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Additive manufacturing industry is projected to double in size every three years

The 3D printing market is forecast to grow between 18.2 and 27.2 percent annually from 2019 through 2023, according to experts cited in a March report issued by 3D Hubs. That equates to an average compound annual growth rate of 23.5 percent and projects that the industry will double in size every three years.

3D Hubs—a Dutch company that operates an online platform for companies seeking additive manufacturing (AM), CNC machining, and injection molding services—added that investments in AM are rising rapidly too. From 2016 to 2017, venture capital funding increased 86 percent. And in 2018, VC funding related to AM startups exceeded $300 million.

Other key findings of the report, titled “3D Printing Trends 2019 Market,” include:

• Automotive leads development of 3D printing for production applications. Three of four major automotive companies in the U.S. and Germany now use AM to mass-manufacture parts for their cars or for spare parts.

• Prototyping remains the primary application for 3D printing and has been universally adopted.

• 3D printing services account for 37 percent of global revenues; materials, 15 percent; printers and software, 27 percent; and other services, 21 percent.

• The online demand for plastic parts in 2018 was 100 times higher than for metal ones, but the value per part of the latter was, on average, 35 to 50 times higher.

The report states that the biggest change to 3D printing in 2018 was related to perception of the technology. It’s now perceived as a viable method of manufacturing—not just a prototyping technique.

The study notes, too, that the main obstacles to broader adoption of 3D printing are that potential users don’t understand the technology and its capabilities. And, the study concludes, AM will not replace traditional manufacturing technologies like CNC machining or injection molding, but it will work alongside them to create a digital manufacturing ecosystem.

The global 3D printing market is projected to grow between 18.2 and 27.2 percent the next five years.