3D printing, China's new growth point (3)

At the three-day forum, domestic manufactures showcased their latest products from chic mobile phone shells, fancy attire, lamps, shoe-pads to complex industrial components.

China's leading researching institutes in this area include the Xi'an Jiaotong University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University and Beijing Long Yuan-Automated Fabrication System.

First invented by American scientists in 1990, 3D printing technologies have been used in aerospace, medical care, construction, sports, entertainment and automobile industries overseas, according to Graham Peter Tromans, chairman of the Additive Manufacturing Association of the United Kingdom.