3D printing market worth $20bn by 2025, report predicts

The oil and gas industry is the largest emerging user of 3D printing, with the highest forecast growth, followed by the aerospace industry. IDTechEx predicts that when significant penetration has occurred into the aforementioned markets, 3D printing in these big industries will lock into the capital expenditure cycles associated with them, and, as is the case for other Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, periodic fluctuations in sales will occur.

3D printing opens up the opportunity for the introduction of cheap complexity into manufacturing. Structures can be printed that either could not be manufactured via alternative means or would have been prohibitively expensive to do so. Avenues for cost-effective mass customisation have opened up in recent years, a fact that has not been missed in the medical fields who are increasingly adopting 3D printing for the manufacture of prosthetics and orthopaedic implants optimised to a particular patient through CT or MRI scan data.

Customising implants using data from CT or MRI scans is an established method, and a number of medical device companies worldwide have been using CNC milling machines for many years. However, 3D printers are capable of generating far more complex and intricate structures, allowing for more sophisticated implants and surgical equipment.

Potential for low-volume, high-value manufacturing also exists in the aerospace industry, and air ducts, for example, have been 3D printed in engineering thermoplastics for years. Qualification of processes and materials remains an issue in this field, particularly for metals, as does the limited size of monolithic components that can currently be printed.

Price remains an issue at the high end of the market, with several users reporting that prices of these printers have not moved significantly, in contrast to the low to mid-range printers.

Historically, most 3D printer manufacturers exclusively sold the materials consumed by their printers, a practice known as vendor lock-in that is commonly seen in 2D inkjet and laser printers. However, an alternative business model where end-users are free to buy consumables from any supplier, called the ‘free market value chain’, has been steadily growing.

Driven primarily by the expiration of key patents, this free market has allowed the prices of both printers and materials to fall. However, innovative technologies that maintain clear key differentiators, particularly while they are still protected by core patents, will continue to permit vendor lock-in. Materials prices also remain at a premium with many 3D printer manufacturers reporting that their materials are optimised to their machines, effectively reducing competition. Titanium powder used in 3D printing has been reported to be as expensive as $700/kg, whereas titanium itself is closer to $20/kg.

The market for 3D printers is already strong in the USA and Europe. Asia has been weak but is now catching up thanks to initiatives like the government-led TRAFAM in Japan that recently secured $100m of funding. China has not yet seen much commercial activity in 3D printing, although academic centres have been rigorously publishing material on the subject. Revenues for exports of Chinese printer manufacturers remain far in excess of their domestic sales.