3D Science Valley's global strategic partner, AMPOWER, a consulting firm from Hamburg, Germany, released in March 2023 its annual market report on industrial additive manufacturing for 2023.Divided into two versions, Metal 3D Printing and Polymer 3D Printing, the report analyzes the global industry development in 2022 and provides a forecast for the next five years.

(The report is available online and atwww.additive-manufacturing-report.com Available in PDF format)

Annual Additive Manufacturing Global Market Report

© AMPOWER 2023

global market

Based on the entire global industrial additive manufacturing market, including metal and polymer 3D printing equipment, materials, and part manufacturing services, which is valued at €9.53 billion in 2022, it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.7% through 2027.The industrial metal additive manufacturing market has grown by more than 20% in 2022, closing the revenue gap with polymer 3D printing, however, the polymer AM additive manufacturing market accounts for approximately 70% of the total and is therefore roughly twice as large as the metal additive manufacturing market. Looking forward, the metals market is expected to grow more than twice as fast as the polymer market by 2027, further closing the gap with polymer additive manufacturing.

Global Metal and Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market (2020-2022, 2027 Forecast) 

© AMPOWER

The metal additive manufacturing market is valued at €3.03 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.1% through 2027, while the polymer additive manufacturing market is projected to grow from €6.5 billion in 2022 at an annual rate of 12.9%.

Revenues from metal and polymer 3D printing equipment sales are roughly equal, however, polymer materials and polymer parts manufacturing suppliers generate much larger revenues due to the richer market and nature of polymer AM additive manufacturing applications.

Overall, the overall additive manufacturing market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 17.7%, according to 3D printing suppliers, and is therefore expected to reach €21.58 billion by 2027. 3D printing equipment suppliers have had a successful 2022, with average revenue growth of more than 20%, and are optimistic about the coming years. By 2027, equipment suppliers expect the market to continue to grow at over 20%.

Additive manufacturing equipment suppliers sold €2.51 billion worth of equipment in 2022, and one-third of 3D printing equipment sales revenue was generated in the United States. The world's largest market for additive manufacturing products and services is the U.S. Revenue from metal and polymer 3D printing equipment sales in the U.S. totaled more than €800 million in 2022, a year-over-year increase of nearly 20 percent. This equates to a 33% global market share. China creates the second-largest local market, with equipment sales accounting for 17% of total global additive manufacturing revenue.

2022 Global Metal and Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market by Region

© AMPOWER

The medical industry will remain the main application area for AM additive manufacturing equipment suppliers through 2022. Although the market share remains at around 11%, the increase in overall market size leads to an increase in revenue of €265 million in 2022.

2022 Global Metal and Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market (by Vertical Application)
© AMPOWER

Automotive and other industrial manufacturing is the second largest application area, and both verticals are increasingly using AM additive manufacturing to support development teams and workholding applications on the production line. However, the automotive industry is still struggling to find a business case for additive manufacturing for vehicle manufacturing.

© 3D Science Valley White Paper

In general, AM additive manufacturing equipment is becoming larger and more complex. For example, Chinese supplier EPLUS3D's multi-laser metal powder bed fusion machine, the EP-M1250, has a build platform of more than 1 m. Multi-laser machines from SLM Solutions NXG600 XII or VELO3D's Sapphire XC are being installed for the first time at their user sites in 2022. Users of polymer additive manufacturing are also demanding larger and larger solutions. More print heads are appearing on the market for particle-based polymer 3D printing devices, such as those from Dutch startup CEAD, which now pushes the size up to 40 meters long.

Metal powder bed fusion 3D printing devices accounted for 39% of overall 3D printing device sales revenue in 2022, a growing trend that continues and is expected to grow to account for 45% of device sales revenue in 2027, while another technology for metal 3D printing-binder jet metal 3D printing-is also maturing and is expected to account for 7% of device sales revenue in 2027.

Polymer powder bed fusion 3D printing (PBF) systems account for 14% of equipment sales revenue in 2022.

2022 Global Metal and Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market and Forecast 2027 (By Technology)
© AMPOWER

However, in 2022, it is becoming increasingly difficult for startups in 3D printing to attract funding. While many additive manufacturing companies have received significant funding over the past decade, startups are now encountering more cautious investors.

In recent years, investors have tended to believe the overblown growth projections of additive manufacturing startups seeking funding. Some of these have been able to make a significant impact and have gone public through SPAC deals after securing funding. However, post-IPO underperformance by 3D printing companies is often the result of disappointment, as high expectations are not met.

AMPOWER believes that today's AM additive manufacturing investors are more rational and increasingly looking for long-term returns, which are more in line with the objectives of the underlying investment. This benefits not only startups, but also the industry as a whole, as one another look for sustainable additive manufacturing solutions.

Chinese market

Kitty Wang, Founder of 3D Science Valley, describes the 3D printing market in China in the AMPOWER Report 2023. Throughout the difficult challenges experienced in 2022, especially in Shanghai between March and June, 3D printing companies showed great resilience and perseverance under strict epidemic control management.

A notable development in China's 3D printing sector in 2022 was the surge in orders from the aerospace and defense sector, which corresponded to a rise in demand for metal powders, however, as price competition intensified, the price of metal powders decreased, which corresponded to a sharp decrease in the price of 3D printed parts. However, in the context of fierce price competition, still born out of the main line of technological development, material-structure-performance integration of additive manufacturing has become a hot spot of metal additive manufacturing research.

Aside from the psychological security factor brought about by political friction at the margins, there are two main reasons that are currently attracting Chinese users to buy additive manufacturing machines from Chinese suppliers. One is that local suppliers offer customized process packages. These packages include process optimizations that take into account user-specific production elements such as materials, component design, and equipment conditions. The result of these optimizations is better performance of the printed components. Another reason is that local suppliers can provide immediate after-sales service to the local market. This shows that customers in China value the value that localization and on-site after-sales service brings.

China is accelerating the creation of newer materials technologies, and currently has 3,079 patents filed in 2021, surpassing the U.S. in the number one spot. From the content of the patents, it can be seen that all kinds of composite materials, biodegradable materials and metal materials with better performance are the key direction of R&D at present.

The overall breakthrough of the industry relies on the gradual commercialization of the development of policy support. For example, in the field of aerospace, defense and military industry by the state to lead the gradual realization of the upgrade. Among them, the additive manufacturing center of Xi'an Aerospace Engine Co., Ltd. has carried out the construction of additive manufacturing industrialization in response to the development needs of liquid power manufacturing and aerospace equipment, and introduced 89 sets of technologically advanced and complete types of additive manufacturing production equipment in two batches in 2022.

In 2022, China's pace of research and development did not stop because of strict epidemic management, for example, Luen Thai technology in the field of light-curing 3D printing Luen Thai technology independent research and development, including the "micron level level control technology", "multi-vibratory mirror all-in-one automatic calibration technology, "Multi-mirror splicing technology" and "light intensity uniformity correction technology" and other innovative technologies.

In the second quarter of 2022, BLT will release its 12-laser large-format metal 3D printing machine BLT-S1000. Meanwhile, not only in the aerospace field, but also in the fields of scientific research, locomotives, medical care, aerospace, and automotive, BLT has gained the trust of more users.

The EP-M1250 of EGAC 3D has a molding chamber size of up to 1258*1258*1350mm3 (Z-direction height can be customized up to 2000mm), nine-laser and nine-scope configuration, multi-laser precise positioning plus splicing zone precision control technology, which ensures high efficiency production and uniform and stable print quality.