Global Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

Global Polymer Additive Manufacturing Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

Additive manufacturing (AM) permits the fabrication of fully customized objects with a high level of geometrical complexity at reduced fabrication time and cost. And polymers have become a widely researched class of materials for applications in AM.

Market Overview:

The latest research study on the global Polymer Additive Manufacturing market finds that the global Polymer Additive Manufacturing market reached a value of USD 9679.38 million in 2022. It’s expected that the market will achieve USD 15576.79 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.25% during the forecast period.

Influence of COVID-19 Outbreak on Polymer Additive Manufacturing Industry Development

The raging COVID-19 plunged the global economic environment into depression. The impact of COVID-19 on the polymer additive manufacturing industry will involve all major links and all entities in the industry chain. The company's management efficiency has declined, commuting has been severely hindered, production plans have been severely hindered, network expansion has been delayed, marketing has been delayed, brand adjustments have been forced, market sales have declined, and company and employee revenue have declined. The government has also put forward higher requirements for the production and operation of enterprises.
In the short term, from the supply side, the company's operating pressure will increase due to postponement of workers' arrival and logistics and transportation issues. In the long run, as the epidemic gradually improves or ends, the impact on the polymer additive manufacturing industry will gradually weaken. Production and sales will return to the original level and gradually increase.
Due to the epidemic situation, many countries have imposed controls on domestic transportation and the movement of people, and imposed restrictions on imported goods. This has led to various levels of logistics disruption, cargo accumulation and transportation delays. At present, the logistics industry in various countries is gradually recovering operations according to different national policies. It is expected that after the epidemic is further controlled, it will basically return to normal.

Strength

Polymer AM has several benefits that drive the growth of this industry. AM allows for the creation of lighter, more complex designs that would be too difficult or too expensive using traditional molds, dies, milling and machining. Because the digital-to-digital process eliminates traditional intermediate steps, changes can be made on the fly. AM offers a more dynamic, design-driven process than the relative tedium of traditional prototyping. Printing with multiple materials is increasingly possible due to recent technological advances that have reduced manufacturing costs and simplified the development of custom products.
Multiple demands. The additive manufacturing industry chain consists of several links, including raw materials, core hardware and auxiliary operating software or equipment in the upstream, additive manufacturing equipment in the midstream, and specific applications in aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, and medical in the downstream. Polymer AM will be application-driven, with the industry shifting its focus to finding the right applications for 3D printing, and more and more companies are establishing R&D and materials production facilities to help further drive the technology's industrialization. Driving innovation in 3D printing through applications is a contributing factor. Once ideal industry applications for 3D printing have been identified, materials manufacturers will work to develop and certify new materials suitable for those applications.

Weakness

High costs. The main barriers to faster adoption remain available materials, manufacturing speed and size, and the cost of parts and machines. there are many reasons why the cost of materials for 3D printing is still high. One is the relatively low total amount of material available for shipping. Another is that most available 3D printing materials are proprietary, requiring users to purchase them directly from 3D printer manufacturers themselves. This has created a monopoly in the 3D printing materials market, for which manufacturers pay a high price. While these additive manufacturing implications are particularly beneficial for certain manufacturing activities, the current state of 3D printing often makes the technology unsuitable for mass production of simple parts. However, there are some key developments that could help reduce material prices. One is the growing use of 3D printing in mass production. As 3D printing production volumes increase, this will lead to lower material costs.
Each technology and material serve a portion of the market. The industrialization of polymer additive manufacturing has realized much promise in the past few years, and the industry still faces many challenges. Technology continues to move forward in a variety of ways, particularly in the area of end-to-end workflow automation and optimization. Some of the most significant advances and achievements in the polymer additive manufacturing market have been documented in materials science and the development/optimization of new materials for current technologies. Despite continued progress, materials development for 3D printing continues to be slower than one might expect. A major obstacle to greater material diversity is the proprietary nature of many 3D printable materials. Many 3D printer manufacturers have developed their machines to work exclusively with materials that they have developed in-house. This limits the opportunities for their customers to use third-party materials. Proprietary material models often result in higher material prices and a slower pace of innovation for new material formulations. One possible solution to overcome these limitations is an open materials model. This model encourages major material producers to collaborate with 3D printer manufacturers and develop new materials for their systems. This approach has two main benefits. First, it helps expand the range of material options available to end users. Second, it speeds up the materials development process.

Company Overview:

Stratasys is one of the major players operating in the Polymer Additive Manufacturing market, holding a share of 4.32% in 2021.

Stratasys is a provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing (AM) solutions for the creation of parts used in the processes of designing and manufacturing products and for the direct manufacture of end parts. The Company's solutions include products ranging from entry-level desktop 3D printers to systems for rapid prototyping (RP) and production systems for direct digital manufacturing (DDM).

3D Systems is an additive manufacturing solutions company. The Company is principally engaged in providing three-dimensional (3D) printing and digital manufacturing solutions. Its products and solutions include 3D printers for plastics and metals, materials, software, maintenance and training services, and on demand solutions. Its solutions support applications in two key industry verticals: Healthcare, which includes dental and medical devices services; and Industrial, which includes aerospace and transportation. The Company offers a range of 3D printing technologies, including Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Direct Metal Printing (DMP), MultiJet Printing (MJP) and ColorJet Printing (CJP). The Company also offers 3D virtual reality simulators and simulator modules for medical applications.

Segmentation Overview:

Among different product types, Vat Photopolymerization segment is anticipated to contribute the largest market share in 2027.

Application Overview:

By application, the Industrial segment occupied the biggest share from 2017 to 2022.

Key Companies in the global Polymer Additive Manufacturing market covered in Chapter 3:

Prodways
BASF
UnionTech
Mitsubishi
voxeljet
EOS
Covestro
Henkel
Roboze
Lehmann & Voss
Farsoon
EnvisionTEC
Formlabs
3D Systems
Stratasys
Ultimaker
Solvay
SABIC
Arkema
Carbon
HP Inc.
Essentium
Shining

In Chapter 4 and Chapter 14.2, on the basis of types, the Polymer Additive Manufacturing market from 2018 to 2029 is primarily split into:

Polymer Powder Bed Fusion
Vat Photopolymerization
Material Extrusion
Material Jetting
Binder Jetting

In Chapter 5 and Chapter 14.3, on the basis of Downstream Industry, the Polymer Additive Manufacturing market from 2018 to 2029 covers:

Transportation
Industrial
Life Sciences
Military and Aerospace
Consumer

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, historic and forecast (2018-2029) of the following regions are covered in Chapter 8 to Chapter 14:

North America (United States, Canada)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden)
Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia)
Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)
Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa)