This report has been updated. Click here to view latest edition.

If you have previously purchased the archived report below then please use the download links on the right to download the files.

3D Printing Materials 2015-2025: Status, Opportunities, Market Forecasts

Pricing, properties and projections for materials including photopolymers, thermoplastics and metal powders

By
Show All Description Contents, Table & Figures List FAQs Pricing Related Content
This report covers the current and future status, opportunities and market forecasts of 3D printing materials. It contains many illustrative and analytical figures and tables plus profiles of 16 companies, from across the globe, who supply a wide variety of materials for 3D printing. Interviews with 8 industrial end-users describe their experiences with 3D printing and give insight into their needs.
 
Upon request the original PowerPoint can be included free of charge as part of the report purchase.
3D Printing Materials
Gone are the days of 3D Printing being synonymous with Rapid Prototyping; the days of Additive Manufacturing are here.
 
Since the 1980s, when 3D Printing was first commercialised, it has grown reasonably slowly, being adopted mostly for small scale prototyping. In 2009, Stratasys' key patent expired, the market place became flooded with cheap thermoplastic extruders, interest exploded, and the market for thermoplastic filament rocketed. It is expected to reach over $1B by 2025, despite the falling price per kg.
 
This new interest inspired developments in many technologies to 3D print a wider variety of materials. A brief overview of each of these technologies is outlined in this report. But not all materials are equal. This report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of printing in different materials, the applications of each, and technical data on the properties of 3D printed materials, which often differ from their traditionally manufactured analogue. These new materials mean there has been space for many new companies, and also many acquisitions by 3D printer manufacturers. Information on start-ups, closures, mergers and acquisitions is included.
 
No longer is 3D Printing used only for one-off pieces and prototypes, but for final part production of items with reduced and simplified assembly, quicker design iterations, greater design freedom, mass customisation and minimal material wastage. For these reasons, 3D Printing is already common in aerospace, orthopaedic, jewelry and dental sectors. Adoption is fast-growing in education, military, architecture, medical research, and automotive sectors. Nineteen end markets, including all of these have been investigated. The most common applications, technologies and materials vary by geography so the current markets and growth rates are split by region. Changes in use will lead to different growth rates for different materials.
 
 
Figure 1: Relative markets of the 7 key 3D Printing Materials in 2014 and 2025
Source: IDTechEx
 
This massive growth in the use and applications of 3D Printers is encouraging a massive growth in the market for 3D Printing Materials. Detailed forecasts, using information from interviews with 50 key players in the industry and disclosed financial information, estimate seven key materials are expected to have a total market of over $8B by 2025. This report includes detailed state of the market, in terms of market value and volume, for:
 
  • Photopolymers
  • Thermoplastic filaments
  • Thermoplastic powders
  • Metal powders
  • Sand and binder
  • Welding wire
  • Plaster
 
The value chain for 3D printing materials is complicated because several major industrial printer manufacturers engage in "vendor lock-in" in a way analogous to 2D printers, but cheaper 3D printers allow the purchase of free market materials. The chapter on the value chain clarifies the situation, and quantifies the markets at each stage of the chain. There are separate price projections and forecasts for these two approaches and for different end-user behaviours.
 
The report also includes discussions on developments for emerging materials including:
 
  • Electrically conducting materials
  • Silicone
  • Biomaterials
  • Carbon fibre
  • Regolith
  • Ceramics
  • Graphene
 
Disruptive technologies which have the potential to dramatically change the market have also been investigated, including desktop thermoplastic recyclers, cheaper ways of producing metal powders, competing ways to prototype and new 3D printing technologies.
Analyst access from IDTechEx
All report purchases include up to 30 minutes telephone time with an expert analyst who will help you link key findings in the report to the business issues you're addressing. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.
Further information
If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact our report team at research@IDTechEx.com or call one of our sales managers:

AMERICAS (USA): +1 617 577 7890
ASIA (Japan and Korea): +81 3 3216 7209
EUROPE (UK) +44 1223 812300
1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1.Total Market of 3D Printing Industry
1.2.3D Printing Materials
1.3.Markets for 3D Printing
1.4.Value Network
1.5.State of the Market
1.6.Materials' Market separated by Material
2.INTRODUCTION
2.1.3D Printing is...
2.2.A brief history of 3D Printing
3.KEY ADVANTAGES OF 3D PRINTING
3.1.The key advantages of 3D printing are...
3.2.Examples of designs not possible using traditional manufacturing
3.3.Examples of products which benefit from mass customisation
4.OVERVIEW OF 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES
4.1.A review of technologies
4.2.Thermoplastic extrusion
4.3.Stereolithography (SLA) and Direct Light Polymerisation (DLP)
4.4.Ink-jetting Photopolymers
4.5.Summary of plastic printing
4.6.SLS, SLM and EBM
4.7.Blown-Powder
4.8.Welding
4.9.Summary of metal printing
4.10.Ink-jetting binders
5.MATERIALS OVERVIEW
5.1.A review of materials
5.2.Photopolymers
5.3.Applications of 3D printed photopolymers
5.4.Acrylates vs epoxies
5.5.Photopolymer suppliers
5.6.Properties of commercially available photopolymers
5.7.Thermoplastic filament
5.8.Applications of 3D printed thermoplastic filament
5.9.Thermoplastic filament suppliers
5.10.Polymers available from thermoplastic filament suppliers
5.11.Properties of objects 3D printed from thermoplastic filament
5.12.Chemical suppliers to thermoplastic filament formulators
5.13.Thermoplastic powders
5.14.Applications of 3D printed thermoplastic powders
5.15.Thermoplastic powder suppliers
5.16.Polymers offered by thermoplastic powders suppliers
5.17.Comparison of 3D printed thermoplastic powders
5.18.Metal powders
5.19.Applications of 3D printed metal powders
5.20.Metal powder suppliers
5.21.Alloys available from metal powder suppliers
5.22.Sand and binder
5.23.Welding wire
5.24.Application of 3D printed welding wire
6.EMERGING MATERIALS
6.1.Overview
6.2.Ceramics
6.3.Carbon fibre
6.4.Electrically conductive materials
6.5.Silicone
6.6.Biomaterials
6.7.Regolith
6.8.Graphene
7.DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
7.1.Thermoplastic recycling
7.2.Metalysis
7.3.Selective Deposition Lamination (SDL)
7.4.Magnetohydrodynamics
8.PATENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
8.1.Patents
8.2.Publication trends
9.MARKETS
9.1.Growth share matrix
9.2.Hype curve
10.VALUE CHAINS
10.1.Value network
10.2.The two value chains
10.3.Three behaviours of thermoplastic filament consumption
10.4.Prices
10.5.Price trends of free market materials
10.6.Value chain picture (in USD)
10.7.Value chain picture (in tonnes)
11.STATE OF THE MARKET
11.1.State of the market (in USD)
11.2.State of the market (in tonnes)
11.3.Geographic breakdown of materials' sales
11.4.Data
11.5.Methods and assumptions
12.FORECASTS 2015-2025
12.1.Total market for 3D printing industry
12.2.Data
12.3.Materials market separated by material (in USD)
12.4.Share of market value by material in 2014 and 2025
12.5.Materials market forecast separated by material (in tonnes)
12.6.Growth rate by region
12.7.Data
12.8.Methods and assumptions
13.TIMELINE
13.1.Start-ups, mergers, acquisitions and closures
14.LIMITATIONS AND RESTRAINTS
14.1.Current limitations
14.2.Links to other technologies
15.PROFILES OF 3D MATERIALS' SUPPLIERS
15.1.DSM
15.2.Rahn
15.3.Arevo
15.4.TLC Korea
15.5.Evonik
15.6.Exceltec
15.7.Oxford Perfomance Materials
15.8.Taulman 3D
15.9.Argen
15.10.Cookson Gold
15.11.LPW
15.12.Sandvik
15.13.Höganäs
15.14.CRP
15.15.Fripp Design
16.PROFILES OF END-USERS OF 3D PRINTING
16.1.Lockheed Martin
16.2.Boeing
16.3.Ford
16.4.Dyson
16.5.GE Aviation
16.6.BMW
16.7.Reebok
16.8.Addenbrooke's Hospital
17.OPPORTUNITIES
17.1.Review of opportunities
18.COMPANY PROFILES
18.1.3D Ceram
18.2.3D Systems Europe
18.3.Advanced Powders and Coatings
18.4.Arcam AB
18.5.Arevo Labs
18.6.Argen Corporation
18.7.Biobots
18.8.BotFactory
18.9.Canatu
18.10.Cookson Precious Metals
18.11.CRP Group
18.12.Dyson
18.13.EPSRC
18.14.Evonik
18.15.Fabrisonic LLC
18.16.Fripp Design Ltd
18.17.Graphene 3D Lab
18.18.Höganäs
18.19.Impossible Objects
18.20.Legor Group
18.21.Lomiko Metals
18.22.LPW Technology Ltd
18.23.LUXeXceL
18.24.The NanoSteel Company
18.25.NinjaFlex
18.26.Norsk Titanium
18.27.Orbital Composites
18.28.Oxford Performance Materials
18.29.Rahn AG
18.30.Sandvik
18.31.Solidscape
18.32.Stratasys Ltd.
18.33.Taulman3D
18.34.TLC Korea
18.35.Toner Plastics
18.36.Volvo Construction Equipment
18.37.Voxel8
 

About IDTechEx reports

What are the qualifications of the people conducting IDTechEx research?

Content produced by IDTechEx is researched and written by our technical analysts, each with a PhD or master's degree in their specialist field, and all of whom are employees. All our analysts are well-connected in their fields, intensively covering their sectors, revealing hard-to-find information you can trust.

How does IDTechEx gather data for its reports?

By directly interviewing and profiling companies across the supply chain. IDTechEx analysts interview companies by engaging directly with senior management and technology development executives across the supply chain, leading to revealing insights that may otherwise be inaccessible.
 
Further, as a global team, we travel extensively to industry events and companies to conduct in-depth, face-to-face interviews. We also engage with industry associations and follow public company filings as secondary sources. We conduct patent analysis and track regulatory changes and incentives. We consistently build on our decades-long research of emerging technologies.
 
We assess emerging technologies against existing solutions, evaluate market demand and provide data-driven forecasts based on our models. This provides a clear, unbiased outlook on the future of each technology or industry that we cover.

What is your forecast methodology?

We take into account the following information and data points where relevant to create our forecasts:
  • Historic data, based on our own databases of products, companies' sales data, information from associations, company reports and validation of our prior market figures with companies in the industry.
  • Current and announced manufacturing capacities
  • Company production targets
  • Direct input from companies as we interview them as to their growth expectations, moderated by our analysts
  • Planned or active government incentives and regulations
  • Assessment of the capabilities and price of the technology based on our benchmarking over the forecast period, versus that of competitive solutions
  • Teardown data (e.g. to assess volume of materials used)
  • From a top-down view: the total addressable market
  • Forecasts can be based on an s-curve methodology where appropriate, taking into account the above factors
  • Key assumptions and discussion of what can impact the forecast are covered in the report.

How can I be confident about the quality of work in IDTechEx reports?

Based on our technical analysts and their research methodology, for over 25 years our work has regularly received superb feedback from our global clients. Our research business has grown year-on-year.
 
Recent customer feedback includes:
"It's my first go-to platform"
- Dr. Didi Xu, Head of Foresight - Future Technologies, Freudenberg Technology Innovation
 
"Their expertise allows us to make data-driven, strategic decisions and ensures we remain aligned with the latest trends and opportunities in the market."
- Ralf Hug, Global Head of Product Management & Marketing, Marquardt

What differentiates IDTechEx reports?

Our team of in-house technical analysts immerse themselves in industries over many years, building deep expertise and engaging directly with key industry players to uncover hard-to-find insights. We appraise technologies in the landscape of competitive solutions and then assess their market demand based on voice-of-the-customer feedback, all from an impartial point of view. This approach delivers exceptional value to our customers—providing high-quality independent content while saving customers time, resources, and money.

Why should we pick IDTechEx research over AI research?

A crucial value of IDTechEx research is that it provides information, assessments and forecasts based on interviews with key people in the industry, assessed by technical experts. AI is trained only on content publicly available on the web, which may not be reliable, in depth, nor contain the latest insights based on the experience of those actively involved in a technology or industry, despite the confident prose.

How can I justify the ROI of this report?

Consider the cost of the IDTechEx report versus the time and resources required to gather the same quality of insights yourself. IDTechEx analysts have built up an extensive contact network over many years; we invest in attending key events and interviewing companies around the world; and our analysts are trained in appraising technologies and markets.
 
Each report provides an independent, expert-led technical and market appraisal, giving you access to actionable information immediately, rather than you having to spend months or years on your own market research.

Can I speak to analysts about the report content?

All report purchases include up to 30 minutes of telephone time with an expert analyst who will help you link key findings in the report to the business issues you're addressing. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.

What is the difference between a report and subscription?

A subscription from IDTechEx can include more reports, access to an online information platform with continuously updated information from our analysts, and access to analysts directly.

Before purchasing, I have some questions about the report, can I speak to someone?

Please email research@idtechex.com stating your location and we will quickly respond.

About IDTechEx

Who are IDTechEx's customers?

IDTechEx has served over 35,000 customers globally. These range from large corporations to ambitious start-ups, and from Governments to research centers. Our customers use our work to make informed decisions and save time and resources.

Where is IDTechEx established?

IDTechEx was established in 1999, and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK. Since then, the company has significantly expanded and operates globally, having served customers in over 80 countries. Subsidiary companies are based in the USA, Germany and Japan.

Questions about purchasing a report

How do I pay?

In most locations reports can be purchased by credit card, or else by direct bank payment.

How and when do I receive access to IDTechEx reports?

When paying successfully by credit card, reports can be accessed immediately. For new customers, when paying by bank transfer, reports will usually be released when the payment is received. Report access will be notified by email.

How do I assign additional users to the report?

Users can be assigned in the report ordering process, or at a later time by email.

Can I speak to someone about purchasing a report?

Please email research@idtechex.com stating your location and we will quickly respond.
 
The 3D Printing Materials market to overtake the 3D Printer market in 2023 and reach $8.3bn by 2025.

Report Statistics

Slides 132
Companies 37
Forecasts to 2025
 

Customer Testimonial

quote graphic
"IDTechEx consistently provides well-structured and comprehensive research reports, offering a clear and holistic view of key trends... It's my first go-to platform for quickly exploring new topics and staying updated on industry advancements."
Head of Foresight - Future Technologies
Freudenberg Technology Innovation SE & Co. KG
 
 
 

Subscription Enquiry