What is the industry of 3d printing?

3D Printing Industry

Industry. Stratasys 3D printing industry applications range from Aerospace design to Health Care. Select an industry segment below to learn how PolyJet and FDM Technology is used by businesses like yours to design faster and be more innovative.

The worldwide 3D printing industry is expected to grow from $3.07B in revenue in 2013 to $12.8B by 2018, and exceed $21B in worldwide revenue by 2020. As it evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the future.
Source: Wohlers Report 2015
The 3D printing industry encompasses many forms of technologies and materials. When most people think of 3D printing they are thinking of a simple desktop FDM printer but that’s not the entire picture. 3D printing can be divided into metal, fabrics, bio and a whole host of other industries. For this reason, it’s important to see it as a cluster of diverse industries with a myriad of different applications.
In the first half of 2017, Sculpteo’s state of 3D printing reported its uses in industrial sectors as:

• Consumer Goods (17%)
• Industrial Goods (17%)
• High Tech (13%)
• Services (9%)
• Healthcare sectors (7%)

In the third quarter of 2017, Materialise reported increased revenues for their software, medical and manufacturing divisions. The revenue amounted to a $6 million increase in total when compared to the previous year. This is indicative of those very same increasing applications within the industry as the field grows larger.

3D printing is becoming more and more intertwined with the day-to-day operations of businesses. In terms of outlook, CEOs definitely see 3D printing as a benefit. Most expect a 72% rise in spending for 2018 and 55% expect one in 2017. At this stage, most companies are primarily focusing on research and development and prototyping.
The most used materials are plastics, which generally means FFF / FDM are the dominant forms of 3D printing as of 2017 with SLS coming in second. Although, over the years metal printing has been climbing. This is to be expected since there is massive amounts of R and D being put into the metal side of additive manufacturing. Company’s like Google and General Electric have been investing in various technologies over the course of the year, possibly having seen the future potential of metal printing.