Wohlers Associates

Industry Briefing
May 2002

Number of Models Being Produced

Despite a decline in overall industry growth, RP users worldwide produced an estimated 3.55 million models and prototype parts in 2001. This is up 18.3% from the 3 million models produced in 2000. An estimated 2.34 million and 1.86 million parts were produced in 1999 and 1998, respectively.

Wohlers Associates believes that the contrast of growth in part production to the stagnation of system sales is in part due to equipment and material enhancements. These improvements offer higher throughput from the same number of systems. Other factors include improved capacity utilization and the growth in the concept modeling segment of the industry.

Installations by Country

The U.S. has the highest percentage, by far, of system installations worldwide. The U.S. is followed by Japan, Germany, and China. In contrast to the steadfast hold the U.S. has on system sales, its lead in installations continues to decrease. Since 1998, the U.S. has fallen from 48.9% of the world market to 42.8% in 2001.

This information was taken from Wohlers Report 2002, a worldwide progress report on the rapid prototyping and tooling state of the industry. This new 250-page study (released last week) covers all facets of rapid prototyping, including business, product, market, technology, and applications. Forty-nine professionals, 47 service providers, 25 system manufacturers, and countless others assisted with its development. The report contains many new sections, including a matrix that compares 24 methods of tooling.

For details on Wohlers Report 2002, visit http://wohlersassociates.com. Brief information on the new report has been attached. If you have questions or need additional information, let me know.