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Wohlers Report 2011

Trends... Analysis... Commentary. Commentary. Additive Manufacturing and 3d Printing State of the Industry Year 2011 Annual Worldwide Progress Report

43

Charts

60

Tables

176

Photographs and Illustrations

Wohlers Report 2011, available as a color PDF, provides a review and analysis of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing worldwide.

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ISBN 0-9754429-7-X

The 270-page report was written for product development and manufacturing professionals and organizations worldwide. Among the groups that have found past editions useful are company owners, executive management, engineering managers, prototyping supervisors, service providers, system manufacturers, researchers, educators, the investment community, analysts, and the media. This edition marks the 16th consecutive year of its publication.

The report was developed with help from 58 co-authors, 70 service providers, 32 system manufacturers, and many others worldwide. To support the review and analysis, the publication includes 43 charts and graphs, 60 tables, 176 photographs and illustrations, and eight appendices.

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

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword
About the principal author
Focus of this report
Introduction to additive manufacturing and 3D printing

PART 1: BACKGROUND

  • History of additive manufacturing
    • The past 12 months
  • Industries and regions benefiting from AM processes
    • How companies are applying AM processes
    • Installations by country
  • Applications
    • Custom manufacturing
    • 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
    • Biomanufacturing
    • Unlimited potential

PART 2: INDUSTRY GROWTH

  • Revenue growth
    • Products and services
    • Growth percentages
    • Material sales
    • Service providers
    • Secondary market
    • Other services
  • Revenue forecast
  • Industrial system unit sales
    • Unit sales growth percentages
    • Market shares
    • Systems sold by region
    • Market shares by manufacturer
    • Unit sales by manufacturer and year
    • Forecast
  • Personal systems
  • Service providers
    • Industry survey
    • Economic recovery
    • The future

PART 3: SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS

  • Arcam
  • Bits From Bytes
  • Concept Laser
  • Delta Micro Factory Corp.
  • DWS
  • Envisiontec
  • EOS
    • Advanced materials
    • DMLS molds
    • New developments
  • Ex One
  • Fab@Home
  • Hewlett-Packard
  • Honeywell
  • Huntsman
  • Irepa Laser
  • MakerBot Industries
  • Mcor
  • MTT Technologies
    • SLM materials and machines
    • Selective laser printing
  • Objet Geometries
    • New desktop 3D printers
    • New materials
    • Other developments
  • Optomec
  • Phenix Systems
  • POM
  • ReaLizer
  • RepRap
  • Sintermask
  • SLM Solutions
  • Solidica
  • Solido
  • Solidscape
  • Stratasys
    • Urbee hybrid vehicle
    • HP partnership
    • Other developments
    • ISO certification
  • 3D Systems
    • Acquisitions
    • 3D printers
    • Other business
  • Voxeljet
  • Z Corp.
    • New systems
    • New material
    • Other developments
  • Coatings and other treatments
  • Investor update
    • Revenues and earnings
    • Outlook

PART 4: GLOBAL REPORTS

  • Asia/Pacific
    • Major players
    • Chinese machines
    • Taiwanese machine
    • Korean machines
    • India
  • Japan
    • Stereolithography
    • FDM
    • Laser sintering
    • Service providers
    • AM for end-use part production
  • Australasia
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • United Kingdom
    • Italy
    • France
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • The Netherlands
    • Denmark
    • Finland
    • Belgium
    • Portugal
    • Slovenia
    • Austria
  • Other regions
    • South Africa
    • Brazil
    • Groups and associations

PART 5: METAL PARTS AND TOOLING

  • Materials
    • Material properties
    • New microstructures
  • Direct metal parts
    • Laser-based, powder-bed systems
    • Powder deposition systems
    • Other approaches
    • Materials testing and international standards
  • Cast metal parts
    • Investment casting
    • Sand, V-Process, and plaster mold casting
    • Systems that create molds and cores directly
    • Die casting
  • Tooling solutions
  • High-performance tooling
  • Direct tooling approaches
    • DMLS
    • Laser consolidation
    • FDM tooling
  • Indirect tooling approaches
    • Silicone rubber tooling
    • Other options
  • Alternatives
    • CNC-machined tooling
    • Hybrid tooling

PART 6: DIRECT PART PRODUCTION

  • Changing the way you manufacture
  • Why use AM for production?
    • Reduction of tooling
    • Part consolidation
    • Part quality
    • ASTM International
  • Design for additive manufacturing
    • A new way of thinking
    • Consumer design
  • Cost analysis and economics
    • Production implications
    • Strategic implications
  • Environmental considerations
    • Raw material and waste
    • Manufacture
    • Distribution and retail
    • Consumer use
    • Disposal and recycling
    • Enlighten project
    • Looking ahead
  • Intellectural property implications
    • Limited applicability of IP
    • Contributory liability for patent infringement
    • Increased importantce of trademark
    • Conclusion
  • Product liability implications
  • Industrial products made by AM
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive and motor sports
    • Machinery
    • Medical
    • Manufacturing and assembly tools
  • Consumer products made by AM
    • Games and entertainment
    • Furniture, home, and office accessories
    • Consumer-created products
    • Art and jewelry
    • Gifts, awards, and trophies
    • Marketing and advertising
    • Museum displays
    • Fashion products
  • Consumer challenges and opportunities
  • Future consumer growth potential
  • Required research and development
    • AM processes
    • AM materials and related considerations
    • Organization, management, and supply chain issues
  • Growth

PART 7: OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

  • CAD solid modeling
    • PTC jettisons Pro/Engineer brand
    • CAD models go mobile
    • CAD/PLM revenue: happy days are here again
    • Seat count estimates more art than science
  • Medical applications
    • Anatomical and surgical models
    • Medical imaging options
    • Medical imaging-processing software
    • Materials for medical modeling
    • AM methods for medical modeling
    • Regulatory clearance of AM products
    • Patient case: custom hip implant
    • Custom implants versus custom instruments
    • Direct production of acetabular cups
    • Case study: virtual surgical planning
  • 3D scanning and reverse engineering
    • 3D-scanning applications
    • 3D-scanning hardware
    • Hardware limitations
    • Processing software

PART 8: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

  • Patents
  • Technology development
  • U.S. government-sponsored R&D
    • National Science Foundation
    • Meso, micro, and nanoscale technology
    • Basic research on existing AM technology
    • Educational programs
    • National Institutes of Health
    • Department of Defense
  • College and university education and research
    • Educational activities in additive manufacturing
    • Research and teaching
    • Institutions with AM capabilities
    • Future trends and contributions

PART 9: WHERE IT’S ALL HEADED

  • Professional markets
    • Orthopedic implants
    • Dental products
    • Aerospace
  • Consumer markets
    • Shapeways
    • Other possibilities
  • New approaches to design
    • Topology optimization
    • Metal parts
  • Mainstream additive manufacturing
  • Challenges
    • Choice and cost of materials
    • Industry consolidation
  • The future
  • Where to learn more

APPENDICES

  • Appendix A: Glossary of terms
  • Appendix B: System and material manufacturers
    • Canada
    • China
    • England
    • France
    • Germany
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • United States
  • Appendix C: U.S. system specifications
  • Appendix D: Systems manufactured outside the U.S.
  • Appendix E: Material properties
  • Appendix F: Direct metal AM comparison matrix
  • Appendix G: 3D scanning systems
  • Appendix H: 3D scan processing software

The following 58 individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers Report 2011 and served as important sources for information.

Mukesh Agarwala 3D Product Development (India)
Joe Benatmane Econolyst (England)
Paulo Jorge Bártolo Institute Polytechnic of Leiria (Portugal)
Joseph Beaman University of Texas at Austin
Alain Bernard Ecole Centrale de Nantes (France)
Jan Blömer Fraunhofer UMSICHT (Germany)
Mike Burton RMIT University (Australia)
David Bourell University of Texas at Austin
Tim Caffrey Wohlers Associates, Inc.
Ian Campbell Loughborough University (England)
Andy Christensen Medical Modeling Inc.
Adam Clare University of Nottingham (England)
Deon de Beer Vaal University of Technology (South Africa)
Jason Dickman American Precision Prototyping
Olaf Diegel Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand)
Igor Drstvenšek University of Maribor (Slovenia)
Pablo Elenter Robtec (Brazil)
Ismail Fidan Tennessee Tech University
Joe Frascati Prototype Productions, Inc.
Ping Fu Geomagic, Inc.
Michael Gayk York Technical College
Jim Gentrup Discovery Investment Research
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)
Ola Harrysson North Carolina State University
Forrest Higgs Brosis Innovations, Inc
Johannes Homa Austria
Neil Hopkinson Loughborough University (England)
Luca Iuliano Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
Olivier Jay Danish Technological Institute (Denmark)
Jason Jones De Montfort University (England)
Ulf Lindhe netfabb (Germany)
Frank Medina University of Texas at El Paso
Jorge Mireles University of Texas at El Paso
Greg Morris Morris Technologies
Tom Mueller Express Pattern
Randall Newton Jon Peddie Research
John Obielodan Utah State University
Joris Peels i.materialise (Belgium)
Phil Reeves Econolyst (England)
Monica Savalani Hong Kong Polytechnic University (China)
Kevin Scofield Geomagic, Inc.
Joel Segal University of Nottingham (England)
Michael Siemer Mydea Technologies Corp.
Ian Stewart Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker
Brent Stucker University of Louisville
Chris Tuck Loughborough University (England)
Jukka Tuomi Helsinki University of Technology (Finland)
Bart van de Vorst TNO (Netherlands)
Jonas Van Vaerenbergh LayerWise (Belgium)
Michael Weinberg Public Knowledge
Ryan Wicker University of Texas at El Paso
Jonathan Wilke Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology
David Wimpenny De Montfort University (England)
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Learn more about ASTM & AMCOE Global

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

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  • Prevent gaps and duplication of work in a dynamic, fast-paced technology space
  • Identify challenges that can be solved with technological improvement

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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...

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

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