Wohlers Associates

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wohlers Report 2004 Finds Unprecedented Growth in
Low-End Rapid Prototyping Machine Sales

Rapid Prototyping Industry Reverses Its Downward Trend

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, USA, May 11, 2004—Wohlers Associates, Inc. today announced the availability of Wohlers Report 2004, a worldwide progress report on the rapid prototyping, tooling, and manufacturing state of the industry. The report covers all facets of the industry, including business, product, market, technology, research, and application. Forty-five experts, 42 service providers, 28 system manufacturers, and countless others assisted with its development. To support the review and analysis, the softbound publication includes 23 charts and graphs, 38 tables, 79 photographs and illustrations, and seven appendices.

Last year, the rapid prototyping industry reversed its downward trend, the 270-page report reveals. Revenues returned to levels of the past, with product revenues gaining impressively. “Low-end machine sales soared to unprecedented heights, with 3D printers becoming the crown jewel of the RP industry,” stated Terry Wohlers, principal author of the report and president of Wohlers Associates. “With the increase in the number of machines sold and installed, the total number of models being produced annually also grew,” he explained. (See the following graph.) “Consequently, material sales were strong.”

The release of the new report coincides with the Society of Manufacturing Engineer’s Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing 2004 Conference and Exposition, which began today and ends May 13 here in Dearborn. In today’s plenary session, Terry Wohlers presented highlights of the report in his annual State of the Industry address. RP&M 2004 marks the 12th consecutive year in which Wohlers has presented his views, analysis, and opinions on this constantly changing industry at the RP&M event.

In today’s presentation and in the report, Wohlers explained that Stratasys is inching its way toward dominance as it unseats 3D Systems as the king of rapid prototyping. And Z Corporation has moved up to the number two position in annual unit sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to maintain its grip on both the production and consumption of RP systems.

The new report sells for $425 in the U.S. and $445 in all other countries. The report’s table of contents, as well as additional information on the RP market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com.

Wohlers Associates, Inc. is an 18-year-old independent consulting firm that works closely with manufacturing organizations to identify the best approaches to rapid product development. As the company’s principal consultant, Terry Wohlers tracks new methods and technologies and determines a strategic direction that gives companies an edge. His highly sought-after views and opinions come from years of collecting and analyzing market data, coupled with work as an advisor to major organizations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

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Report Development Team

The following 45 individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers Report 2004 and served as important sources for information.

Paulo Jorge Bártolo	Institute Polytechnic of Leiria (Portugal)
Joseph Beaman	University of Texas at Austin
Alain Bernard	Ecole Centrale de Nantes (France)
Paul Besl	General Motors
Nico Blessing	FhG Institute for Mfg. Eng. & Automation (Germany)
David Bourell	University of Texas at Austin
Tim Caffrey	Caffrey Consulting
Andy Christensen	Medical Modeling LLC
Vesna Cota	Tyco Electronics Canada Ltd. (Canada)
Deon de Beer	Technikon Free State (South Africa)
Jonas de Carvalho	University of São Paulo – São Carlos (Brazil)
Carl Dekker	Met-L-Flo Inc.
Philip Dickens	Loughborough University (England)
Mike Durham	Accelerated Technologies
Jim Gentrup	Provident Equity Research
Vito Gervasi	Milwaukee School of Engineering
Ian Gibson	University of Hong Kong (China)
Tim Gornet	University of Louisville
Joe Greco	Greco Consulting
Andrzej Grzesiak	FhG Institute for Mfg. Eng. & Automation (Germany)
Richard Hague	Loughborough University (England)
Russ Harris	Loughborough University (England)
Berndt Holmer	IVF Industrial Research and Development Corp. (Sweden)
Neil Hopkinson	Loughborough University (England)
Masato Imamura	Sintokogio Ltd. (Japan)
Luca Iuliano	Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
Rik Knoppers	TNO Industrial Technology (The Netherlands)
Tahar Laoui	University of Leuven (Belgium)
Candice Majewski	Loughborough University (England)
Bent Mieritz	Danish Technological Institute (Denmark)
Bill Morgan	Plastech, a division of Mobile Area Networks, Inc.
Tom Mueller	Express Pattern
Claire Reed	Wohlers Associates, Inc.
Joel Segal	University of Nottingham (England)
Michael Siemer	Walt Disney World Company
Adam Smith	Utah State University
Geoff Smith-Moritz	CAD/CAM Publishing
Rupert Soar	Loughborough University (England)
Tom Sorovetz	DaimlerChrysler
Brent Stucker	Utah State University
Chris Tuck	Loughborough University (England)
Jukka Tuomi	Helsinki University of Technology (Finland)
Jonas Van Vaerenbergh	University of Leuven (Belgium)
Pamela Waterman	EngineeringInk
David Wimpenny	De Montfort University (England)