3D Printing Ceramics 2022-2032: Technology and Market Outlook

Ceramic 3D printing is an emerging segment within the 3D printing industry that began its commercial journey in the past 10 years. Compared to polymer and metal 3D printing, ceramic 3D printing is young. However, increasing entrants into the field in the past few years, from major ceramics companies to small 3D printing start-ups, illustrate that interest in ceramic additive manufacturing is picking up.

 

In this technical report from IDTechEx, ceramic 3D printing is comprehensively analysed to provide the current status of and outlook for the industry. Based on numerous primary interviews and IDTechEx's historical data on additive manufacturing, the report provides extensive technology benchmarking, material summaries, major player overviews, and target applications for ceramic 3D printing.

 

 

 

In the 3D printing industry, it is not uncommon for the important details about new technologies to become overshadowed by hype and media attention. For ceramic 3D printing, this means headlines about how a new ceramic printer will "change the 3D printing industry" or "revolutionize" a given field like medicine. In this report, IDTechEx cuts through the marketing language to get to the heart of the technologies dominating the ceramic additive manufacturing market. Along with detailed overviews of each individual printing process, the major technologies are compared by several key parameters: build volume, build speed, material compatibility, resolution, and more. By providing impartial benchmarking of these technologies, IDTechEx will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each process for their end-users.

 

 

 

 

The ceramics available for 3D printing are key to expanding the potential applications and markets that ceramic 3D printing could establish itself in. While less expensive oxide ceramics (like zirconia and alumina) are currently the most popular ceramic 3D printing materials, non-oxide ceramics (like silicon carbide and silicon nitride) for high-performance and high-value applications are growing in popularity. In this report, the ceramics available for 3D printing are identified with their manufacturers and key materials properties after printing being comprehensively analysed. These materials are then benchmarked by their mechanical, thermal, and dielectric properties to compare their performance against each other and against ceramics manufactured traditionally. In addition, perspectives on new materials trends in ceramic 3D printing - from multi-material/hybrid 3D printing to ceramic matrix composite printing - are presented to give readers a future outlook on the ceramics for the 3D printing market.

 

 

 

Ceramic 3D printing has been used primarily for research & development and prototypes, but it is seeing increasing interest from sectors looking for ceramic tooling and small-batch parts. This includes high-value sectors such as investment casting for aerospace & defence, chemical engineering, and dentistry. While the latter sector has great potential there is no commercial usage as of yet. The former sectors are seeing increasing commercial uptake; they represent ceramic additive manufacturing's best opportunities for high-value industry penetration. That said, there is still room for growth in R&D-related sales, as there is a large number of international research institutes working on progressing ceramic 3D printing in interesting applications like energy storage, medical devices, and carbon capture.

 

 

 

Using extensive primary and secondary research, IDTechEx has constructed a detailed 10-year market forecast for the ceramic 3D printing industry. These forecasts break the industry down by install base, technology type, materials usage, and materials composition. This analysis reveals the growth of ceramic 3D printing into its own niche within the broader 3D printing industry worth $400 million by 2032.

 

Supplementing the forecasts are full profile interviews of the major players in ceramic 3D printing, which range from dedicated ceramic 3D printing companies to metal/polymer 3D printer manufacturers to ceramic material suppliers. These profiles give insight into the companies leading the industry, their position amongst their competitors, and the opportunities and challenges they face in the future.

 

 

Report Metrics	Details
Historic Data	2017 - 2021
Forecast Period	2022-2032
Forecast Units	Revenue (millions USD), Printers (units), Materials (metric tonnes)
Segments Covered	Technology Type, Materials Composition, Materials Feedstock Type, Revenue Source

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