For more information:
Wohlers Associates, Inc.
970-225-0086
Fax 970-225-2027
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CINCINNATI,
OHIO, USA, April 30, 2002—Wohlers
Associates, Inc. today announced the availability of Wohlers Report
2002, a worldwide progress report on the rapid prototyping (RP)
and tooling state of the industry. The 250-page annual study covers
all facets of rapid prototyping, including business, product, market,
technology, and applications. Forty-nine professionals, 47 service
providers, 25 system manufacturers, and countless others assisted with its
development. The report includes many new
sections and a matrix that compares 24 methods of tooling.
The
release of the new report coincides with the Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing 2002 Conference
and Exposition, beginning today and ending on May 2 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Terry Wohlers,
principal author of the report and president of Wohlers Associates, Inc.,
presented highlights of the report in his annual Rapid Prototyping & Tooling State of the Industry Executive Update. This
briefing occurred during the opening plenary session. The
RP&M 2002 event marks the 10th year in which Wohlers has been asked to
present his views and opinions on this exciting and fast-developing
industry. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers and its Rapid Prototyping
Association (RPA/SME) are the sponsors of the event.
Last
year, more systems were installed, more material was consumed, and more
applications for the technology were uncovered. "An almost
unbelievable number of new technologies, materials, and enhancements are under
development in corporate, university, and government laboratories around the world,"
Wohlers said. "All of this activity is exciting and shows
tremendous promise, but the rate of growth in 2001 was a
disappointment," he continued. Revenues from products and services
were down significantly and machine unit sales were flat. Unexpectedly,
even the low-cost 3D printer segment experienced a decline in unit sales.
Installations
by Country
The
following chart breaks down last year’s system purchases and
installations by country. The U.S. has the highest percentage, by far, of
system installations. The U.S. is followed by Japan, Germany, and China.
Source: Wohlers Report 2002
In
contrast to the steadfast hold the U.S. has on system sales, its lead in
installations continues to decrease. Since 1998, the U.S. has fallen from
48.9% of the world market to 42.8% in 2001.
Number of Models Being Produced
Despite
a decline in overall industry growth, RP users worldwide produced an
estimated 3.55 million models and prototype parts in 2001, as shown in the
following chart. This is up
18.3% from the 3 million models produced in 2000. An estimated 2.34
million and 1.86 million parts were produced in 1999 and 1998,
respectively.
Source: Wohlers Report 2002
Wohlers
Associates believes that the contrast of growth in part production to the
stagnation of system sales is in part due to equipment and material
enhancements. These improvements offer higher throughput from the same
number of systems. Other factors include improved capacity utilization and
the growth in the concept modeling segment of the industry.
The new report sells for $395 in
the U.S. and $425 in all other countries. The report’s table of
contents, as well as additional information on the RP market and industry,
are available at wohlersassociates.com.
Wohlers Associates, Inc. is a
16-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.
###
Report Development Team
The
following 49 individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers
Report 2002 and served as important sources for information.
Shreyas Bakshi | Protosys Technologies Private Ltd. (India) |
Umberto Baraldi | CRIF (Belgium) |
Alain Bernard | University of Nancy I (France) |
Nico Blessing | FhG Institute for Mfg. Eng. & Automation (Germany) |
Mike Braig | A.G. Edwards & Sons |
Tim Caffrey | Caffrey Consulting |
Ian Campbell | Loughborough University (England) |
Andy Christensen | Medical Modeling LLC |
Chua Chee Kai | Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) |
Stuart Clyens | Danish Technological Institute (Denmark) |
Amba Datt Bhatt | Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College Allahabad (India) |
Deon de Beer | Technikon Free State (South Africa) |
Jonas de Carvalho | University of São Paulo - São Carlos (Brazil) |
Philip Dickens | Loughborough University (England) |
Dimitri Dimitrov | University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) |
Thierry Dormal | CRIF (Belgium) |
Mike Durham | Accelerated Technologies, Inc. |
Willie du Preez | CSIR (South Africa) |
Frits Feenstra | TNO Institute of Industrial Technology (The Netherlands) |
Boris Fritz | Northrop Grumman Corp. |
Vito Gervasi | Milwaukee School of Engineering |
Ian Gibson | University of Hong Kong (China) |
Tim Gornet | University of Louisville |
Tom Greaves | New Directions Consulting |
Joe Greco | Greco Consulting |
Ed Grenda | Castle Island Company |
Todd Grimm | Accelerated Technologies, Inc. |
Russ Harris | Loughborough University (England) |
Berndt Holmer | IVF Industrial Research and Development Corp. (Sweden) |
Masato Imamura | Tokyo Research Center (Japan) |
Luca Iuliano | Politecnico di Torino (Italy) |
Tahar Laoui | University of Leuven (Belgium) |
Debbie Leeson | Vantico (South Africa) |
Weiyin Ma | City University of Hong Kong (China) |
Bent Mieritz | Danish Technological Institute (Denmark) |
Bill Mutch | Belcan Corp. |
Mike Naylon | Queensland Manufacturing Institute (Australia) |
Andy Norwood | Loughborough University (England) |
Anshuman Razdan | Arizona State University |
Shi Yusheng | Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China) |
Michael Siemer | Walt Disney World Company |
Geoff Smith-Moritz | CAD/CAM Publishing |
Rupert Soar | Loughborough University (England) |
Brent Stucker | University of Rhode Island |
Dave Tait | LFX Technologies |
Jukka Tuomi | Helsinki University of Technology (Finland) |
David Wimpenny | University of Warwick (England) |
Millan Yeung | National Research Council of Canada (Canada) |
Jenny Yu Hoi Jin | University of Hong Kong (China) |