The growth of 3-D printing is beginning to get serious.
International Data Corp. (IDC) reported that 3-D printer hardware and materials
were a $2.5 billion market in 2014 that increased 20% in 2015.
IDC also predicted that spending on 3-D in the
education market will rise to more than $500 million over the next three
years. However, most of the spending will focus on materials needed to operate
the printers rather than the machines themselves.
Sales of printers that retail for less than $1,000 are
projected to jump by 12% through 2020, while professional-grade printers are
expected to surge by 20% or more, according to a report for Campus Technology. The higher-grade units made up 75% of total shipments in
2015.
“People
and companies that are adopting 3-D printers are routinely realizing tremendous
time and cost savings in their product-creation and -development cycles,” said
IDC Research Director Tim Greene. “As printer speeds increase and the range of
materials expands, a growing number of products and parts, and therefore
markets, will be impacted by 3-D printing/additive manufacturing. Already, the
3-D printer mix in the U.S. has changed over the last 12-24 months. While there
are still a lot of shipments into the do-it-yourself and consumer market,
tremendous growth remains in the segments with a more professional and
manufacturing orientation.”
