The embrace of 3D printing takes off in the coming year. Global companies are expected to invest some $13.8 billion in 3D printing in 2019. This is an increase of 21.8% compared to 2018.
So predicts research firm IDC in its Worldwide Semiannual 3D Printing Spending Guide. IDC's figures cover investments in both hardware, materials, software and 3D printing services. Western European parties will invest some $3.6 billion in 3D printing in 2019. This leaves Western Europe only ahead of the United States ($5 billion), while China is well ahead (almost $2 billion). The regions where investments will grow fastest until 2022 are Latin America with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3% and China with 21.6% CAGR.
Most investments focused on 3D printers
3D printers and materials will account for almost two-thirds of global 3D printing investment by 2022, the research firm predicts. Globally, $5.3 billion is expected to be invested in 3D printers in 2019, while $4.2 billion will be spent on materials such as filament. Investment in services lags slightly; some $3.8 billion is expected to be invested in 3D printing services in 2019. On-demand printing services and services that help integrate systems are particularly popular.
Looking at the next five years, IDC expects investment in materials and software to grow faster than the rest of the market. Spending on materials is expected to grow by 20.3% CAGR until 2022, while investment in software will increase by 17.1% CAGR during this period.
Manufacturing industry is leading the way
The manufacturing industry is the sector most committed to 3D printing worldwide; by 2022, more than half of global 3D printing investment will come from the manufacturing industry. Healthcare ranks second in this ranking with an expected $1.8 billion. Education ($1.2 billion) and business services ($898 million) follow in third and fourth positions.
Investment by consumers accounts for about 5% of total investment, at $647 million. Spending from the process industry is expected to rise relatively quickly in the coming years. IDC predicts that investment from this sector will exceed consumer investment for the first time in 2022. Spending will rise fastest in the healthcare (29.8% CAGR) and transport sectors (28.3% CAGR).
Applications
In its report, IDC also looks at the applications for which 3D printing technology is being used. Currently, the main applications are prototyping, aftermarket parts and components for new products. These three applications are currently the most important use cases for the manufacturing industry and are expected to account for 43% of global investments in 2019.
As investment from healthcare increases, printing objects for dentistry and medical objects are expected to become the fourth and fifth most important use case worldwide, respectively, by 2022. They are closely followed by specialised devices. The use cases growing fastest in the coming years are printing of tissue, organs and bones (42.9% CAGR) and objects for dentistry (33.1% CAGR).
Growing embrace in healthcare
The growing interest from healthcare in 3D printing is endorsed by Pete Basiliere, Research Vice President at research firm Gartner. In a blog post, Basiliere points out that the embrace of 3D printing in healthcare is increasing. He predicts that 3D printing will play a central role in planning and realising personalised clinical procedures in the coming decades. For example, the technology could be used to create anatomical models that help surgeons prepare for surgery.
In addition, Basiliere points out that 3D printed prosthetics are being embraced at a rapid pace. In the past three years, there have been many developments in bio-ink, specialised print heads, nozzles specifically designed for printing stem cells and innovations in 'multicartridges' that can hold different types of materials. These developments have led to significant advances in hybrid biosynthetic structures, such as hydrogel and collagen.
Critical role in supplier chains
3D printing has long been used within supply chains, with the focus so far mainly on printing plastic objects. For many companies, however, 3D printing metal parts is the ultimate goal. Among others, there is a lot of interest in this from the aviation, aerospace, water sports, defence, medical and manufacturing sectors, Basiliere states.
3D printed wearables used for more and more purposes
3D printed wearables offer interesting opportunities in a variety of sectors, according to the researchers. These include healthcare, but also the sports or fashion industry. For instance, 3D printing can be used to quickly develop prototypes of wearables, reduce production costs or tailor wearables to customers' personal needs. 3D-printed wearables are expected to be used mainly to complement users' features and support users with disabilities in the coming years.
Basiliere points out that the cost of 3D-printed wearables is still relatively high, however, partly due to the high-resolution 3D models and materials required for this purpose. 3D printed wearables are therefore currently mainly interesting for applications where a higher price tag is not an obstacle. In the long term, Basiliere expects 3D printing to be increasingly used to produce stretchable electronic devices using electrically conductive ink, thermoplastic polyurethane and electrical components. The researcher argues that such applications will only really show the full potential of wearables.
4D printing
Finally, research firm Gartner foresees a new development in the additive manufacturing market. As 3D printing is increasingly embraced, the research firm expects the emergence of a new technique: 4D printing (4DP). With this technique, an object is not only 3D-printed, but also endowed with 'dynamic properties'. These are properties that change if the object is exposed to, for example, chemicals, electricity or specific (nano)particles.
"4DP is an opportunity to create future technology-based products that disrupt industries. The technology, which is in the 'Innovation Trigger' phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle for 3D Printing, has already attracted interest from several universities," Basiliere writes. Several companies are now active with 4DP, according to Basiliere, including Airbus, Autodesk, HP and Stratasys. He calls it plausible that, in addition, several defence companies are also active with the technology.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: IDC
Source: Gartner
Source photo: Pixabay / lppicture
