3D Printing Industry Expected to Top $6.5 Billion in Revenue in 2016

The 3D printing market got a shot in the arm this week as HP began taking orders for its long-awaited HP Jet Fusion 3D printer.  HP claims its printer is faster than existing 3D printers and more cost-effective.  Using a proprietary technology, the printer is targeted at industrial customers for mass production.  The HP Jet Fusion currently only prints in nylon (but will accommodate other materials in the future), and involves post-processing of printed items, requiring another purchase in addition to the printer itself.
 
Media attention helps further accelerate the 3D printing industry's momentum.  Despite being several decades old, this industry is still young in terms of potential.  A new report from Semico Research, 3D Printing:  The Next Industrial Revolution 2016 Update, forecasts that revenues for the industry--including printers, services, and materials--will eclipse $6.5 billion in 2016.  That figure will almost triple by 2021. 
 
"3D Printing has captured the imagination of many, with the possibility of starting a manufacturing revolution," says Adrienne Downey, Director of Technology Research. "New applications and materials are announced on a very frequent basis.  3D printing is being used in many more applications than most people realize.  But the most exciting applications for 3D printing are the ones that haven't even been conceived of yet."
 
Key findings of the report include:

• The top two 3D printer players alone accounted for almost $1.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2015. 
• As the installed base grows larger, materials will make up a larger and larger portion of the total market revenue reaching 38% by 2021.
• 3D printer unit volumes will surpass 3.5 million units by 2021.
• Regionally, Europe continues to be a strong market for 3D printing, while Asia-Pac is still relatively weak due to macroeconomic concerns. 

In its recent report, 3D Printing:  The Next Industrial Revolution 2016 Update (MA103-16), Semico Research provides 5-year revenue and unit forecasts for the total 3D printing market including printers, services, and materials.  Readers will see which market segments are growing fastest and what the latest trends are in the 3D Printing market, the growing ecosystem, and technical innovations, as well as reviews of the top 3D printing companies.

Semico is a semiconductor marketing & consulting research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. Semico was founded in 1994 by a group of semiconductor industry experts. We have improved the validity of semiconductor product forecasts via technology roadmaps in end-use markets. Semico offers custom consulting, portfolio packages, individual market research studies and premier industry conferences.