New study: Rapid advances in additive manufacturing systems
- Market for additive manufacturing/3D printing has grown 20 percent on average every year since 2004
- Wide variety of technological innovations will considerably broaden the scope of applications and support further growth
- As industrial digitization and the fourth industrial revolution proceeds apace, fully automated 3D factories are realizable and anticipated
- Dominance of German machine suppliers disrupted by innovations and technological components from new market players
Munich, April 10, 2016
The market for additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing, has grown by some 20 percent on average every year since 2004. The technology is already a mature series production technology in the medical devices industry, in aerospace and aviation and in turbine engineering. Supply chains are right now being established, for instance in northern Germany where a new supplier map is currently being drawn to keep the aviation industry equipped with metallic parts from additive manufacturing.
The industry's expansion is set to continue into the coming years, too, at growth rates in excess of 30 percent. One of the reasons for this lies in the potential for technological innovation. This is a finding of the new Roland Berger study entitled "Additive Manufacturing – next generation". The research saw Roland Berger experts analyze the technological development and innovation activity of a wide range of market players.
"When the media hype around 3D printing suddenly died down a good two years ago, you would have been forgiven for thinking that the technology had already reached its zenith," said Bernhard Langefeld, Partner at Roland Berger and expert in additive manufacturing. "But in fact it's just the opposite. Our study demonstrates the extent of the innovation potential that lies within metal additive manufacturing. It is enough to ensure the industry's sustained growth for a period of five to fifteen years." Even though additive manufacturing systems currently make up less than one percent of the total machine tool market, the technology's growth potential is massive: "The sheer variety of innovations and the enormous market demand lead us to expect growth rates of 30 percent and more for the coming years," stated Langefeld.
The work of R&D departments will change
The Roland Berger study focuses largely on innovations and trends in the field of engineering & software, machine technologies and configurations, materials, post processing, service and the different impacts on cost, market growth and stock valuations. The authors describe a variety of new technologies, trends and application areas for additive manufacturing and highlight the continued speed of innovation in this sector of industry. Software for the design of complex 3D parts is becoming ever more important, in particular. The market in which these suppliers operate is therefore in the midst of consolidation right now, driven by the big CAD players. "In the medium to long term we will see a change in the way R&D departments work – in engineering firms as in many others," said Langefeld, explaining why: "Additive manufacturing will make the R&D process for mechanical parts increasingly similar to that of software."
There have been major advances in additive manufacturing technology itself. Powder bed fusion, for example, can now be controlled with such precision as to produce metals with particular mechanical and electromagnetic properties that would otherwise be unachievable in the thicknesses concerned. "Additive manufacturing can therefore create new materials and combinations," explained Langefeld, who went on to say that, "This holds innovation potential for many different industries." And: "In combination with digitization and the fourth industrial revolution, 3D printing enables completely new production concepts: Studies by machine manufacturers indicate that we will soon see the realization of fully automated 3D factories."
On the supplier side, the experts anticipate the complete disruption of German machine builders' current market dominance. Up until 2014 it was German firms who supplied almost 70 percent of all additive manufacturing systems sold in the world. But now new players are bringing their innovations to market. And technological components that only a 3D printer manufacturer used to be able to produce are now being offered by third parties. "This is going to push down machine prices and make manufacturers even more keen to compete on innovation," predicted Roland Berger expert Langefeld.
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- Photos iZonda/iStock