20th Anniversary Report

Wohlers Report 2015

Trends... Analysis... Commentary. Commentary. Additive Manufacturing and 3d Printing State of the Industry Year 2015 Annual Worldwide Progress Report

39

Charts

63

Tables

279

Photographs and Illustrations

Wohlers Report 2015, available as a color PDF, provides a worldwide review and analysis of additive manufacturing and 3D printing—terms that are used interchangeably. This edition marks the 20th consecutive year of publication.

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ISBN 978-0-9913332-1-9

The report has served as the undisputed industry-leading report on the subject for two decades. Many have referred to it as the “bible” of 3D printing.

Wohlers Report 2015 includes 314 pages, 39 charts and graphs, 63 tables, and 279 images and illustrations. The report was developed with the support from 87 service providers, 40 system manufacturers, and the valuable contributions of 78 co-authors in 31 countries.

Wohlers Associates is fortunate to have developed the largest network of friends and contacts in the industry. This access and trust has resulted in a report that offers an unparalleled window into additive manufacturing and 3D printing.

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

Table of Contents

Preface: 20 years later Acknowledgments About the principal authors

PART 1: BACKGROUND

  • Focus of this report
  • Introduction to additive manufacturing and 3D printing
  • History of additive manufacturing
    • 1960s to the 1990s
    • May 2014 through March 2015
  • 20 years of annual surveys
    • Industries
    • Applications
    • Installations by country

PART 2: PROCESSES AND MATERIALS

  • Processes
    • Material extrusion
    • Material jetting
    • Binder jetting
    • Sheet lamination
    • Vat photopolymerization
    • Powder bed fusion
    • Directed energy deposition
  • Post-processing
    • General post-processing
    • Post-processing of metal AM parts
  • Materials
    • Plastics
    • Metals
    • Metal powders for AM
    • Composites and hybrid materials
    • Materials for metal casting processes
    • Ceramics and other materials
    • New materials
    • Materials testing and international standards
  • Process/material matrix

PART 3: SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS

  • Arburg
  • Arcam
  • Aspect
  • Asiga
  • Beijing Tiertime
  • BigRep
  • Blueprinter
  • Carima
  • Concept Laser
  • DWS
  • Envisiontec
  • EOS
  • ExOne
  • Fabrisonic
  • Hunan Farsoon
  • Lithoz
  • Mcor
  • Optomec
  • Prodways
  • ReaLizer
  • Renishaw
  • Sciaky
  • Sisma
  • SLM Solutions
  • Solidscape
  • Stratasys
  • Trumpf
  • 3D Systems
  • Voxeljet
  • Xery
  • Other companies in Asia
    • Beijing Long Yuan
    • CMET
    • D-MEC
    • Fochif Mechatronics
    • InssTek
    • Keyence
    • Matsuura
    • Microjet Technology
    • OPM Lab
    • Roland DG
    • Shaanxi Hengtong
    • Shanghai Union 3D Technology
    • Trump Precision Machinery
    • Wuhan Huake 3D Technology
    • Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies
  • Other companies in Europe and the U.S.
    • Autodesk
    • BeAM
    • DMG Mori Seiki
    • MarkForged
    • Nanoscribe
    • Rapid Shape
    • RPM Innovations3DCeram
    • Voxel8
  • Process/manufacturer maxtrix
  • Desktop 3D printers
    • RepRap project
    • AlibabaCrowdfunding
    • 3D-printed electronics
    • Material recycling
    • Software development
    • Amazon
    • MakerBot
    • Aleph Objects
    • FormlabsPrintrbot
    • Solidoodle
    • Ultimaker
    • XeryXYZprinting
    • Others 3D printers
    • Delta-type 3D printers
    • Comparing personal 3D printers

PART 4: INDUSTRY GROWTH

  • Revenue from AM worldwide
    • Products and services
    • Growth percentages
    • Average selling price
  • Material sales
    • Photopolymers
    • Laser-sintered polymers
    • Metals
  • Service provider market
    • Secondary market segment
  • Market opportunity and forecast
  • Industrial system unit sales
    • Unit sales growth percentages
    • Market shares
    • Systems sold by region
    • Metal AM systems
    • Unit sales by manufacturer and year
    • Forecast
  • Desktop 3D printers
  • Service providers
    • New types of AM service providers
    • Online marketplaces
    • Shapeways
    • Supplier competition
    • Consolidation
    • Survey results
    • Outlook
  • Growth of CAD solid modeling
  • Investor update
    • SLM Solutions and Materialise IPOs
    • Revenues and earnings
    • Outlook

PART 5: GLOBAL REPORTS

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

PART 6: DIRECT PART PRODUCTION

  • Advantages of AM for production
    • Reduction of tooling
    • Agile manufacturing operations
    • Decentralized manufacturing
    • Reduction in inventory and part consolidation
    • Lightweighting
    • Lattice structures
    • Improved fluid dynamics
  • Challenges
    • Cost of machines and materials
    • Speed and throughput
    • Cost justification
    • Traditional attitudes
    • Other requirements
  • Design for AM
    • Design guidelines
    • Education and training
  • Cost-benefit analyses
    • Cost-effective use case
    • Non cost-effective use case
    • Quantity-dependent use case
    • Product implications of non cost-effective use case
  • Metal AM part production
    • Quality and performance improvements
    • Cost improvements
    • Delivery and lead time improvements
  • Process monitoring in metal powder bed fusion
    • Requirements
    • Concept Laser
    • SLM Solutions
    • EOS
    • Other companies
    • Outlook

PART 7: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

  • Trends in R&D
  • Legal implications
  • Patents
  • Consortia and collaborations
    • America Makes
    • Government on Additive Manufacturing
    • Additive Manufacturing Consortium
    • Direct Manufacturing Research Center
    • ASTM International Committee F42
    • ISO/TC 261 on Additive Manufacturing
    • Project TEAM
  • U.S. government-sponsored R&D
    • National Science Foundation
    • Basic research on AM technology
    • Meso, micro, and nanoscale technology
    • National Institutes of Health
    • Department of Defense
    • America Makes
  • U.S. national laboratories
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Government-sponored R&D in Europe
  • Academic activities and capabilities
    • AM educational activities
    • Research innovations
    • Academic institutions with AM capabilities
    • Research institutes with AM capabilities
    • Future trends and contributions

PART 8: THE FUTURE OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

  • Emerging technologies
    • Low-cost laser sintering
    • Photopolymer systems going strong
    • Ceramic materials and systems
    • Printed electronics
    • Hybrid metal systems
    • HP Multi Jet Fusion
    • Other emerging technologies
    • Other materials
  • Emerging markets
    • Bioprinting
    • Aerospace
    • Space exploration
    • Tooling
    • Other markets
  • Emerging business models
    • Open-source and free resources
    • Maker spaces
    • 3D printing marketplaces and communities
    • New categories of AM service providers
    • 3D scanning and printing in retail
    • Established manufacturers and brands entering AM market
    • Unique collaborations
  • Summary

APPENDICES

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

Report Development Team

The following 78 individuals and organizations contributed to Wohlers Report 2015 and served as important sources for information.

Mukesh Agarwala 3D Product Development India
Fabian Alvarez-Primo University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Nuno Alves Polytechnic Institute of Leiria Portugal
John Barnes RTI International Metals U.S.
Nic Balc Technical University of Cluj–Napoca Romania
Joseph Beaman, Jr. University of Texas at Austin U.S.
Tyler Benster Azavy U.S.
Alain Bernard Ecole Centrale de Nantes France
Klas Boivie SINTEF Norway
Bob Bradley RJ Bradley Consulting England
Milan Brandt RMIT University Australia
Graham Bredemeyer Reality AM Partners U.S.
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.
Grigory Chuyko Voronezhselmash Russia
Mel Cossette Edmonds Community College U.S.
Deon de Beer North-West University South Africa
Ryan Dehoff Oak Ridge National Laboratory U.S.
Carl Dekker Met-L-Flo U.S.
Olaf Diegel Lund University and Wohlers Associates Sweden
Brian Drab William Blair & Company U.S.
Igor Drstvenšek University of Maribor Slovenia
Corey Dunsky Aeos Consulting U.S.
Sara Ebright Direct Dimensions U.S.
Khalid Abd Elghany Central Metallurgical Research and Develop. Inst. Egypt
Joel English University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Ismail Fidan Tennessee Tech University U.S.
Greg Gibbons University of Warwick England
Tim Gornet University of Louisville U.S.
Joan Guasch Ascamm Spain
Seiji Hayano Aspect Japan
Neil Hopkinson University of Sheffield England
Olivier Jay Danish Technological Institute Denmark
Jeng Ywan Jeng National Taiwan University of Science and Tech. Taiwan
Chua Chee Kai Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Shawn Kelly EWI U.S.
Andrzej Kęsy University of Technology and Humanities, Radom Poland
Eric Klemp Direct Manufacturing Research Center Germany
Jarosław Kotliński University of Technology and Humanities, Radom Poland
Jean-Pierre Kruth KU Leuven Belgium
Jörg Lenz EOS GmbH Germany
Feng Lin Tsinghua University China
Ulf Lindhe Netfabb Germany
Simon Marriott Adv. Mfg. Cooperative Research Centre Australia
Artur Mateus Polytechnic Institute of Leiria Portugal
TJ McCue Refine Digital U.S.
Jorge Mireles University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Ed Morris America Makes U.S.
Greg Morris GE Aviation U.S.
Randall Newton Consilia Vektor U.S.
John Obielodan University of Wisconsin–Platteville U.S.
Charles Overy LGM U.S.
Bene Padovani Additiive Manufacturing Consultancy Brazil
Joris Peels Voxelfab Netherlands
Burak S. Pekcan +90 Turkey
Michele Perino Cantor Colburn U.S.
Johan Potgieter Massey University New Zealand
Michele Pressacco Lima Corporate Italy
Michael Raphael Direct Dimensions U.S.
Marco Regis Lima Corporate Italy
Jeff Rowe Cairowest Group U.S.
Boris Salamakhin Voronezhselmash Russia
Graham Salt GS Associates Canada
Carolyn Conner Seepersad University of Texas at Austin U.S.
Joel Segal University of Nottingham England
Jorge Silva Renato Archer Information Technology Center Brazil
Zach Simkin Senvol U.S.
Chris Spadaccini Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory U.S.
Jürgen Stampfl Vienna University of Technology Austria
Brent Stucker 3DSIM U.S.
Jukka Tuomi Aalto University Finland
Marius Vermeulen Aerosud South Africa
Annie Wang Senvol U.S.
Ryan Wicker University of Texas at El Paso U.S.
Brennon White Johnson Controls, Inc. U.S.
Julie Whitney Wohlers Associates U.S.
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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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