Mar 27, 2018 | By Benedict
Wohlers Associates, Inc. has released its annual Wohlers Report on the 3D printing industry, noting an 80 percent increase in sales of metal 3D printing systems and an overall 3D printing industry growth of 21 percent.
There are numerous market research companies attempting to analyze and quantify the 3D printing / additive manufacturing industry, though perhaps none as specialized as Wohlers Associates, Inc., an independent consulting firm based Fort Collins, Colorado that provides technical and strategic consulting on developments and trends in additive manufacturing.
The annual Wohlers Report, compiled by numerous authors from around the world and organized by Wohlers Associates head Terry Wohlers, is therefore a good way of checking in on the health of the additive manufacturing world each year. Bad Wohlers Report? Time to consider another career.
Fortunately for us all, the Wohlers Report 2018 bears good news: the firm has noted an overall industry growth of 21 percent, with particular highlights in metal 3D printing.
According to the new report, around 1,768 metal additive manufacturing systems were sold in 2017, compared to 983 systems in 2016, marking a huge increase of nearly 80 percent.
Wohlers Associates says the “dramatic” rise in metal additive manufacturing system installations accompanies improved process monitoring and quality assurance measures in metal 3D printing, but warns (or perhaps this is a good thing…) that “more work is ahead.”
There were big increases in other 3D printing metrics too. Wohlers Associates found that 135 companies around the world produced and sold industrial 3D printing systems (printers with a price tag of $5,000 or more) in 2017, up from 97 companies in 2016. So it’s not just a handful of companies getting more sales; more of these companies are being formed too.
“New system manufacturers are entering the AM market at a dizzying pace, while releasing machines with open material platforms, faster print speeds, and lower pricing,” Wohlers Associates said in a press release.
Overall, the report is hugely encouraging for metal additive manufacturing, and generally positive about everything else in 3D printing.
Principal authors of the 2018 Wohlers Report are the aforementioned Terry Wohlers, Ian Campbell (UK), Olaf Diegel (Sweden), and Joseph Kowen (Israel). The report also contains contributions from representatives at Airbus, GE Addditive, 3D Hubs, numerous global universities, and even the U.S. Army.
Last year, when Wohlers Associates released its 2017 report, the 3D printing industry had grown 17.4 percent.
Posted in Statistics
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