The world is experiencing an ongoing shortage of semiconductors; those essential components which live inside all of our electronic devices. The scarcity of chips has arisen from an accumulation of factors ranging from pandemic-related backlogs, a growing demand for smart and connected devices, and the launch of next-generation products like electric vehicles, games consoles and mobile phones.

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If you tried to get your hands on a Nintendo Switch to escape the boredom of another lockdown, for example, your supply issues likely ran much deeper than the stock levels at your local Amazon warehouse. It follows months of discussion on supply chain , covered from the perspective of the AM industry in the last issue of TCT Magazine , triggered by the pandemic and the disruption it caused to traditional manufacturing operations. As AM stepped up to the plate in temporarily plugging critical supply chain gaps, it begs the question of whether the technology could have a similar part to play in solving the semiconductor supply challenge. “It’s an undiscovered, really interesting area for additive manufacturing that has the opportunity to affect everybody today because we all use smartphones, computers and drive cars,” Scott Green, Principal Solutions Leader at […]

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