Wohlers Report 2019: materials saw record growth
Every year, the American firm, Wohlers Associates, Inc. unveils its industry-leading report on additive manufacturing. The Wohlers Report 2019 is therefore its 24th edition and contains wide-ranging data on AM materials’ development and consumption. The report showed a strong growth in 3D printing materials during 2018, particularly for metals. In fact, the revenue from metal was reported to have grown by 41.9%. This increase reflects the desire to find solutions more suitable for mass production rather than rapid prototyping.
The Wohlers Report 2019 was produced by 80 authors and contributors based in over 30 countries. The firm also received contributions from 127 service providers, 71 industrial system manufacturers and 30 manufacturers of desktop 3D printers and third-parties around the world. This wide panel of perspectives is what makes this report one of the most, if not the most, accurate representation of the additive manufacturing market. Last year, the report showed an increase in sales of metal printing solutions. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is the turn of materials to develop and grow.
Sales of materials for polymer powder bed fusion were at an
all-time high in 2018. Figures are in millions of dollars |Source: Wohlers Report 2019
Wohlers Associates, Inc. explains that it tracked the growth and sales of 177 manufacturers of industrial additive manufacturing solutions, whose prices are equal to or greater than $5,000. This is almost a third more than the 135 manufacturers recorded last year. While industrial system manufacturers have experienced significant growth, desktop 3D printers (at less than $5,000) have experienced a significant decrease in their annual growth. However, the global additive manufacturing market continues to grow, with new players, hundreds of millions of dollars invested – for companies such as Desktop Metal or Markforged – and innovative new products that had not been considered in the past. The market is rapidly industrialising and is not about to stop.
The Wohlers Report 2019 focuses particularly on the growth of 3D printing materials: a great deal of research and development was carried out in this area in 2018, particularly on high-performance thermoplastics. The American firm points out that 3D printing metals recorded the strongest growth in 2018: they grew by about 41.9%, continuing a five-year streak of more than 40% growth each year.
You can find the full press release HERE.
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