3D Printing Industry Report

Nawaf Alqudaibi

MGMT 3565T: echnology Entrepreneurship

Professor Umaschi

02/22/2017
Table of Contents
Overview: .............................................................................................................................. 3

History:..........................................................................................................................................3

Vision: ...........................................................................................................................................4

Industry Analysis: .................................................................................................................. 4

Industry standards: ........................................................................................................................4

Current industry position and Barrier to entry: ...............................................................................5

Market pricing: ..............................................................................................................................5

Development and integration:........................................................................................................5

Industry Size: .................................................................................................................................7

Competitors and Market share: ......................................................................................................8

Work Cited .......................................................................................................................... 10

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Overview:
History:

The term 3D printing, as we all know, stands for the process of creating a physical object

from a three-dimensional, digitally designed model by printing many thin layers of a material in

succession. However, Additive manufacturing is the formalized term for what used to be called

rapid prototyping and what is popularly called 3D printing (Gibson, Rosen and Stucker, 1). Rapid

prototyping (RP), in other words, emphasizes the process of creating something quickly in which

future models and eventually the final product will be derived from. The authors of the book,

Additive Manufacturing Technologies, pointed out that A recently formed Technical Committee

within ASTM International agreed that new terminology should be adopted. While this is still

under debate, recently adopted ASTM consensus standards now use the term additive

manufacturing (Gibson, Rosen and Stucker).

Charles Chuck Hull is the co-founder, executive vice president and chief technology

officer of 3D Systems and the inventor of 3D printing. Hulls initial purpose of creating this process

was to create a more efficient use of UV technology to quickly turn computer designs into

working prototypes. Hull formulated the idea of 3D printing in 1983 when he was working for a

small business that made the photo lamps that used to cure photopolymers into tough furniture

coating. His background on ultraviolet lamps, that he gained while working for UVP Inc., allowed

him to formulate an idea to solve his dilemma of the long process it took to get working parts

and/or prototypes after engineers designed them (McCue). When Hull suggested the new way

to use the UV technology, he was given a small lab to experiment in in his free time (Ponsford).

At first, Hull was using materials called photopolymers which are acrylic-based materials that

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would be liquid until theyre exposed to an ultraviolet light to instantly turn them into a solid

piece of plastic. In addition, with technologys advancement there will be and there are now more

martials that are compatible with 3D printing machines.

Vision:

Whether or not 3D printers would be in every home in the future, 3D printers have many

promising areas of potential future application. 3D printers may, for example, be used to output

spare parts for all manner of products that could not be in stock at a physical or even online

stores. Hence, rather than the damaged product being thrown away for the lack of spare parts,

the owner will then be able to print the part locally in order to repair their product. Many people

view 3D printing as a detrimental threat to many manufacturing jobs and traditional methods of

conducting business (Reichental). But the way 3D printing should be perceived as is that it will

complete, fill or enhance the industries manufacturing process and/or gaps.

Industry Analysis:
Industry standards:

Given the 3D printing industrys recent technological advancement, many regulations are

now put forth by various different regulatory bodies such as the International Organization for

Standardization (IOS) and ASTM International. There are many regulatory standards on design,

materials and processes, Terminology, and test methods to control the quality and safety of 3D

printing. 3D printing Industry standards have, for example, regulated the industrys terminology

by implementing ASTM F42 and ISO TC 261 (Gibson, Rosen and Stucker, 35).

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Current industry position and barrier to entry:

Given the rapid implementation of 3D printing by many companies and many huge

investments into the technology, its proven that the industry is certainly is in its growth period,

and also promises steady growth over the next few years. Its growth rate, as explained in the

industry size section, is forecasted to be 22.3% over the next four years. In terms of barrier to

entry, there are some patents, but generally any one can start a 3D printer company. However,

the higher-end market has a thicker barrier to entry due to recently patented new technology.

Market pricing:

At the beginning of 3D printing, Chuck Hull produced the first SLA printer around 1987

that would cost somewhere in the vicinity of $300 thousand, which equates to approximately

$650 thousand in todays money. Up until 5 years ago, the average cost of a 3D printer was 50

thousand. But, due to consumerism and the huge increase in demand, consumers can now

purchase a 3D printer for as cheap as $1,800 (Miller). In addition, consumers could also choose

to pre-order a $49 3D printer that is available on Kickstarter (Miller).

Development and integration:

With the fast evolving technology of 3D printing, many companies are considering to

integrate some form of 3D printing in their manufacturing process in order to save a lot of time,

money and effort that would normally be spent on tooling the production line and getting an

assembly process setup (Steel). In terms of prototyping, the main advantage of 3D printing is

shortening the time needed to reproduce a faulty prototype by eliminating the tedious process

of retooling an assembly line in a traditional manufacturing process, which will ultimately save

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time, material and labor. Another key advantage of integrating 3D printing in a production

process is that its incredibly resource-efficient (steel).

Many different industries in our economy are integrating 3D printing systems in their

companies to enhance and improve their products and/or services. As of a survey conducted in

2014, up to 66.7% of companies are either experimenting to determine how might they apply 3D

printing, prototyping only, prototyping and producing, building products that cant be produced

using traditional methods or producing final products/components using only 3D printing (Earls

and Baya). Below is a graph explaining the breakdown of the aforementioned static:

Industries that have already integrated 3D printing heavily:

Aerospace & Defense. Commercial products.

Education. Architecture.
Consumer Products. Automotive.
Digital Dentistry. Healthcare.

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 An interesting industry that integrated 3D printing is healthcare. A delima many people

had with healthcare was how expensive it was. Given the recent advancment in medical 3D

printing technology, some healthcare is now more accesable to the public due to its rudced price.

3D printing may, for example, contribute to technological advancement just how scientiss at

Princeton University have used 3D printing tools to create a bionic ear that can hear radio

frequencies fat beond the range of normal human capability, in a project to explore the feasibility

of combining electronics with tissue (Sullivan). The graph below will expain the pase countries

are integrating 3D printing into their medical industries:

Industry Size:

The 3D printing industry size in 2015 was reportedly worth aa much as $11 billion and

grew to $13.2 billion in 2016. The industry is also projected to grow at a rate of 22.3% to reach
$28.9 Billion by 2020 (IDC). The source expects that 3D printers and 3D printer filament will

represent almost half the total revenues over the next four years, but says that software and

related services will also experence significant growth. IDC also expresses that Computer-aided

design (CAD) software and the market for on-demand parts services are expected to almost

triple (IDC).

Competitors and Market share:

3D printing industry leaders are as follows: (Stock prices are as of Jan 16,2017)

1. Hewlett-Packard: with a market cap of $25.16 billion. Stock traded at $14.77 per share.

2. 3D Systems: with a market cap of $1.86 billion. Stocks traded at $16.11 per share.

3. Proto Labs: with a market cap of $1.42 billion. Stocks traded at $53.55 per share.

4. Stratasys: with a market cap of 1.02 billion. Stocks traded at $19.37 per share.

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 5. Materialise NV: with a market cap of $407.97. Stocks traded at $7.95 per share.

A significant example of the exponential growth that the 3D printing industry will

experience in the near future would be GEs acquisition of both Acram AB from Sweden and SLM

Solutions Group from Germany for a sum of $1.4 Billion to enhance its additive manufacturing

process. With those acquisitions GE will be able to manufacture its most efficient carbon-fiber

twin-engine jet designed for the Boeing 777X. GE aviation has already received 700 orders of the

GE9X, worth $29 billion (Coren). These series of events marks GE the worlds largest user of

additive technologies in metals. Investments of this magnitude will definitely increase

competition within the industry. Below is a market breakdown of which industries are leading in

the integration of 3D printing, with Aerospace being fourth:

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 Work Cited

Gibson, Ian, David Rosen, and B. Stucker. Additive Manufacturing Technologies. [Electronic

Resource] : 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping, And Direct Digital Manufacturing. n.p.: New

York, NY : Springer New York : Imprint: Springer, 2015., 2015. FLO eResource Catalog

Wentworth. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

McCue, TJ. "Did you know 3D Printers got their start in the 1980s? Read more here:." Lifewire.

N.p., 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. https://www.lifewire.com/inventor-of-3d-

printer-2296

Ponsford, Matthew. CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/tech/innovation/the-night-i-invented-3d-printing-

chuck-hall/>.

TEDTalks: Avi ReichentalWhat's next in 3D Printing. Films Media Group, 2010,

fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=106119&xtid=66265. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

Miller, Alicia. "The Evolution of 3D Printing: Past, Present and Future." 3D Printing Industry.

N.p., 01 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/evolution-

3d-printing-past-present-future-90605/

Sullivan, John. "Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology." Princeton University. The

Trustees of Princeton University, 08 May 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/19M40/index.xml?section=tops

tories

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Steel, Marlin. "3D Printing Vs Traditional Manufacturing." Custom Wire Products and Metal

Fabrication. N.p., 7 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

https://www.marlinwire.com/blog/3d-printing-vs-traditional-manufacturing

Earls, Alan, and Vinod Baya. "The road ahead for 3-D printers." PwC. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb.

2017. http://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology-forecast/2014/3d-

printing/features/future-3d-printing.html

Coren, Michael J. "GE fired up worlds largest commercial jet engine using 3D-printed metal

parts." Quartz. Quartz, 25 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. <https://qz.com/667477/ge-

fires-up-worlds-largest-commercial-jet-engine-using-3d-printed-metal-parts/>.

Harwood, Emma. "Top 3D Printing Companies in the World | Investing News." Investing News

Network. N.p., 16 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. http://investingnews.com/daily/life-

science-investing/medical-device-investing/top-3d-printing-companies-in-the-world/

"Additive Manufacturing Technology Standards." Additive Manufacturing Technology

Standards. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. <https://www.astm.org/Standards/additive-

manufacturing-technology-standards.html>.

IDC. "3d Printing Market Size Worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista -

The Statistics Portal. Statista. January 2017. Web. 21 Feb 2017.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/590113/worldwide-market-for-3d-printing/

(Market Graph)

CECIMO. "Leading Sectors Using Additive Manufacturing Systems in 2014." Statista - The

Statistics Portal. Statista. 2015. Web. 21 Feb 2017.

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 https://www.statista.com/statistics/287610/global-spending-on-additive-

manufacturing-systems-by-sector/ (Additive Graph)

Visiongain. "Distribution of The 3d Printing Market for Healthcare Worldwide in 2016, by

Country." Statista - The Statistics Portal. Statista. February 2016. Web. 21 Feb 2017.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/659938/3d-printing-market-healthcare-worldwide-

by-country/ (Medical Graph)

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