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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wohlers Report 2007 Finds Extraordinary

Growth in Additive Fabrication

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA, May 1, 2007—Wohlers Associates, Inc. today released its most recent findings in Wohlers Report 2007, an in-depth global study on the state of the 3D printing, additive fabrication, and rapid manufacturing industry. Wohlers Associates has been tracking the developments and trends in additive fabrication, also known as rapid prototyping, since 1988. According to the report, average unit (machine) 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,” said Terry Wohlers, principal author of Wohlers Report 2007 and president of Wohlers Associates. 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,” Wohlers added. 3D printers sold over the past four years (2003–2006) represent 68 percent of the total number of additive systems installed during this period, according to the new report.

The report reveals that 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.

Rapid manufacturing—the direct production of finished goods from additive fabrication—is the next frontier. Many companies in the aerospace, motor sports, medical, dental, and consumer product industries are now using additive processes for custom and short-run production. Wohlers Associates believes that rapid manufacturing will eventually grow to become the largest application of additive fabrication. Wohlers Report 2007 cites a wide range of industrial examples of rapid manufacturing.

The release of the new report coincides with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ RAPID 2007 Conference and Exposition, which began today and ends May 3 here in Detroit. Mr. Wohlers anchored this morning's plenary session with highlights from the new report in his 15th annual State of the Industry address.

Wohlers Report 2007 covers all facets of the industry, including business, product, market, technology, research, and application. Fifty co-authors, 56 service providers, and 29 system manufacturers assisted with its development. To support the review and analysis, the softbound publication includes 32 charts and graphs, 47 tables, 97 photographs and illustrations, and eight appendices.

The new 220-page report sells for $475 in the U.S. and $495 in all other countries. The report’s table of contents, as well as additional information on the market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com.

Wohlers Associates, Inc. is a 20-year-old independent consulting firm that works closely with manufacturing organizations to identify the best approaches to rapid product development. The company has provided consulting assistance to 140 organizations in 19 countries around the world.

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The following is the front cover of the new report. Click here for
a larger image of the report’s front cover.

Report Development Team
The following individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers Report 2007
and served as important sources for information.

Mukesh Agarwala	3D Product Development (India)
Paulo Jorge Bártolo	Institute Polytechnic of Leiria (Portugal)
Joseph Beaman	University of Texas at Austin
Alain Bernard	Ecole Centrale de Nantes (France)
David Bourell	University of Texas at Austin
Tim Caffrey	Seventh Son Creative Services
Ian Campbell	Loughborough University (England)
Andy Christensen	Medical Modeling LLC
Rob Connelly	FineLine Prototyping
Kenneth Cooper	NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Vesna Cota	Tyco Electronics (Canada)
Deon de Beer	Central University of Technology, Free State (South Africa)
Dena Braun	Alchemy Models Inc.
Carl Dekker	Met-L-Flo Inc.
Philip Dickens	Loughborough University (England)
Thierry Dormal	CRIF (Belgium)
Mike Durham	Accelerated Technologies
Boris Fritz	Northrop Grumman
Ping Fu	Geomagic, Inc.
Vito Gervasi	Milwaukee School of Engineering
Ian Gibson	National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Tim Gornet	University of Louisville
Andrzej Grzesiak	FhG Institute for Mfg. Eng. & Automation (Germany)
Joan Guasch	ASCAMM (Spain)
Richard Hague	Loughborough University (England)
Axel Henning	FhG Institute for Mfg. Eng. & Automation (Germany)
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)
Olivier Jay	Danish Technological Institute (Denmark)
Troy Jensen	Piper Jaffray
Rik Knoppers	Promolding (The Netherlands)
Toshihiko Maeda	NTT Data Engineering Systems Corp. (Japan)
Greg Morris	Morris Technologies
Tom Mueller	Express Pattern
Takeo Nakagawa	Fine Tech Corp. (Japan)
Charlie Norton	NCP Leasing, Inc.
G.D. Janaki Ram	Utah State University
Jeffrey Rowe	Cairowest Digital Development
Max Ruffo	Loughborough University (England)
Joel Segal	University of Nottingham (England)
Michael Siemer	Mydea Technologies
Brent Stucker	Utah State University
Chris Sutcliffe	University of Liverpool (England)
Chris Tuck	Loughborough University (England)
Jukka Tuomi	Helsinki University of Technology (Finland)
Jonas Van Vaerenbergh	Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
Millan Yeung	National Research Council (Canada)
David Wimpenny	De Montfort University (England)