Additive manufacturing technology has made significant, albeit incremental, progress in recent years, a phenomenon described as a "slow revolution" by a prominent figure in the field. According to a senior technical executive at HP Inc. in the US, the most important developments in 2019 will be in the areas of generative design, bio-printing and multi-colour functional component manufacturing. The "slow revolution" is expected to continue, with the expansion of materials with different properties and the systemic integration of 3D printing into manufacturing processes also expected to be important factors. However, such processes still face a number of challenges today.