Polymer Additive Manufacturing 2023-2033: Technology and Market Outlook

When it comes to history and awareness, polymer additive manufacturing leads the 3D printing industry. The first type of 3D printing to be invented in the 1980s was stereolithography, while thermoplastic filament extrusion holds the most public recognition amongst additive technologies. In fact, IDTechEx finds that demand for polymer materials by mass far exceeds that of metal materials for 3D printing.

 

 

 

With this popularity, the potential for polymer 3D printing to supply custom shoes, personalized prosthetics, or other high-value items has been increasingly explored in the past decade. Yet, actual applications of polymer AM were often restricted to prototyping and one-offs, with the limitations of polymer printing materials and lack of end-user experience preventing more meaningful usage of 3D printing in important sectors. IDTechEx's new report, Polymer Additive Manufacturing 2023-2033: Technology and Market Outlook, finds that polymer 3D printing is moving beyond prototyping to high-value adoption by end-users, which will propel its growth to $21 billion in 2033.

 

IDTechEx's Polymer Additive Manufacturing 2023-2033 report provides insight into the industry's growth and future through granular analysis of polymer hardware and materials demand. Any company in the polymer 3D printing supply chain or looking to enter the industry will find valuable insights in this report, like materials suppliers, printer manufacturers, service providers, end-users, and more. This report breaks down the hardware market into 10 technology segments and the materials market into 17 segments to create 85 forecast lines across 14 forecasts. The forecasts provide a ten-year outlook for polymer 3D printer installation base, revenue from polymer 3D printer sales, and mass demand and revenue for polymer 3D printing materials.

 

The polymer AM market is finding more end-users integrating AM into their supply chain beyond prototyping and one-offs; the question is: what industries do these end-users belong to? Through user interviews, IDTechEx has identified several application areas, such as:

 

IDTechEx's analysis extensively discusses these application areas where polymer additive manufacturing is finding higher-volume applications that utilize better performing materials. It is meaningful adoption in all these industries that is encouraging polymer hardware and materials purchases, helping fuel the polymer AM market's multi-billion-dollar growth over the next decade.

 

Essential to understanding the evolution of the polymer 3D printing industry is exploring the change from low-cost printing technologies and materials to the slow growth and adoption of innovative polymer printing technologies and materials, from viscous thermosets to carbon fiber composites to foams. IDTechEx presents technical analyses of thirty polymer printing technologies, ranging from the established (i.e. digital light processing, selective laser sintering) to the emerging (i.e. viscous lithography manufacturing, volumetric additive manufacturing); within these analyses, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats presented by and to each technology are identified. Similar SWOT and application analyses are provided for 17 different material categories across the main three polymer form factors - thermoplastic filaments, thermoplastic powders, and photopolymer resins. IDTechEx's deep technical exploration of polymer printing technologies and materials will provide readers with the full context surrounding the future development of polymer additive technologies and materials.

 

These trends, identified using extensive primary and secondary research, have informed IDTechEx's detailed 10-year market forecast for the polymer 3D printing market, which look at polymer 3D printing hardware and materials through eighty-five different forecast lines. The hardware forecasts break the market down by install base and technology type, while the materials forecasts segment the market into polymer form factor and further into polymer material categories. This analysis reveals how polymer hardware and materials sales growth will lead the industry to a $21 billion market size in 2033.

 

IDTechEx conducted exhaustive primary research with companies positioned throughout the entire 3D printing value chain for key insights into the trends impacting growth to 2033. This includes printer manufacturers, materials suppliers, and service providers. Over 55 company profiles have been included in the report including Stratasys, 3D Systems, EOS, Markforged, Evonik, and Covestro, amongst others. 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.

 

This report provides the following information

 

Technology trends, materials trends, & manufacturer analysis

 

Market Forecasts & Analysis:

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