Chinese Aerospace Supplier Plans 100-Machine Metal 3D Printer Expansion

According to a July 21 report from Chinese financial newspaper China Times, a subsidiary of startup China SciLong has launched an aerospace-component manufacturing and pilot-production project with investment exceeding about $14 million. The project reportedly includes plans to purchase more than 100 large metal 3D printing systems, although the report did not identify the equipment supplier or suppliers.

The Ningbo-based company was spun out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering. It develops lightweight components and engineering solutions for aerospace applications, but its strategy goes beyond operating a large printer fleet.

China SciLong describes its model as “design-driven manufacturing,” integrating structural design, simulation, additive manufacturing, post-processing, and inspection. By becoming involved before a component’s geometry and production route are finalized, the company can redesign parts specifically for additive manufacturing rather than simply printing components developed for casting or machining.

Founder Zhang Hao told China Times that this approach can shorten product-development iteration cycles by 50% to 60%. The report also said that more than 60% of the company’s workforce is dedicated to R&D, with annual research spending ranging from approximately $1.5 million to $3 million.

The expansion still carries significant risk. Metal AM equipment is capital-intensive, aerospace qualification and payment cycles can be long, and qualified materials-process and structural-design engineers remain in short supply. For a young company whose annual output value only recently exceeded approximately $14.8 million, the scale of the planned investment is substantial.

China’s Metal AM Race Is Moving Upstream

The headline figure is the planned purchase of more than 100 metal 3D printers. The more strategically important development, however, may be happening upstream.

China SciLong is investing not only in machines and production capacity, but also in design for additive manufacturing, simulation, materials development, process engineering, and qualification. Its strategy reflects an effort to control more of the aerospace production chain, from initial component design through manufacturing and inspection.

That matters because printing capacity may become increasingly interchangeable as Chinese machine manufacturers continue increasing build volumes, laser counts, and productivity. Design expertise, qualified process parameters, and application-specific intellectual property are more difficult to replicate and could provide more durable competitive advantages.

China SciLong’s expansion illustrates a broader evolution in China’s metal AM industry. The competition is no longer simply about who can install the most machines. It is increasingly about who can combine design knowledge, materials expertise, process data, and manufacturing capacity to deliver qualified aerospace parts at scale.

You May Also Like:

Policy Infill

Not a China Ban, but Close: Who the U.S. Military Can (and Can’t) Buy 3D Printers From

TCT Asia Field Report

Beyond Low-Cost: China’s Bold Strategy for AM Dominance

Farm to Factory

Inside China's Largest 3D Print Farm