3D Printing Market to Reach $20 Billion

The report, "3D Printing 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Players," also evaluates which sectors are growing the fastest.

Short-term growth rates for 3D printing market sectors. Image: IDTechEx

According to the report, more than 60% of 3D printing revenues come from mid-range printers in the $30,000 to $300,000 range, which are used primarily for prototyping. That segment of the market, however, is experiencing the slowest growth because of the maturity of the applications.

The biggest growth areas now are in consumer-level printers under $3,000, and in metal printers that cost more than $300,000.

The consumer end of the market has received the most hype, although the researchers express some doubt that those levels are sustainable given the limited capabilities of the current printers. Because 3D printers are treated much like power tools, the report states:

The addressable market is then a fraction of the global home power tool market which is growing at around 5% per annum, much slower than the 100% growth in sales of consumer-level 3D printers from 2013 to 2014. Therefore, we expect the consumer market for 3D printing to start to saturate in the next few years and never exceed the global home power tool market.

Sales of high-end printers for manufacturing are being driven by use in aerospace (for production parts) and other industries. Oil and gas is the fastest growing industrial sector for these printers, with companies using the technology to create repair parts in remote or hostile locations. Another big growth areas will be 3D printed electronics, although there wasn't enough data available to provide a growth forecast for that segment.

Research and Markets has also released a new report titled "3D Printing Market (Material, Technology, Application): Global Insight (2014-2022)," which evaluates vertical market adoption of 3D printing.

According to that report, the consumer lifestyle and products and electronic sector had the highest market revenue (more than $384.80 million in 2013) with a CAGR of 21.6% through 2022, reaching $2.9 billion. The healthcare sector generated $319.04 million in revenue, while aerospace and defense stood at $300.57 million.

In terms of materials, photopolymers generated more than $239 million in revenue (and should see a CAGR of 6.97%). Metal had the lowest share ($27.10 million) but the highest CAGR (22.19%).

Source: IDTechEx and Research and Markets