Additive manufacturing market size is forecast to reach $35,244.3 million by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 19.7% during 2021-2026. Additive manufacturing has many advantages over existing manufacturing technologies including injection molding, CNC machining, and vacuum casting, including lower resource requirements, shorter production times, modular design, and major tooling cost savings, which is why the additive manufacturing industry is booming. A key factor driving the consumer demand is rising government funding to boost additive manufacturing technology across various regions. Furthermore, the EU Commission's increasing focus on reducing vehicle overall weight to minimize emissions is likely to affect market development. Metal 3D printing technology advancements are expected to open new horizons for lighter, stronger, and healthier products, providing lucrative opportunities for the additive manufacturing industry.

Global economies are currently recovering from the consequences of the globe-sweeping COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the outbreak, various additive manufacturers across regions had to shut down their manufacturing activities. Globally, the government announced strict measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, owing to which the activities of automotive and aerospace industry growth slowed down causing widespread concern and economic hardship for the additive manufacturing market. Also, some delays, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related contingencies, occurred in the production and manufacturing of automotive and aerospace components. Further, For instance, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, automotive factory shutdowns have resulted in production losses of 1,465,415 motor vehicles up to April 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Due to lack of production, the utilization of additive manufacturing is also getting declined, which tends to constrain the growth of the additive manufacturing market.

The report: “Additive Manufacturing Market – Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the additive manufacturing Industry. 

By Type: Materials, Systems, and Services & Parts

By Material: Plastics (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polyethylene (PE), Polycarbonate (PC), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE), Nylon, and Others), Metals (Iron, Steel, Silver, Aluminum, Copper, Titanium, Gold, Zinc, and Others), Ceramics (Glass, Silica, Quartz, and Others), and Others.

By Technology: Powder Bed Fusion (Direct Metal Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Electron Beam Melting (EBM), and Others), Binder Jetting, Directed Energy Deposition (Laser Deposition Technology (LDT) excluding LCT, Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM), Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), Laser Engineering Net Shape (LENS), Laser Cladding Technology (LCT), Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM), Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), Laser Deposition Welding (LDW), and Others), Material Extrusion, Material Jetting (Drop On Demand (DOD), Polyjet by Object, Others), Vat Polymerization (StereoLithogrAphy (SLA), Digital Light Processing (DLP), Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), and Others), and Others.

By End-Use Industry: Industrial, Aerospace (Commercial, Military, and Others), Consumer Goods (Furniture, Watches and Jewelry, Shoes and Soles, and Others), Oil & Gas, Automotive (Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV), and Others), Medical & Healthcare, Electrical & Electronics (Conductors, Resistors, Sensors, Semiconductors, and Others), Building and Construction (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Infrastructure), and Others.

By Geography: North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (U.K, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East, and Africa).

The metal segment held the largest share of 55.3% in the additive manufacturing market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 17.3% during 2021-2026. Metals are a better option for 3D printing compared to plastics, as they have more industrial usage. Often the 3D metal printing shows itself to be unique as the new technologies can readily surpass what was offered by traditional processes. In a survey conducted across the globe, about 23% of the 3D printing materials used are metals. The 3D printing metals segment is also poised to grow as it has a competitive edge over other plastic materials used in 3D Printing. Metal 3D printing is too expensive, furthermore other companies, like Desktop Metal and Markforged, are developing approaches to manufacture affordable metal 3D printers. In March 2020, VELO3D has developed a powder bed fusion 3D printer that features a unique recoated mechanism and is tightly integrated with the software. 

The powder bed fusion segment held the largest share in the additive manufacturing market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 18.6% during 2021-2026. Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) 3D printing technology produces extremely detailed products. This 3D printing technique allows for the creation of a wide range of geometrically complex products by fusing powder particles layer by layer with a heat source, most commonly laser or electron beams, to form a solid component. For instance, as required by the aerospace and medical applications. Fine layers of material are melted or partially melted using electron beams, lasers, or thermal print heads, and the excess powder is blown away. The additive manufacturing market is expected to expand due to its advantageous properties such as reduced material waste and expense, improved production development times, enablement of rapid prototyping, and efficient recycling of un-melted powder. Owing to technological advancement, PBF technology is the most widely used technology for additive manufacturing.

The aerospace segment held the largest share in the additive manufacturing market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 20.2% during 2021-2026. The aerospace and defense industry is a perfect example of how to use additive manufacturing (AM) (commonly referred to as 3D Printing) to produce components that are heavier and lighter than parts manufactured using conventional manufacturing methods. Additive manufacturing or 3D printing has applications in the aerospace industry such as engine compartments, cabin accessories, air ducts among others. According to Boeing, the global aerospace and defense market will be at $8.7 trillion over the next decade, up from $8.1 trillion in 2019. In November 2020, Boeing projected that China's airlines will buy $1.4 trillion worth of 8,600 new aircraft and $1.7 trillion worth of commercial aviation services over the next 20 years. Thus, the demand for airplanes is set to increase over the years, and with the increase in aircraft, the manufacturing and demand for the engine compartment, cabin accessories, and air duct will also eventually grow, driving the demand for additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry during the forecast period.

North America held the largest share in the additive manufacturing market in 2020 up to 38%. Rising government investments and projects in the United States for additive manufacturing have also raised the growth of the market. For instance, to address the challenges in single laser melting (SLM), America Makes awarded GE Global $2.6 million to build an open-source, multi-laser production machine and AM platform. Additionally, in Canada, the rising partnership between research universities in the field of additive manufacturing is also influencing the growth of the market. For instance, in 2021, Researchers from the University of Waterloo's Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing (MSAM) Lab and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) collaborated to help Canadian businesses drive the adoption of metal additive manufacturing technologies. The collaboration is expected to last at least seven years. Further, the US military budget for 2018 provided $13.2 billion in funding for technological advancement, including 3D printing. Defense-related 3D printing technology was also included in the 2019 military budget. Thus, such increasing investments and initiative in North American region in the additive manufacturing industry is anticipated to support the market growth in North America during the forecast period. 

The basic physical difference in how objects are made with the additive manufacturing process produces some major functional differences when compared with other traditional manufacturing processes. The most significant of these functional differences is the ability of additive manufacturing to produce complex geometries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve using conventional manufacturing methods. These intricate geometries are also stronger and lighter than their conventional counterparts. Additive manufacturing, for example, allows for the development of custom hearing aids, dental mouth guards, prosthetics, and orthotics, all of which improve patient quality of life and medical performance. The additive manufacturing market is booming strongly related to its ability to create complex geometries more easily than other manufacturing methods. Also, additive manufacturing eliminates the additional costs normally associated with creating more complex objects. A highly complex component usually costs much more using conventional methods. This is primarily because conventional fabrication methods rely on the conversion of three-dimensional illustrations into two-dimensional drawings for fabrication, as well as the labor cost of assembling such components. However, regardless of the complexity of a component, the method in additive manufacturing is the same. Thus, no additional cost is incurred for manufacturing complex designs using additive manufacturing. And companies are continuously looking forward to enhancing their approach towards manufacturing complex design using additive manufacturing, which is consecutively driving the additive manufacturing market growth during the forecast period. For instance, in July 2019, the nTop platform, an engineering environment for design, simulation, and advanced manufacturing processes was launched by nTopology. Engineers may use the design solution to understand the function, geometry, and manufacturing requirements all at once in a computational context. Engineering notebooks and a design technology platform from nTop also give precise control over complex mechanical designs.

The manufacturing companies experience various benefits while using additive manufacturing methods to produce objects. Since the complexity of the component has little or no impact on the manufacturing time and costs, additive manufacturing is ideal for low-cost production as well as small and (very) large series. Design changes can be implemented quickly at a low cost. Metal structures are made up of atom by atoms in additive manufacturing, as opposed to subtractive approaches like chemical etching. As a consequence, almost every piece of metal is utilized during the production process, with almost no waste of material and reducing material wastage. When using additive manufacturing, all of the extra features that are needed for the assembly, such as fasteners, brazing, or welding, can be omitted. Thus, additive manufacturing also reduces assembly costs. Every high-precision metal process necessitates the development of a mold (also known as a die or a mandrel in some industries). The time and expense to make this mold vary depending on the technology. A stamping die, for example, can take months to create. A die is usable in days to weeks in CNC Punching. On the other hand, a mandrel for electroforming (an additive manufacturing process) can be made in a matter of hours. Thus, additive manufacturing also reduces the lead time from several months to several days, which reduces the costs significantly. Thus, the relatively lower production cost for rapid manufacturing when compared to another subtractive method is accelerating the additive manufacturing market growth during the forecast period. 

Even if additive manufacturing were to dramatically increase production speed and volume performance, it would still be unable to manufacture large single parts. This is yet another major challenge confronting additive manufacturing researchers as they pursue new applications for 3D printing technology. The building envelope for current additive manufacturing technologies is limited, meaning even larger components that can be printed must still be assembled by mechanical joining or welding. Academia, government, and industry are all investing heavily in overcoming this barrier. For instance, in March 2016, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in conjunction with Lockheed Martin and Cincinnati Inc. launched Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM), a machine that could print polymer components up to 10 times larger than current systems are capable of and at speeds up to 500 times faster than existing AM machines. In February 2021, PAMPROD (Procédés Additive Manufacturing – Productivité), a new innovative additive manufacturing solution for producing large parts up to 5m and components in a cost-effective manner, was introduced in response to the needs of the aeronautics, oil, and defense sectors for large parts. Although work is being done in this field, the challenge of producing large single parts remains a significant barrier for the market players and new entrants. 

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the additive manufacturing market. Major players in the additive manufacturing market are Proto Labs Ltd., 3D Systems Inc., Stratasys Ltd., ExOne, Envision TEC, Materialise NV, Marforged, EOS GmbH, Ultimaker BV, and Titomic Limited.