Focus on Material Wastage Reduction Propelling Demand for 3D Printing Materials

To meet the challenges in producing complex objects and reduce material wastage and operational cost and time, industrialists are embracing additive manufacturing. Unlike traditional processes in which the material, such as a metal sheet, is first portioned into the required size and shape and then the scrap is brought together and formed into a new sheet, additive manufacturing adds the material layer by layer onto each other. This not only reduces material wastage and the time in reforming the scrap into the bulk material, but also allows for the manufacturing of more-complex products.

Thus, the 3D printing materials market is forecast by P&S Intelligence to grow to $1,365.6 million by 2023 from $558.4 million in 2017, at a 16.7% CAGR between 2018 and 2023. This is because additive manufacturing is essentially 3D printing, which is accomplished by a 3D printer. First, the product to be created is designed on computer-aided design (CAD) software, after which slicer or slicing software converts the 3D image into instructions for the printer. Hence, with the increasing usage of 3D printing across industries, the demand for the various materials used for the process will grow.

Among the numerous industries using this manufacturing method is automotive. With the increasing disposable income in China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and many other developing countries, the demand for vehicles is rising. This is leading to the setting up of new automotive plants and increment in the production output of the existing ones. To design automotive parts, which are becoming increasingly complicated, 3D printing is being rapidly adopted. Additionally, 3D printing is an energy-efficient process, which creates lightweight parts. With the increasing focus on fuel economy driving the need to cut down the vehicle weight, the usage of 3D printing is rising in the auto sector.

The categories under the type segment of the 3D printing materials market are metals, plastics, ceramics, and others, which includes stones, wood, marble, sand, edible materials, and waxes. Among these, the largest share during 2013–2017 (historical period), in terms of volume, was held by the plastics category, owing to the easy availability and cost-effectiveness of the material. In addition, the resistance to abrasion, shock, temperature, physical deformation, and chemicals, high versatility, durability, exceptional flexibility, and high elasticity of plastics are prized in several industries.

All these 3D printing materials are available in the form of filaments, liquids, and powders, with powders being the most preferred by end users presently. Powdered materials are widely used to manufacture large and dense parts that are important in the military, oil and gas, and aerospace industries, owing to the high-temperature resistance of powders. Owing to this reason, the demand for powdered 3D printing materials will increase at the highest rate around the world in the years to come.

North America dominated the 3D printing materials market in 2017 due to its vast manufacturing industry and higher usage of additive manufacturing than other regions. In addition, the continent is home to the largest aerospace sector in the world, which has driven the adoption of the 3D printing technology since its emergence. During the forecast period, the highest CAGR in the market is projected to be observed by Asia-Pacific (APAC). This is ascribed to the increasing investments in research and development (R&D) by private companies and governments and rising demand for customized products.

Thus, as the manufacturing sector advances and embraces the additive manufacturing technology, it will require much more 3D printing materials than presently.

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