Market Overview

Global shipment of industrial 3D printers in 2023 was 30, 000 units, 113.2% of that of the previous year (based on the number of units shipped by printer manufacturers).

The industrial 3D printer market has remained strong since 2021, despite the impact of the suspension of installation due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Increased attention to 3D printers as manufacturing and processing devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to supply chain disruptions that caused significant shortages of healthcare supplies, accelerated the market recovery to some extent. Going forward, metal industrial 3D printers are expected to drive the market growth. The share of this type of industrial 3D printer is expected to exceed that of industrial 3D printers using resin.

Looking at the industrial 3D printer market from the viewpoint of object created, finished products are on the rise, and many companies are bringing mass production into perspective. By region, the market is vibrant particularly in Europe, but also in the United States, India, and South Korea.

Noteworthy Topics

Metal 3D Printer Shipment on the Rise

The industrial 3D printers can be categorized broadly into resin 3D printers and metal 3D printers. By the number of units shipped by manufacturers, the share of resin 3D printers is still greater than metal 3D printers. However, the demand for metal 3D printers is rising globally.

The demand for metal 3D printers has been showing growth in the domestic market as well. In 2024, it is estimated that metal 3D printers will occupy 10 percent or more of the total domestic of industrial 3D printers.

The reasons for the growth of the metal 3D printer market in Japan include the increase of companies entering the metal 3D printer market, while metal 3D printers from foreign manufacturers are increasingly becoming available in Japan.

Another factor that attributes to the rise of the shipment volume is the growing demand for manufacturing finished products with metal 3D printers. Users are expecting to reduce cost of prototyping and make use of design freedom. The increase also owes to the improvements in the ease of changing material. Many users consider the easy material change when selecting a metal 3D printer. Recently, it is becoming possible to change materials in a short time by replacing the material unit (the case that holds the materials). We believe this also fueled to the market expansion.

Future Outlook

The industrial 3D printer market is expected to grow further, propelled by the improvements in printer performance, increase of peripheral services (post-processing, contract fabrication, etc.), wider range of printing materials, and enhancement of 3D modeling software that increase the number of users making finished products with industrial 3D printers and going into mass production.

Looking from a growth rate, metal 3D printers are expected to show significant growth both in terms of the number of units shipped by manufacturers and the shipment value at printer manufacturers. From the viewpoint of object created by industrial 3D printer, prototypes and jigs (auxiliary tools used for machining, assembly, inspection) account for a large proportion. This trend will not change even if the market grows in the future, because an increase of finished products does not mean a decrease of prototypes and jigs. Production using 3D printing is expected to increase in all of them hereafter.

Based on these projections, the global market size of industrial 3D printers (based on the number of units shipped by printer manufacturers) is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2019 to 2025 to attain 35,000 units by 2025.

Research Outline