Wohlers Associates

Industry Briefing
December 2004

Last year, 28 manufacturers around the world sold systems for rapid prototyping (RP) and related applications. Ten of them sold fewer than 10 machines each and only six sold more than 50 each. Some of the companies introduced new machines last year, but not as many as the year before. For many companies, business was as good or better than the year before. Seventeen of the companies improved their unit sales from 2002 to 2003, but 11 did not.

The U.S. leads in the production and sales of these systems. More than three quarters (76.2%) of the systems sold in 2003 came from U.S. manufacturers, down 0.8% from 2002. China’s segment grew from 2.7% in 2002 to 3.5% in 2003. Meanwhile, Japan’s share declined from 11.7% to 9.2%.

Some companies are betting their future on systems for rapid manufacturing (RM) applications. The idea behind RM is to manufacture series production parts in quantities of one to several thousand pieces directly on the machines.

Indeed, RM has a promising future, with a compelling list of potential benefits. Tooling is eliminated, thus reducing substantial time and cost. Other powerful advantages that result from the absence of tooling include increased design freedom, custom products, just-in-time production, and decentralization of production.

The previous information was taken from Wohlers Report 2004, 270-page global market study. The report's table of contents, as well as additional information on the RP market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com.

Wohlers Talk: Growth is in the Forecast

"This year will be good for the economy, and 2005 will be better," said John McEleney, president of SolidWorks Corp., in a article published in the September 16, 2004 issue of Machine Design magazine. McEleney reported that companies are spending more and updating CAD systems to support their launch of new products. If he is right, rapid prototyping sales should also do well, which is consistent with a forecast published by Wohlers Associates. The RP industry is expected to grow from $529 million in 2003 to $586 million this year, according to Wohlers Report 2004. In 2005, the industry will top $655 million, the report states.

McEleney went on to say that a growing world economy, due to higher prices, mass customization, and a migration from 2D to 3D within design departments will influence growth. Four of five 2D users, he claims, will be using 3D soon. In January 2003, 38% of design data was sent and received in a 3D format, McEleney said. One year later, that number increased to 51%. He did not indicate the types of individuals or organizations that participated in the survey.

Note: Wohlers Talk is a web log (blog) that offers views, perspective, and commentary related to rapid product development and other topics of interest. Fifty-four commentaries have been published since February 2003. To view them, visit http://wohlersassociates.com and click "Wohlers Talk."

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On December 7, 2004, the CAD industry lost a good friend. Joe Greco, a well-known author and consultant, died of cardiac arrest. Joe had written hundreds of articles on CAD and related topics for popular industry publications. He was a friend of Wohlers Associates for most of its 18 years and he worked closely with the company the past four years to determine CAD solid modeling growth trends for publication in its annual Wohlers Report. He was 41.