Global metal additive manufacturing market to grow at 24 percent CAGR through 2020

London-based Technavio has released a study covering the present scenario and growth prospects of the global metal additive manufacturing market for 2016-2020. According to the report, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 24 percent in that period.

The report lists aerospace, health care, tools and mold, academic institutions, and automotive as the major segments in which metal additive manufacturing technology is used. It highlights the following four factors as contributing to the growth of the market:

1. Increase in use of metal additive manufacturing in industrial applications
2. Rise in production of direct parts
3. Customization
4. Growing demand in automobile industry

Metal additive manufacturing helps produce complex shapes in short lead times, so it is suitable for prototyping. Industrial end users include service bureaus, research institutions, and the aerospace industry. The market in the aerospace segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 29 percent as the demand for engine and system components increases.

Direct parts accounted for about half of the total revenue generated by the metal additive manufacturing market in 2015. These parts can be produced by powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, binder jetting, and sheet lamination. These lightweight parts need little or no tooling and they help reduce wasted material since the parts are produced directly from CAD data.

The global automobile industry is expected to grow at a rapid rate during the forecast period. The growing demand from consumers for lightweight, faster, and fuel-efficient vehicles will drive the demand for metal additive manufacturing, especially in Germany, Japan, China, and India, according to the report.