
A chain of large indoor playgrounds has introduced 3D printing classes. Children use AI modeling to design their own creations and take home the items they print.

One child said they made a triangular pyramid toy in the first class and planned to make a piano in the next. A parent said the class lasted several dozen minutes and cost RMB 68, which they considered good value for a hands-on technology activity.

The operator plans to introduce classes in more cities. Around 100 parents and children have already asked about enrollment.

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Consumer technology brands change how malls choose tenants
Cushman & Wakefield data show that consumer technology brands accounted for less than 8% of prime ground-floor leases in benchmark Shenzhen retail projects in 2024, rising to 20% in the first half of 2026, an increase of approximately 150% over three years.

Song Jie, a director who leads Cushman & Wakefield's commercial department in South China, said consumer technology flagships can typically pay about 60% as much rent as traditional retailers with high sales per square meter. Many malls still allocate prime space to these brands because leasing decisions increasingly favor tenants that generate their own sustained foot traffic.

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From prototyping to small-batch orders
In malls, 3D printers let shoppers make things. In factories, the technology is becoming a production tool. Applications such as robot skins and custom shoes are moving into small production runs with multiple batches because the process allows rapid design changes without tooling.

At one Shenzhen factory, rows of resin printers run day and night producing flexible skins for embodied AI robots. A special lattice structure cushions impacts and helps dissipate heat.

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A co-founder of Shenzhen Future Factory Technology Co., Ltd. said conventional processes typically take 60 days to make 100 sets, while 3D printing takes 15–20 days. That shortens development and lets customers iterate faster. As materials and processes improve, 3D printing has met delivery standards for end products and entered batch production in robotics. The company serves more than 1,000 robot manufacturers and says its business has grown 60% this year.

A pair of shoes prints in four hours
Long tooling lead times once slowed the journey from a shoe design to a physical sample. With 3D printing, design and sampling take three to four days, and individual pairs can be produced much faster.

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A designer said a finished pair can come off the printer within four hours and be ready to try on within six hours including finishing. The factory produces 3,000 pairs a month and replenishes stock quickly enough to hold almost no inventory.

Industry sources say 3D printing's advantages include no initial tooling costs and the ability to keep making small adjustments. It supports frequent changes at large companies and serves niche orders and complex designs conventional factories may decline. As machines get easier to adopt, equipment capable of batch manufacturing can cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan. Applications include precision jewelry, flexible toys, footwear and high-strength automotive and aircraft parts, linking design directly to batch production.

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Equipment production and exports accelerate
With a maturing domestic supply chain and falling costs, more Chinese 3D printers are heading overseas. The industry has expanded from equipment sales to consumables and complete solutions, affecting the global supply chain for small-scale manufacturing.

A factory in Shenzhen's Longgang district produces more than 100,000 printers a month. Surging overseas orders prompted it to move to a new factory this year and expand capacity nearly threefold. The factory manager said 95% of its products are exported. Europe and North America are major markets, with rapid growth in emerging markets such as Brazil. After it obtained customs Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification, inspection rates fell by about 70%, improving inventory turnover and use of working capital.

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Backed by domestic suppliers and a mature cross-border logistics network, Shenzhen companies are leading in consumer 3D printing. Shenzhen's 3D printing equipment output increased 77.8% year over year in the first three quarters. In the first 10 months, the city exported RMB 14.62 billion worth of 3D printers, up 116.6% year over year. Exports to other APEC economies reached RMB 7.62 billion, up 119.6%.

Chinese companies bring complete manufacturing solutions to overseas buyers
Exporters increasingly offer complete solutions, helping entrepreneurs abroad lower tooling costs and put their printers to work. Some overseas hobbyists work their day jobs and run small workshops at home in the evenings, turning a hobby into a business.

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A company representative said the package includes materials, equipment, software and complete process support, covering sampling, small batches and eventual production at scale. The associated export business has maintained annual growth of 40–50% for several years.

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From consumer technology stores to flexible factory production and equipment sales abroad, Chinese 3D printing is finding new uses and generating business worldwide.

AI-translated from an article by Xiaoruanxiong on Nanjixiong, originally published on 2026-11-13. Text and images retain the original source attribution.
Read the original Chinese article

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