Order your copy today!

Wohlers Report 2014

Trends... Analysis... Commentary. Commentary. Additive Manufacturing and 3d Printing State of the Industry Year 2014 Annual Worldwide Progress Report

35

Charts

60

Tables

248

Photographs and Illustrations

Wohlers Report 2014, available as a color PDF, provides a review and analysis of additive manufacturing and 3D printing worldwide.  This edition marks the 19th consecutive year of publication.

Access the Executive Summary before you buy.

Get Access
Access

Complete this form to Access the Executive Summary

Executive Summary PDF Download
Opt-In

ISBN 978-0-9913332-0-2

The 276-page report was written for executive and engineering management, product developers, service providers, researchers, educators, analysts, the investment community, and others interested in 3D printing and additive manufacturing worldwide.

The report was developed with help from 70 co-authors in 24 countries, 82 service providers, 29 system manufacturers, and many others worldwide. To support the review and analysis, the publication includes 35 charts and graphs, 60 tables, and more than 248 images and illustrations.

This study has established a tradition of covering all facets of 3D printing and additive manufacturing, including business, product, market, technology, research, and application.

Wohlers Report 2014, available as a color PDF, provides a review and analysis of additive manufacturing and 3D printing worldwide. This edition marks the 19th consecutive year of publication.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
About the principal authors

PART 1: BACKGROUND

  • Focus of this report
  • Introduction to additive manufacturing and 3D printing
  • History of additive manufacturing
    • May 2012 through October 2012
    • November 2012 to May 2013
  • Industries and regions benefiting from AM processes
    • How companies are applying AM processes
    • Installations by country

PART 2: APPLICATIONS

  • Prototyping
    • Visual aids and presentation models
    • Fit, function, and assembly
  • Tooling
  • Metal casting
  • Architectural
  • Medical
    • Anatomical and surgical models
    • Custom prosthetic design
    • Virtual surgical planning and personalized surgical instruments
    • Custom and off-the -shelf AM-fabricated implants
    • Biocompatibility of AM materials
    • Regulatory clearances of AM products
  • Dental
  • Direct part production
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive and motorsports
    • Medical
    • Avatars and figurines
    • Furniture, home, and office accessories
    • Applications in music
    • Consumer-created products
    • Art and jewelry
    • Gifts, trophies, and memorials
    • Marketing and advertising
    • Museum displays
    • Fashion and high-performance products
  • Future applications

PART 3: PROCESSES AND MATERIALS

  • Processes
    • Material extrusion
    • Material jetting
    • Binder jetting
    • Sheet lamination
    • Vat photopolymerization
    • Powder bed fusion
    • Directed energy deposition
  • Materials
    • Plastics
    • New plastics
    • Metals
    • New metals
    • Composites and hybrid materials
    • Materials for metal casting processes
    • Ceramics and other materials
    • Materials testing and international standards
  • Process/material matrix

PART 4: SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS

  • Arcam
  • Asiga
  • Beijing Tiertime
  • Blueprinter
  • Carima
  • Concept Laser
  • DWS
  • Envisiontec
  • EOS
    • Precious M 080
    • Other business
  • ExOne
  • Innovation MediTech
  • Lithoz
  • Mcor
  • Optomec
  • Phenix Systems
  • Rapid Shape
  • ReaLizer
  • Renishaw
  • SLM Solutions
  • Solidscape
  • Stratasys Ltd.
    • Stratasys and Objet merger
    • New systems
    • Other developments
  • Trumpf
  • 3D Systems
    • Acquisitions
    • New products
    • Personal, professional, and production 3D printers
    • Other business
  • Voxeljet
  • Others in Asia
    • Agilista
    • Aspect
    • Beijing Long Yuan
    • CMET
    • D-MEC
    • Fochif Mechatronics
    • Hunan Farsoon
    • InssTek
    • Matsuura
    • Microjet Technology
    • Shaanxi Hengtong
    • Shanghai Union-tech
    • Trump Precision Machinery
    • Wuhan Binhu
  • Others in Europe and the U.S.
    • BeAM
    • Essential Dynamics
    • DM3D Technology
    • Fabrisonic
    • Sciaky
  • Emerging technologies
    • Aeroswift
    • High speed sintering
    • Digital Metal
    • Ion fusion formation
    • Laser consolidation
    • Printoptical technology
    • Selective laser printing
    • Selective mask sintering
  • Personal 3D printers
    • RepRap project
    • AliBaba
    • Kickstarter and Indiegogo
    • Material recycling
    • Software
    • Aleph Objects
    • Fabbster
    • Formlabs
    • MakerBot Industries
    • RoBo 3D
    • Printrbot
    • Solidoodle
    • Ultimaking
    • Others
    • Comparing personal 3D printers

PART 5: INDUSTRY GROWTH

  • Revenue from AM worldwide
    • Products and services
    • Growth percentages
    • Average selling price
  • Material sales
    • Photopolymers
    • Laser-sintered polymers
    • Metals
  • Service providers
    • Secondary market
  • Market opportunity and forecast
  • Industrial system unit sales
    • Unit sales growth percentages
    • Market shares
    • Systems sold by region
    • Market shares by manufacturer
    • Metal AM systems
    • Unit sales by manufacturer and year
    • Forecast
  • Personal systems
  • Investor update
    • New public companies
    • Revenues and earnings
    • Outlook
  • Service providers
    • Industry survey
    • Steady growth
    • 3D content and on-demand services
    • Shapeways

PART 6: GLOBAL REPORTS

  • Africa
    • South Africa
    • Other countries
  • Asia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Singapore
  • Australasia
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
  • Europe
    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • Netherlands
    • Portugal
    • Russia
    • Slovenia
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • United Kingdom
  • Other regions
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • Turkey

PART 7: DIRECT PART PRODUCTION

  • Changing the way you manufacture
  • Why use AM for production?
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Reduction of tooling
    • Part consolidation
    • Industry standards
  • Design for additive manufacturing
    • A new way of thinking
    • Consumer design
  • Cost analysis and economics
  • Environmental considerations
    • Use of raw material
    • Sustainability implications
    • Distribution and logistics
    • Production by consumers
    • Environmental assessment tools
  • Energy use in AM
  • Intellectural property implications
  • Product liability implications
  • Required research and development
    • Processes
    • Materials and related considerations
    • Organization, management, and supply chain issues

PART 8: FRONT AND BACK-END CONSIDERATIONS

  • CAD solid modeling
    • MCAD in the cloud
    • PLM on the cloud
    • Autodesk moves simulation to the cloud
    • CAD/PLM leaders show anemic revenue growth
    • Seat count estimates
  • Tools for architectural modeling
  • 3D scanning and scan processing
    • Primary uses
    • Current state of 3D measurement
    • Post-processing 3D data
    • Consumer 3D scanning
    • What’s next?
  • Medical imaging and processing software
  • Co-design/co-creation
  • AM software tools
    • STL/AMF file review and repair
    • Lattice structures
    • Topology optimzation
    • KARMA
  • Post-processing
    • Removing material
    • Adding material
    • Options that work for AM
  • Post-processing of metal AM parts
    • Pre-build planning
    • Post-build clean-up and preparation
    • Thermal processing
    • Support removal and post-maching
    • Surface finishing
    • Inspection and non-destructive testing

PART 9: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

  • Trends in R&D
  • Patents
  • Consortia and collaborations
    • National Network for Manufacturing Innovation
    • National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute
    • U.S. government interagency group
    • Additive Manufacturing Consortium
    • Direct Manufacturing Research Center
    • ASTM International Committee F42
    • Project TEAM
  • U.S. government-sponsored R&D
    • National Science Foundation
    • Meso, micro, and nano scale technology
    • Basic research on existing AM technology
    • Educational research
    • National Institutes of Health
    • Department of Defense
  • U.S. National Laboratories
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Academic activities and capabilities
    • AM educational activities
    • Research innovations
    • Academic institutions with AM capabilities
    • Research institutes with AM capabilities
    • Future trends and contributions

PART 10: THE NEXT FRONTIER

  • First 25 years
  • What’s ahead?
    • New businesses
    • The depths of possibilities
  • Holy grail
  • Next steps

APPENDICES

  • Appendix A: Glossary of terms
  • Appendix B: System and material manufacturers
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • China
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Sweden
    • Taiwan
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Appendix C: System specifications
  • Appendix D: Personal 3D printers
  • Appendix E: Material properties
  • Appendix F: Direct metal AM comparison matrix
  • Appendix G: 3D-scanning systems
  • Appendix H: 3D scan-processing software

The following 75 individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers Report 2013 and served as important sources for information.

Nadra Angerman Angerman Communications Group U.S.
Mukesh Agarwala 3D Product Development India
Paulo Jorge Bártolo Institute Polytechnic of Leiria Portugal
Joseph Beaman, Jr. University of Texas at Austin U.S.
Josh Berman William Blair & Company U.S.
Alain Bernard Ecole Centrale de Nantes France
Craig Blue Oak Ridge National Laboratory U.S.
Milan Brandt RMIT University Australia
Craig Brice NASA Langley Research Center U.S.
David Bourell University of Texas at Austin U.S.
Ian Campbell Loughborough University England
William Cass Cantor Colburn U.S.
Andy Christensen Medical Modeling U.S.
Shane Collins Oxford Performance Materials U.S.
Mel Cossette Edmonds Community College U.S.
Frank Cox Edmonds Community College U.S.
Deon de Beer Vaal University of Technology South Africa
Carl Dekker Met-L-Flo U.S.
Olaf Diegel Massey University New Zealand
Brian Drab William Blair & Company U.S.
Igor Drstvenšek University of Maribor Slovenia
Sara Ebright Direct Dimensions U.S.
Pablo Elenter Robtec Brazil
Claus Emmelmann LZN Laser Zentrum Nord Germany
Ismail Fidan Tennessee Tech University U.S.
Tim Gornet University of Louisville U.S.
Joan Guasch Ascamm Spain
Ola Harrysson North Carolina State University U.S.
Seiji Hayano Aspect Japan
Ed Herderick EWI U.S.
Dirk Herzog LZN Laser Zentrum Nord Germany
Forrest Higgs Brosis Innovations U.S.
Neil Hopkinson University of Sheffield England
Luca Iuliano Politecnico di Torino Italy
Jason Jones De Montfort University England
Volker Junior Junior & Tacke Germany
Karolien Kempen Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Belgium
Eric Klemp Direct Manufacturing Research Center Germany
Jannis Kranz LZN Laser Zentrum Nord Germany
Janet Krech Wohlers Associates U.S.
Jean-Pierre Kruth Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Belgium
Tom Kurfess Georgia Institute of Technology U.S.
Feng Lin Tsinghua University China
Ulf Lindhe netfabb Germany
Blake Marshall U.S. Department of Energy U.S.
Wilhelm Meiners Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology Germany
Jorge Mireles University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Ed Morris National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute U.S.
Greg Morris GE Aviation U.S.
Tim Mulrooney William Blair & Company U.S.
Erkut Neğiş TurkCADCAM Turkey
Randall Newton Jon Peddie Research U.S.
John Obielodan University of Wisconsin–Platteville U.S.
Charles Overy LGM U.S.
Joris Peels Voxelfab Netherlands
Michael Raphael Direct Dimensions U.S.
Phil Reeves Econolyst England
Alex Rekout Moscow Business College #11 Russia
Stephen Rouse Medical Applications of Additive Manufacturing U.S.
Jeff Rowe Cairowest Group U.S.
Kevin Scanlan Anubis Manufacturing Consultants Corp. Canada
Joel Segal University of Nottingham England
Michael Siemer Innovative Medical Device Solutions U.S.
Chris Spadaccini Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory U.S.
Jürgen Stampfl Vienna University of Technology Austria
Ian Stewart Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker U.S.
Brent Stucker University of Louisville U.S.
Jukka Tuomi Aalto University Finland
Bart van de Vorst TNO Netherlands
Juan Vargas University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Marius Vermeulen Aerosud South Africa
Andreas Wegner University of Duisburg–Essen Germany
Ryan Wicker University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
David Wimpenny Manufacturing Technology Centre England
Gerd Witt University of Duisburg–Essen Germany

What Others are Saying

“The report is regarded as the most comprehensive, most reliable collection of information and analysis on the global market for the industry.”
Brent Balinski, Manufacturers’ Monthly

“Why waste time and money when you can get a worldwide overview of additive manufacturing from Wohlers Associates—experts that have focused on AM for 26 years. Wohlers Report 2014 is worth every dollar.”
Peter Sander, Vice President, Airbus Germany

“For those unfamiliar with this technology or looking for details on the players, markets, applications, and forecasts, I recommend the industry’s ‘bible’ from Wohlers.”
Mark Mills, Forbes

“This publication is widely considered the gold standard on the industry, as Terry Wohlers is the leading authority on 3-D printing.”
Beth McKenna, The Motley Fool

“Comprehensive and authoritative, the Wohlers Report is an extraordinary compilation of information on additive manufacturing and 3D printing. It is a must read for those that want more than a cursory understanding of this incredible and rapidly changing technology.”
Ed Morris, Director, America Makes – National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute

“Meet the man behind it and his growing team of associates, understand his broad experience, comprehensive knowledge and vast contact network and it becomes glaringly obvious as to why this is still the go-to report for steady, realistic, and reliable insight into the 3D printing industry.”
Rachel Park, Editor-in-Chief, 3D Printing Industry

“… Wohlers, the industry’s highest profile expert.”
Alexander Eule, Barron’s

“More than just the bible of 3D printing, it is the New Testament as well as the Old Testament. We can’t think of another industry where a single source has such a compelling handle on the entire scope of industry trends.”
Citron Research

“Absolutely fascinating report! It has had a profound impact on my research, and it is defintely the “go to” document for its breadth and depth of AM activity around the globe.”
Brett Conner, Associate Professor, Youngstown State University

“The 2013 report is excellent and perhaps the best I’ve ever seen on an emerging technology. The level of detail is amazing.”
Owen McGarel, Lead Research Engineer, ITW Technology Center

“Now in its 18th year of publication (that’s right all you 3-D printing arrivistes, this stuff has been around for a while), the annual report describes a healthy and growing market for 3-D printing equipment, services, materials and processes, albeit one where the value continues to accrue to industrial applications.”
Michael Copeland, Senior Editor, WIRED

“Wohlers has been tracking this industry for roughly a quarter-century, and recently published the 18th annual edition of the industry bible, Wohlers Report, which monitors developments in the sector.”
Robert Grace, Associate Publisher, Plastics News

“I have only barely put a dent in Wohlers Report 2013 and have all ready learned an incredible amount of useful information. The report definitely pays for itself by accelerating the additive manufacturing learning curve.”
Gary Baker, Com Dev USA

“I read an excerpt from the Wohlers Report and then spoke with Terry by phone. In less than 30 minutes, I had more industry insight than I had gleaned across dozens of blogs and news sites.”
TJ McCue, Forbes

“I received your report this week and I am completely impressed with the depth, variety, and detail. It will be an invaluable reference for the classes and presentations that I am currently developing for our division. It’s just MAGNIFICENT really!”
Jim Horton, CAD/CAM Systems Specialist, Central Piedmont Community College

“I love it. There is no other way to get such in-depth, relevant information that is also up to date. I have read through most of the report and it’s great work, Terry.”
Rob Connelly, President, FineLine Prototyping, Inc.

“The report is amazing.”
Michael Raphael, President, Direct Dimensions, Inc.

“It has become the bible in additive manufacturing.”
Mario Fleurinck, CEO, Melotte (Belgium)

“I can’t believe how much information from around the world you absorb and then present in such easy-to-understand terms year after year.”
Bene Padovani, Brazil

“Wow, you have really created a massive resource over the years. The contributions from the industry specialists have helped produce an industry encyclopedia.”
Randall Newton, Editor-in-Chief, CADCAMnet, and Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, AECnews

“The amount of information in the report is almost overwhelming. I am awed by its depth and breadth. What’s more, the information is not available anywhere else. For example, we hear how China is changing, but few people fully understand the transformation that’s underway. The report gives insight and clarification on China and it covers the rest of the world with the same careful analysis. It also provides insight into new products and applications that you normally would not hear about, such as light-weight structures, nanomanufacturing, growing organs, gaming, and new types of protective gear. One of the secrets of your success is the extensive travel worldwide, coupled with the information you seek from experts globally. Thank you for making something so remarkable available each year.”
Boris Fritz, Northrop Grumman

“It is taking some time to get through your report because I’m underlining all the useful information and using it in my company’s internal reports. Thanks, … it is really a fantastic job.”
Dr. Livia Cevolini, CRP Technology (Italy)

“The report is a real mine of information. It is impressive how you manage to collate all this information.”
Dr. Mike Shellabear, EOS (Germany)

“Terry Wohlers is the spokesperson for the overall rapid prototyping industry. Every year, he publishes the Wohlers Report, a comprehensive rundown of advances. He represents better than anyone else the mainstream prototyping industry.”
Dr. Preston Smith, Lead Co-author of Developing Products in Half the Time

“If you need to know anything about where this technology is today or where it is going tomorrow, Wohlers Report is your guide.”
Anthony J. Lockwood, former editorial director, Desktop Engineering

“Your report was very highly valued as we conducted our due diligence prior to acquiring Z Corp. It is highly professional and understandable, even to those new to this industry.”
Steen Borg, former CEO, The Contex Group (Denmark)

“I have purchased market reports in other industries for $30,000 that do not contain as much information. The purchase of the Wohlers Report every year is a no-brainer.”
Gilles Desharnais, Axis Prototypes Inc.

“The Wohlers Report is the world’s best compilation of activity in the field.”
Dr. David Bourell, University of Texas at Austin

“The wealth of information is astounding, but not as astounding as the amount of research that must be performed each year to put it together.”
Al Dean, Prototype Magazine (England)

“I found it extremely useful in the preparation of a presentation to upper management. Also, the report has caught the interest of many of my colleagues in R&D.”
Patrick Roth, Elkay Manufacturing Company

“His extremely comprehensive annual report is considered the definitive analysis of the rapid prototyping world and is highly recommended.”
David Cohn, Engineering Automation Report

“Nothing comes close to the authoritative and comprehensive nature of this annually-updated report. It has something for everybody and I highly recommend it.”
Jeffrey Rowe, MCADCafe.com

“The report was priceless in developing our business plan.”
Jason Epstein, Ionic Models

“I use it as a reference for any and all rapid prototyping questions I get that I cannot answer on my own. It is the most resourceful and complete publication we had ever seen.”
Kristopher Matson, St. Louis Community College

“I was in the market for a new machine for rapid prototyping and bought the report as an insurance policy. It definitely paid off.”
Kurt Blankemeyer, GTO

“The report offers the most up-to-date information that is available to us and it continues to improve each year.”
Ranji Vaidyanathan, Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc.

“It’s a great, concise report that covers the globe. I don’t know of any other document that is as complete.”
Tom Greaves, New Directions Consulting

“You are providing a valuable service to the industry.”
Brent Ragsdale, Hallmark

“As always, you have done a spectacular job collecting information from around the world on our ever-changing industry. I commend you on the depth and breadth of your labors.”
Marina Hatsopoulos, founder of Z Corp.

“Very easy to read. It gave me just what I was looking for.”
Douglas Freitag, Bayside Materials Technology

“Whether one is thinking of purchasing a prototyping device, checking into the sales of a particular company for investment purposes, or just desiring more information, Wohlers’ report delivers at every level.”
Joe Greco, Desktop Engineering Magazine

“It is comprehensive, well organized, and well written. We will be pouring over the details for some time to come.”
Mike Rynerson, Ex One Corp.

“The report gave me the best and most concise view of the industry.”
Reagan Hogerty, Jordan Industries, Inc.

“The report has helped our company immensely in selling rapid prototyping and tooling internally to our design, manufacturing, and management staff.”
Glenn Anderson, Southco Inc.

“The section on rapid tooling is particularly interesting. Wohlers systematically looks at all the competing technologies on the market today and provides detailed information on how to best apply each of them.”
Engineering Automation Report

“I wonder if the industry knows how fortunate it is to have this mirror? Few industries of this size and complexity have access to this level of data.”
Ed Grenda, Castle Island Company

“The report has become a virtual “Bible” of rapid prototyping … comprehensive and well organized … and is highly recommended.”
David Cohn, Engineering Automation Report

“I’ve just finished reading through the report and I have to say I’m impressed with the shear quantity of information it contains. It has become the bible to those looking at rapid prototyping and related technologies.”
Al Dean, MCAD Magazine and the CADserver (England)

Learn more about ASTM and AM CoE

ASTM unites with the Wohlers brand to build on its market influence and access to top AM industry decision-makers worldwide.

  • Establish standards, certification, and qualification for repeatable, consistent parts and processes
  • Prevent gaps and duplication of work in a dynamic, fast-paced technology space
  • Identify challenges that can be solved with technological improvement

Research and Development

Under the leadership of the R&D team, the AM CoE partners plan and conduct coordinated R&D projects, prioritized annually and targeted to expedite...

Learn More

Education and Workforce Development

Provide a comprehensive program that educates and trains the additive manufacturing workforce at all levels, while continually incorporating new advances...

Learn More