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3D Printing Materials 2016-2026: Status, Opportunities, Market Forecasts

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

Brand new for August 2016
By
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This report covers the current status and future opportunities of materials for 3D printing. It contains many illustrative and analytical figures and tables plus profiles of 29 companies, from across the globe, who supply a wide variety of materials for 3D printing.
 
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.
 
3D printing was first commercialised in 1986, and adopted nearly exclusively for 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. XYZPrinting have become a market leader by selling very large numbers of cheap printers. They operate on a vendor lock-in model, so their revenue from materials will be large and the price will hold steady. The market for thermoplastic filament is expected to reach over $6.6 billion by 2026.
 
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. 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, jewellery and dental sectors. Adoption is fast-growing in education, oil and gas, military, architecture, and medical research sectors.
 
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 90 key players in the industry and disclosed financial information, estimate key materials are expected to have a total market of over $9 billion by 2026. This report includes detailed state of the market, in terms of market value and volume, for:
 
  • Photopolymers
  • Thermoplastic filaments
  • Thermoplastic powders
  • Metal powders
 
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:
 
  • Welding Wire
  • Binders for metals, sand or plaster
  • Metallic thermoplastic filaments
  • Platinum-based Metallic Glass
  • Gallium-Indium Alloy
  • Ceramics
  • Biomaterials
  • Conductive thermoplastic filaments
  • Conductive inks
  • Conductive pastes
  • Conductive photopolymers
  • Graphene
  • Carbon Fibre
  • Silicone
  • Regolith
  • Wood
  • Glass
 
This report gives financial data and forecasts to 2026 including:
  • Revenue from 3D printing materials in 2015
  • Market share by material in 2015
  • 3D printing industry split by application
  • Forecast by revenue
  • Forecast by mass
  • Forecasts of industry split by application
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1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1.Advantages of 3D Printing
1.2.Printing processes and material compatibility
1.3.Future of 3D printing by application
1.4.The Two Value Chains
1.5.Revenue from 3D Printing Materials in 2015
1.6.Market Share in 2015
1.7.Forecast by Revenue
1.8.Forecast by mass
2.INTRODUCTION
2.1.3D Printing is...
2.2.Advantages of 3D Printing
2.3.The cost of complexity
2.4.Drivers
2.5.A brief history of 3D printing
2.6.Company Start Dates
2.7.Fully Digital Work-flow
3.OVERVIEW OF 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES
3.1.Printing processes and material compatibility
3.2.Alternative Naming of Technologies
3.3.Summary of Plastic Printing
3.4.Summary of Metal Printing
4.PHOTOPOLYMERS
4.1.Photopolymers
4.2.Acrylates vs Epoxies
4.3.Applications of 3D Printed Photopolymers
4.4.Photopolymers - Key Players
4.5.Properties of Commercially Available Photopolymers
4.6.Forecast for Photopolymers
5.THERMOPLASTIC FILAMENT
5.1.Thermoplastic Filament
5.2.Available Polymers
5.3.Why isn't PP commonly 3D printed?
5.4.New fillers for thermoplastic filaments
5.5.Elastomeric Filaments
5.6.Applications of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Filament
5.7.Thermoplastic Filament - Key Players
5.8.Thermoplastic Filament - Chemical Suppliers
5.9.Properties of Objects 3D Printed from Thermoplastic Filament
5.10.Forecast Thermoplastic Filament Sales
5.11.Forecast for Photopolymers
6.THERMOPLASTIC POWDER
6.1.Thermoplastic Powders
6.2.Applications of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Powders
6.3.Thermoplastic Powders - Key Players
6.4.Polymers Offered by Thermoplastic Powders Suppliers
6.5.Comparison of two most commonly 3D Printed Thermoplastic Powders
6.6.SLS of TPU
6.7.Forecast of Thermoplastic Powders
7.METAL POWDERS
7.1.Metal Powders
7.2.3D Printable Metals
7.3.Powder Requirements
7.4.Metal Powders - Key Players
7.5.Alloys Available from Metal Powder Suppliers
7.6.Applications of 3D Printed Metal Powders
7.7.Powders for Metal + Binder
7.8.Forecast for Metal Powders
8.OTHER WAYS TO 3D PRINT METALS
8.1.Welding Wire
8.2.Sand + Binder
8.3.Proto-pasta Metallic PLA Filament
8.4.Platinum-based Metallic Glass
8.5.Gallium-Indium Alloy
9.CERAMICS
9.1.SLA
9.2.Paste extrusion
9.3.Filled Thermoplastic Filaments
9.4.Binder Jetting
9.5.SLM
9.6.Blown Powder
10.BIOMATERIALS
10.1.Market
10.2.Syringe-based bioprinting
10.3.Extrusion-based bioprinting
10.4.ROKIT - Edison Invivo 3D bioprinter
10.5.Organovo
11.CONDUCTIVE MATERIALS
11.1.Electrically Conducting Materials
11.2.Functional materials
11.3.Metals
11.4.Conductive thermoplastic filaments
11.5.Conductive inks
11.6.Conductive pastes
11.7.Conductive photopolymers
11.8.Graphene
12.EMERGING MATERIALS
12.1.Carbon Fibre
12.2.Silicone
12.3.Regolith
12.4.Wood
12.5.Glass
13.DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
13.1.Thermoplastic Recycling
13.2.Selective Deposition Lamination
13.3.Faster vat photopolymerisation
13.4.LCD stereolithography 3D Printing
14.MARKETS
14.1.Markets for 3D Printing
14.2.Future of 3D printing by application
15.VALUE CHAINS
15.1.Value Network
15.2.The Two Value Chains
15.3.Value Chain Split
15.4.Three Behaviours of Thermoplastic Filament Consumption
15.5.Falling prices for free-market materials
16.STATE OF THE MARKET
16.1.Revenue from 3D Printing Materials in 2015
16.2.Market Share in 2015
16.3.3D Printing Industry Split by Application
16.4.Methods and Assumptions of State of Market Data
16.5.Methods and Assumptions of the Forecast
17.FORECASTS
17.1.Forecast by Revenue
17.2.Forecast by mass
17.3.Forecasts of Industry Split by Application
18.CONCLUSIONS
18.1.General trends
18.2.Limitations
18.3.The evolution of 3D Printing is intrinsically linked with:
18.4.Opportunities
19.COMPANY PROFILES
19.1.Advanc3d Materials
19.2.Advanced Powders and Coatings
19.3.Arcam
19.4.Arevo Labs
19.5.Cookson Precious Metals
19.6.CRP Group
19.7.DSM Somos
19.8.Evonik
19.9.Exceltec
19.10.Formlabs
19.11.Graphene 3D Lab
19.12.Heraeus - 3D printing metals
19.13.Impossible Objects
19.14.Legor Group
19.15.Lomiko Metals
19.16.LPW Technology Ltd
19.17.Maker Juice
19.18.NanoSteel
19.19.Nascent Objects, Inc
19.20.NinjaFlex
19.21.Norsk Titanium
19.22.Oxford Performance Materials
19.23.Photocentric
19.24.Rahn AG
19.25.Sandvik
19.26.Stratasys Ltd.
19.27.Taulman3D
19.28.TLC Korea
19.29.Toner Plastics
 

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The 3D printing materials market will reach $9 billion by 2026.

Report Statistics

Slides 131
Companies 29
Forecasts to 2026
 

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