IDTechEx Discusses Metal Additive Manufacturing: Demonstrating the Disruptive Potential

A New Strategy – In-House Production A New Strategy – In-House Production New entrants have recognized the obstacles posed by the traditional business model of selling metal printers to customers for them to print parts. Rather than selling the printers using their proprietary technology like traditional 3D printer manufacturers, they have chosen a different business strategy where they keep their proprietary printing technology in-house. Here, the 3D printer is not the main product...

A New Strategy – In-House Production

New entrants have recognized the obstacles posed by the traditional business model of selling metal printers to customers for them to print parts. Rather than selling the printers using their proprietary technology like traditional 3D printer manufacturers, they have chosen a different business strategy where they keep their proprietary printing technology in-house.

Here, the 3D printer is not the main product being sold; rather, finished 3D-printed parts are the main product. This circumvents many of the classic barriers to 3D printing adoption, like high capital expenses and the need for specialized AM knowledge. Rather than having to convince customers that the customer can print great components if they buy a 3D printer, in-house production companies can simply demonstrate that their proprietary printers can indeed manufacture complex, custom parts.

In this way, in-house production companies using their own proprietary technology are like vertically integrated OEMs. Not only will these companies develop their own printing technology and equipment, but they also often develop their own materials for their proprietary printers. As parts manufacturers delivering finished components to customers, they also complete any post-processing that is needed (i.e. depowdering, debinding, sintering, milling, finishing, etc.). Some also use their own in-house software for design and simulation. Vertical integration makes it possible to provide a full suite of services to end-users – part manufacturing, consulting, design, etc.

The Production Players To Keep An Eye On

In the metal additive manufacturing industry, most are familiar with the classic 3D printer manufacturers selling their printers for part-production, like EOS, SLM Solutions, ExOne, and more. Many of these do have in-house part production, but this is not the main focus and typically runs at a small scale. New entrants with a proprietary process exclusively for in-house production are appearing on the metal AM landscape – who are some players to look out for?

Metal AM is not the only 3D printing specialty seeing this strategy being implemented, considering the emergence of companies like Arevo and Arris Composites in composite 3D printing and OPT Industries and Spectroplast in polymer 3D printing. With startups now considering alternate business strategies from their founding, IDTechEx expects to see more AM companies pursuing this interesting approach to increasing 3D printing adoption.

It should be noted that this type of business will not displace traditional service bureaus. Service bureaus have the benefit of being technology agnostic with the ability to collate printers from different processes and companies in a single company. With service bureaus like Materialise and Protolabs generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year, the contract manufacturing sector of the 3D printing industry will continue to grow strongly.

Market forecasts for Metal Additive Manufacturing

IDTechEx's report on metal additive manufacturing forecasts future revenue, install base, and materials demand for the metal AM market while carefully segmenting the metal AM technology and materials market by 10 process categories and 9 metal material categories. Additionally, IDTechEx analyses each metal printing technology and provides detailed discussion on the metal AM materials market. For further information on this market including interview-based profiles of the main players, technology benchmarking studies, granular 10-year market forecasts, and application case-studies, see the IDTechEx market report "Metal Additive Manufacturing 2022-2032: Technology and Market Outlook". 

For more information on this report, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/MetalAM or for the full portfolio of 3D Printing research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research/3D.

About IDTechEx

IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

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