On February 17, 2020, the 2020 Additive Manufacturing Strategy (AMS) meeting was held in Boston last week. The summit focused on medical, dental and metal 3D printing businesses.
At this summit, Scott Dunham, vice president of research at SmarTech Analysis, introduced their research report in the field of metal additive manufacturing. It is reported that these reports were prepared using data from 10-12 consecutive quarters.
Dunham pointed out that the popularity and adoption of metal additive manufacturing has changed, and we are "deeply studying specific solutions and challenges." He said: "Metal additive manufacturing is now in a strange place. From 2016 to 2018 There is a lot of hype, a lot of investment, growth and attention. Growth is radical and accelerated. Although this technology can be used to completely change some processes, many people have very different views on growth. "
He discussed the challenges faced by some metal additive manufacturing markets, the huge differences between the metal additive manufacturing hardware and the sales of metal powders. Dunham said that people's views on metal 3D printers are very different from machine tool systems. "At present, the use of the machine is different from other popular manufacturing tools, so people still regard it as a relatively long-term thing, still need a lot of development and perfection, and they are not necessarily the right tools for mass production," he explained.
Between 2014 and 2016, the average sales of metal 3D printing equipment was slightly lower than 30% of the total sales of all 3D printers, and then climbed to near average levels, but now it has declined again. According to SmarTech's report, non-metallic 3D printers are still the main source of hardware sales, but we should see 50% of metal equipment and non-metallic equipment sales in mid-2020, and even more metal.
SmarTech's theory is that this major change is due to the current two-tier market scenario. The advanced market focuses on industrial applications and high-volume production; while the traditional market may be similar to the factory floor, such as injection molding and tool inserts, fixtures and fixtures, prototype or limited medical and dental models, and high-volume disposable Components. These markets are important, but each market is very different.
The advanced application market will soon grow, and the value of the additive manufacturing hardware sold will exceed $ 4 billion. Dunham explained: "We think that the growth of metal equipment exceeds that of polymer equipment, which is why people are so concerned about metal 3D printing."
So, what is the reason for the growth of the metal additive manufacturing market? Dunham said that hardware sales are "a good indicator of the industry's development pulse", and the "border" of metal 3D printing is expanding, just like some new companies that have emerged in recent years, and traditional manufacturing companies that have first adopted 3D printing technology. Newer companies such as Desktop Metal, HP, Markforged, Trumpf and VELO3D are "challengers" in the entire 3D printing industry.
Next, he talked about metal 3D printing services. Dunham said: "Metal 3D printing service is a great opportunity, but it is not as big as we think, nor as big as the polymer service market. However, the application of metal additive manufacturing in the healthcare industry is very important, and Will continue to grow.
Dunham showed a slide about powder bed fusion technology and pointed out that the dental industry is already very mature in adopting additive manufacturing.
The adhesive spraying process is currently commonly used for processing tools, and SmarTech predicts that the application in prototyping and end-use components will increase. In addition to prototypes, powder-based DED 3D printing is currently "seriously biased" towards end-use components and has a good future vision.
Talking about the market value of 3D printing metal parts for production, Dunham said that this number is "difficult to allocate", but it may end up at around $ 5 billion. He said: "By 2025, we expect all metal 3D printed parts to exceed 20 billion. In terms of metal additive manufacturing applications, the healthcare industry is leading, with crown and bridge structures and hip implant components At the top of the list. Others include repairing high-value turbine blades and aircraft parts, valves and pumps in the oil and gas and energy sectors, and medium-sized industrial components.
Dunham concluded that the metal additive manufacturing is constantly exerting value, but the cost of equipment and printing are very high, and it needs to be combined with other processes to achieve greater potential.
Subsequently, Dunham also released the SmarTech medical 3D printing forecast, named "Healthcare – the Backbone of Additive Manufacturing." He said: "In the field of healthcare, the applications of additive manufacturing are very diverse."
He pointed out that AMS 2020 has a theme to study business cases, which is why it is so focused on dental and plastic surgery 3D printing applications.
Excluding software, the healthcare component of the additive manufacturing market (including medical and dental applications) will exceed US $ 3 billion, occupying a very important market position. Healthcare "At least in the next few years or even decades, it will be an important field of 3D printing applications."
Compared with other industries, dentistry "is generally quite mature in additive manufacturing". If you are looking for metal additive manufacturing used in healthcare, implants in the orthopedic field are also starting to increase.
Dunham said: "Collect clinical evidence for these implants, the longer the results, the better." He pointed out that this will help the medical field have confidence in metal 3D printing.
So far, the driving force for non-metallic 3D printed implants has not been great, but SmarTech believes that this will happen, such as ceramics and other materials, especially craniofacial (CMF) implants.
There are many commercial use cases for metal orthopedic 3D printed implants. Although the hip joint is still leading, about one-third of the 3D printed implants now manufactured are spine. The forecast for 2025 shows more diversification of applications, and hip implants will no longer be the most important application.
Dunham said: "We expect dental clinics to have good prospects."
Dunham put together a slide showing the data for 2018 and forecasted the data by 2027, sales of materials and hardware for dental applications.