Wohlers Associates

Industry Briefing
May 2007

3D Printer Sales Driving Industry Growth

Wohlers Associates has been tracking the developments and trends in additive fabrication, also known as rapid prototyping, since 1988. Average unit (system) sales growth, compounded annually, was 37.4 percent over the past 18 years. Annual unit sales have grown by more than 26 times—157 units to 4,165—from 1993 to 2006.

The popularity of 3D printers is driving the growth of the industry. 3D printers are low-cost variations of additive systems that are office friendly, easier to use, and less expensive to operate. 3D printing grew from nothing to nearly 15 percent of the installed base in its first four years. 3D printers sold over the past four years (2003–2006) represent 68 percent of the total number of additive systems installed during this period.

An estimated 77.4 percent of the 3D printers sold in 2006 came from Stratasys and Z Corp. Additive systems from these two companies have been the most popular in recent years and have led much of the industry’s growth. Well over half (57 percent) of the Stratasys installed base was shipped in the past three years, even though the company has been shipping systems for 16 years. Nearly half (48.8 percent) of the Z Corp. installed base was shipped in the past two years. Z Corp. has been shipping systems for 11 years.

Note: The previous information was excerpted from Wohlers Report 2007, a global study that became available earlier this month. The 220-page report focuses on the advances in 3D printing, prototyping, additive fabrication, and rapid manufacturing worldwide. It includes new developments and business opportunities, industry growth estimates and forecasts, emerging industrial applications, research and development, and what the future holds. A detailed overview of the report, as well as additional information on the market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com.

Will Fab@Home Succeed?

Fab@Home has been receiving a lot of attention lately. What is it? Fab@Home is an open source 3D printer development at Cornell University. Hod Lipson, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Evan Malone, a PhD candidate in Lipson’s Computational Synthesis Lab, are working together on the project. The plans for the machine are available at http://fabathome.org or anyone to download. Also, a kit is available from Koba Industries, a machine shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for $2,975.

About a dozen people are building one and three are complete and running, according to a March 5, 2007 story published by The Engineer Online, a web-based publication in the UK that quoted Lipson. Two of the assembled machines are at the University of Washington and one is in Innsbruck, Austria.

To some degree, the academic project has already succeeded. Will it become commercially viable? It may, if on-going improvements are made to the system. Currently, the quality of the parts from the machine is questionable. At fabathome.org, you can see parts made from silicone rubber, chocolate, and cake icing. Part quality aside, I believe that engineers, students, and others would enjoy assembling and experimenting with the machine and custom tailoring the process for a specific application and/or material. If the momentum continues, the development could grow into something much bigger and of commercial interest.

Lipson and Malone refer to the 3D printer as a “fabber,” a term that was introduced about 15 years ago. It received a cool reception back then and few have since warmed up to it. With the attention that Fab@Home has been getting, the guys at Cornell could popularize the term. More importantly, they could popularize 3D printing among those who would never consider a more expensive system.

Note: Wohlers Talk is a blog that offers views, perspective, and commentary related to rapid product development and a wide range of other topics. More than 120 commentaries have been published since February 2003. To view them, visit http://wohlersassociates.com/blog.