Wohlers Report 2007
State of the Industry
Annual Worldwide Progress Report    
ISBN 0-9754429-3-7

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Acknowledgments

About the author

Focus of this report

Introduction to additive fabrication

PART 1: BACKGROUND

History of additive fabrication

Introduction of non-SL systems

Introduction of 3D printers

New generation machines

The past 12 months

Early inventions

Industries and regions benefiting from the technology

How companies are applying additive processes
Installations by country

Applications

Communication
Engineering changes
Powerful ideas and proposals
Concept models
Verifying CAD databases
Styling and ergonomics
Fit and functional testing
Prototyping
Metal castings
Requests for quotes

Tooling
Manufacturing of parts
Unlimited potential

PART 2: INDUSTRY GROWTH

Revenue growth and forecasts

Revenues from products and services
Annual revenue growth percentages
Material sales
Revenues from service providers
Secondary market
Revenues from other services

Unit sales growth and forecasts

Unit sales growth percentages
Stratasys widens its lead
Systems sold by region
Cumulative systems sold by region
Market shares by U.S. manufacturers
Cumulative market shares by manufacturer
Unit sales by manufacturer and year
3D printer sales

Service providers

Process popularity

Slowing decline
Improving conditions

The future

Service providers adapt
What's ahead

PART 3: SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS

Arcam

Concept Laser

Cubic Technologies

Desktop Factory

Envisiontec

EOS

New systems

Latest materials

Ex One

MCP

Next Factory

Objet Geometries

Optomec

Phenix Systems

POM

ProMetal

Solidica

Solidimension

Solidscape

Sony

Speed Part

Stratasys

Expanded distribution

Products and services

Other developments

3D Systems

V-Flash

Other products

New developments

Trumpf

Voxeljet

Z Corp.

New systems

Latest materials

Other developments

Others

Investor update

Revenues and earnings
Outlook

PART 4: ASIA AND EUROPE

Asia

Strong activity

Northern Asia
Southeast Asia
Industrial sectors and applications

Chinese system manufacturers

Korean system manufacturers

India

Japan

State of the industry

Stereolithography remains popular

Acceptance of other additive processes

Microstereolithography
3D printers
Tooling and the role of service providers
CAD solid modeling
The future

Europe

United Kingdom
Italy

Germany

France
Spain

Portugal

Sweden
Finland
Denmark
The Netherlands
Belgium

Other regions

South Africa

Canada
Groups and associations

PART 5: METAL PARTS AND TOOLING

Direct metal fabrication

Laser-based, powder-bed systems 
Powder deposition systems 
Other approaches
Need for materials testing

Cast metal parts

Investment casting 
Sand, V-Process, and plaster mold casting 
LS, ProMetal, and ZCast
Die casting

Tooling solutions

High-performance tooling

Indirect tooling approaches

RSP Tooling 
Reconfigurable Tooling Systems 
Other options

Direct approaches

Laser Consolidation 
SLS tooling 
DMLS 
Others

Other options

CNC-machined tooling
Hybrid tooling

Size of tooling market

PART 6: RAPID MANUFACTURING

Another industrial revolution?

Benefits and barriers

Design freedom

Industrial design

Customer-driven design

Part consolidation and optimization

Product personalization

Logistics and supply chains

Applications and industries

Aerospace

Military

Motor sports

Automotive

Machinery

Medical and dental

Consumer products

Art and jewelry

Gifts, awards, and trophies

Future possibilities

When it makes sense

Shape and size
Production volume
Quality

Cost analysis and economics

Production implications

Strategic implications

Challenges and required research

Processes
Materials
Organization, management, and supply chain issues

PART 7: OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Growth of CAD solid modeling

Major trends

Revenue and seat count estimates

Operating systems

What's next?

Materials

LS powders

SL resins

Other materials

Coatings and surface treatments

Rapid manufacturing 
Predicting the performance of injection-molded parts

Medical applications

Medical image-processing software
Materials suited to medical modeling
Additive methods suited to medical modeling

Implantable additive parts
Injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

3D scanning and reverse engineering

3D scanning hardware
Processing software
Applications

Technology
Limitations and other issues
Polygon meshes and surfaces
Caveats and conclusions

PART 8: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Patents

Technology development

Process development

Materials

Applications

Nanomanufacturing

Examples

Approaches

U.S. government-sponsored R&D

National Science Foundation
Meso, micro, and nanoscale technology
Process improvements, material developments, and new applications
Composites, multi-materials, and functionally graded materials
Medicine
Education
National Institutes of Health
Department of Defense
NASA

College and university education and research

Educational activities in additive fabrication
Research and teaching
Future trends and contributions

PART 9: WHERE IT'S ALL HEADED

3D printing for design and modeling

Mainstream systems

Systems for rapid manufacturing

Application areas 
Short-run production
Complex shapes and assemblies
Multi-functional components

Indirect rapid manufacturing

Tooling

Summary 

Where to learn more

Global Alliance of Rapid Prototyping Associations
Rapid Technologies and Additive Manufacturing Community

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Glossary of terms

Appendix B: System and material manufacturers

Canada
China
France
Germany
Israel

Italy
Japan
Korea

Sweden
United States

Appendix C: U.S. system specifications

Appendix D: Systems manufactured outside the U.S.

Appendix E: Material properties

Appendix F: Metal fabrication comparison matrix

Appendix G: 3D scanning systems

Appendix H: 3D scan processing software