Additive Manufacturing: Industry Trends and Outlook
Table of Contents
Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, technologies create three-dimensional parts from computer-aided design (CAD) models by successively adding material layer by layer until
Additive Manufacturing: Industry Trends and Outlook
Table of Contents
Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, technologies create three-dimensional parts from computer-aided design (CAD) models by successively adding material layer by layer until a physical part is created.
While AM technologies have been around since the 1980s, the industry went through its most striking hype cycle during the early 2010s, when promoters claimed that the technology would find broad usage in consumer applications and reorder businesses from The Home Depot to UPS.
Since the breathless hype subsided a few years ago, professional 3D printing technologies have been rapidly maturing in many concrete ways. Recent advances in machinery, materials, and software have made 3D printing accessible to a wider range of businesses, enabling more and more companies to use tools previously limited to a few high-tech industries.
Today, professional 3D printers accelerate innovation and support businesses in various industries including engineering, manufacturing, dentistry, healthcare, education, entertainment, jewelry, and audiology.
Read on for an in-depth overview of five key trends that have defined the additive manufacturing industry and the outlook for the future.
Download the full-size infographic to see how additive manufacturing industry has changed over the last decade.
This article originally appeared in the Digital Factory Report. Download the full report for more insights on digital transformation in manufacturing and register for The Digital Factory, coming to Boston on May 7, 2019, to hear from leaders who are adopting cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and using them to transform their businesses.
Overview: The Current State of the Additive Manufacturing Industry
The 3D printing market, with sales of $6 billion in 2017, is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 30.2% to reach a total market size of $22 billion by 2022.
- 3D printing has been ubiquitous in prototyping and product development for decades. Now this maturing technology is entering widespread use in manufacturing.
- Improved technology for high-throughput and high-quality printing of final parts, and a variety of improved materials, make 3D printing practical for small and mid-scale manufacturing—in some cases up to tens of thousands of units.
- In addition to fabricating end-use products directly, 3D printing offers compelling advantages in “hybrid production,” as an intermediate process alongside conventional processes, for instance in fabricating molds, tools, patterns, fixtures, and jigs.
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