The Recycler
  • G&G Masthead August 2024
  • Biuromax Masthead web banner March 2024
  • Katun web banner December 2022 NEW

2018 was rosy for industrial 3D printing

January 24, 2019

According to CONTEXT’s additive manufacturing and 3D printing update, of the four main groups of 3D printers, it appears that the industrial class will have had the strongest growth in machine shipments in 2018.

Industrial class 3D printer shipments are projected to show a 27 percent year-on-year (Y/Y) shipment increase, having already seen strong 19 percent growth through the first three quarters.

As CONTEXT reveals, despite single-digit declines in shipments year-to-date Q1-Q3, the professional and design segments are expected to reach single-digit positive growth for the year overall.

The falls in the desktop segment, in which 13 percent fewer printers were shipped globally Q1-Q3 2018, are projected to have continued in the 4th quarter, leading to an overall decline in global shipments in this class for 2018 compared to 2017.

Industrial 3D printers – a class which now includes recognisable company names including HP and GE – saw solid growth in both the polymer (plastic) and metal printer shipments through the first three quarters. Industrial 3D polymer printer shipments were up +12 percent YTD Q1–Q3 2018 thanks mostly to strong increases in the US and Europe and thanks to growth from Carbon (65 percent) and HP (31 percent), but strong domestic sales from China’s Union Tech also made a significant contribution.

Although the final global shipping figure for personal 3D printers in 2018 is forecast to be a whopping 370,ooo, CONTEXT warns that this could represent a single- to double-digit drop on the 400, 000 total of 2017.

As CONTEXT explains, the year was marked by several negative factors, among them limited crowd source project wins, the negative impact of tariffs on Chinese goods shipping into the US, the world’s largest market for personal 3D Printers, shipment declines from market leaders such as XYZprinting, Monoprice and Wanhao and a shift back to DIY/kit solutions which only hobbyists find attractive. 

While there were many Y/Y successes from lower-volume kit vendors in the segment for the year, CONTEXT reveals that high-volume Prusa Research, which saw large increases in unit volumes shipped, was the lone star of the category.

In 2018, to counter what is, hopefully, just a short- term downturn in personal 3D printer shipment growth, vendors began introducing products in higher price classes. This trend is maybe best exemplified by XYZprinting rounding out their portfolio by introducing new professional and design printers, and Stratasys’ MakerBot recently announcing its Professional Method 3D Printer – the first new product it has introduced in two years.

Categories : Around the Industry

Tags : 2018 3D printing Context Growth Industrial

  • G&G Big & Bold Web banner January 2024
  • Static Control June 2022 Big & Bold Ad
  • TN Group Sep 2024 Web banner
  • Apex September 2024 Web ad
  • GM Technology September 2024
  • Ink Tank September 2024 Web ad
  • IR Italiana Web ad January 2021
  • Cartridge Web September 2024 web ad
  • Biuromax web banner July 2024
  • denner UK Web Banner Jul 2024
  • Denner Feb 2024 Web Ad
  • Mito Web banner June 2024
  • ITP Web ad January 2021
  • Zhono Web ad March 2024
  • PCL September 2024 Web Ad
  • HYB Web banner Jan 2024
  • CET Web ad December 2023
  • CET Web ad December 2023
  • ITP Web ad January 2021
  • HYB Web banner Jan 2024
  • denner UK Web Banner Jul 2024
  • Zhono Web ad March 2024
  • Mito Web banner June 2024
  • Denner Feb 2024 Web Ad
  • PCL September 2024 Web Ad
  • HYB Web banner Jan 2024
  • CET Web ad December 2023
  • PCL September 2024 Web Ad
  • Mito Web banner June 2024
  • Zhono Web ad March 2024
  • ITP Web ad January 2021
  • denner UK Web Banner Jul 2024
  • Denner Feb 2024 Web Ad

The Recycler, Wittas House, Two Rivers, Station Lane, Witney, OX28 4BH, United Kingdom | Tel: +44 (0) 1993 899800 | Fax : +44 (0) 1993 226899
©2006-2023 The Recycler - Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy including cookie use

Web design Dorset | Websites by Mark

The Recycler Subscribe Web ad January 2021
The Recycler Subscribe Web ad January 2021