Additive manufacturing: technologies, applications and market assessment

As seen in previous chapters, the world of 3D printing is very articulated and complex; there are many technologies and machines that allow for taking advantage of this process in different ways depending on the needs: it is possible to create objects of various sizes, materials, and characteristics.
According to the finest technology experts, 3D printing is going to be one of the rising technologies that will impact our lives in the next 10-20 years. The global 3D printing market is expected to reach roughly USD 98.31 billion by 2032, up from USD 17.38 billion in 2022, and to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.92% between 2023 and 2032 (source: Precedence Research).

Globally, 2.2 million 3D printers were shipped in 2021, with exports expected to hit 21.5 million shares by 2030. Aggressive R&D in three-dimensional printing, as well as rising demand for prototype tools from a variety of industries, including automotive, healthcare, aerospace, and defence, are expected to drive market expansion.
The producers of 3D printers and software have grown a lot, not only for industrial uses but also a market for domestic use is developing, thanks to the lowering of prices, above all from 2009 onwards with the expiry of the patent on the FDM, which makes the 3D printer accessible to all.
Reducing the cost of these devices is a crucial factor driving the rise of the 3D printing market sales. The average price of a consumer-grade 3D printer in 2014 was around $2,000. Then, the average price of low-cost 3D printers fell below $400, and now it's even hitting $100. This price fall makes 3D printers more affordable to a broader spectrum of consumers and enterprises, which is helping to boost sales growth. Industrial and professional 3D printers starting prices, on the other hand, have dropped to roughly $10,000 and $1,000, respectively, from more than $20,000 in 2015. Of course, there are very expensive industrial 3D printers yet, reaching prices as $100,000 or $250,000.

Additive manufacturing, thanks to its flexibility characteristics, is a technology used in different sectors and with different applications. The applications of this technology can be divided, as shown in Figure 4.2, into: the capital goods sector, which has the most components, accounts for 19%, followed by the aerospace sector (18%). Other prominent sectors include automotive (15%), which has historically driven the diffusion of technology, biomedical (11%), and consumer goods (13%).
In terms of geographical distribution, North America has the major uses (34%), most of which are in the United States, the country of origin of the technology. Divided by one percentage point, Europe (29%) and Asia-Pacific (28%) come next, with Italy accounting for approximately 3 % of global applications. A graph of the geographical distribution of AM is shown in Figure 4.3.
The main application, for which components made by additive manufacturing are intended, is the construction of definitive parts (23%), certainly one of the most interesting and rapidly growing applications (it is estimated that in 2030 it will be at 38%). This is followed by the use for assembly tests (prototypes), demonstrating the continuous improvement of the performance of the materials used. Other applications that account for a significant percentage comprise education and research, project visualization, the creation of inserts for molds, and the creation of conceptual models for tooling.