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Several countries with annual installations of 100 or more AM systems experienced impressive double-digit growth in 2008. China grew by 39.7%, France by 29.2%, Germany by 23.6%, and the UK by 15.6%. The U.S. grew by only 4.4% and Japan declined by a surprising 56.8%. A few countries with relatively small annual installations experienced strong growth from 2007 to 2008. They were Brazil (23 to 42 units), Mexico (22 to 35), Thailand (43 to 67), Sweden (47 to 70), and the Netherlands (40 to 67).

Figure 1: The number of AM systems sold and installed over the past several years in China. Figures courtesy of Wohlers Associates.

Figure 1 shows the number of AM systems sold and installed over the past several years in China. Note that the estimate for 1996 includes all machines installed up to and through that year. Through the end 2008, an estimated 2,472 machines had been installed in the country, compared to 1,986 through 2007.

With the exception of Japan, the growth of AM in Asia started much later than in the U.S. and Europe. Companies were merely experimenting with AM in the late 1990s, with most machine installations in Asia occurring at technology transfer centers, universities and training establishments.

AM is having a profound impact on the way some companies manufacture products. These organizations—some very small—are successfully applying the technology to the production of finished goods. This practice will grow and overshadow the use of AM techniques for other applications in the total amount of money spent. In the future, many organizations will use AM to manufacture a wide range of custom and limited edition products and replacement parts. Companies will also it for short-run and series production for part quantities ranging from a few to thousands.

Direct part production from AM systems is indeed growing, with the dental market starting to follow the hearing aid market in its adoption of the technology. The difference is that the dental market is many times larger. Direct metal sintering/melting is being viewed as a viable, production-capable process in the biomedical and aerospace markets. A wide array of organizations is investigating these processes.

Figure 2: Future growth of AM for part production applications.

For the first time, a large and impressive number of custom consumer products from AM are available for purchase from multiple sources.

Companies in this business are optimistic about the future growth of AM for part production applications. Companies representing thousands of users and customers of AM technology from around the world responded to a survey on the subject. They believe that AM part production will represent 35.9% of their business in five years, as shown in Figure 2. In 10 years, the same companies believe that it will represent more than half (50.5%) of their business. The survey respondents said that AM part production was 15.6% of their business in 2008.

Methods of AM are creating new markets for limited edition and one-of-a-kind products. Also, it is causing some companies and individuals to rethink the way products are developed and brought to market. What’s more, a new type of manufacturer is emerging that is not operating from a traditional manufacturing facility. This new manufacturer is producing custom and personalized products on demand.

Almost anyone, located almost anywhere, can now become a manufacturer. The only basic requirements are an Internet connection and access to one or more AM systems. Consequently, some large and interesting trends are becoming apparent that will impact the future of product development and manufacturing.