Inflation and increasing demand for high-end metal additive manufacturing systems helped to boost industrial 3D printer revenues this past quarter as unit sales fell across the globe, according to the latest report from market intelligence company CONTEXT.
Shipments varied across different machine classes and industries, while inflationary price increases propped up revenues across the gamut, resulting in an overall total system revenue growth of 15% on the previous year.
While the industrial machine segment (those costing upwards of 100,000 USD) saw shipments fall by -15% (YoY), the category held a 54% majority of the industry’s overall system revenue, and saw revenues rise by 11% (YoY) due to greater demand for metal 3D printing hardware. Powder bed fusion systems made up 77% of industrial metal shipments, which CONTEXT connects to the demand for more productive and larger systems from the likes of Velo3D and SLM Solutions, and helped to push revenues for industrial PBF systems up by +34%. Other top performers in this segment included EOS, Eplus3D and GE Additive.
At the other end of the industrial segment, vat photopolymerization machines saw the sharpest drop with a -33% decrease in shipments. UnionTech, which has dominated this segment in previous quarters in terms of shipments, reported weak sales for its higher-end vat photopolymer systems, and 3D Systems experienced a drop in sales to certain dental markets as consumer slumped due to inflationary challenges.
Global Industrial Metal 3D Printer System Unit Shipments and Revenues by Process
In the midrange class (printers priced between 20,000–100,000 USD), an 18% (YoY) rise in shipments was spurred on by demand for new products such as Formlabs lower cost SLS technology. According to CONTEXT’s findings, polymer PBF machines accounted for 17% of all shipments in this category in Q1 2023, compared to just 2% a year ago. The second driver in this category was strong domestic demand across multiple end-markets in China for UnionTech’s vat photopolymer DLP offerings. CONTEXT also noted that rising costs, due to inflation, have caused printers that would have otherwise fallen into a lower price category to creep up into the midrange price range, boosting sales here further.
Machines in the professional segment (2,500–20,000 USD) experienced a drop of -30% in shipments but a 21% rise in weighted pricing saw revenues dip by only -15% (YoY). The trend had an impact on the top five vendors in this category except for UltiMaker, the new desktop 3D printing brand which emerged after the combination of both Ultimaker and MakerBot businesses. This price-class has been dominated by Material Extrusion and Vat Photopolymerization machines but these technologies also saw dips in shipments by -33% and -18% respectively.
In the lower cost personal and kit & hobby categories (<2,500 USD), sales were positive but helped by improved supply-chain logistics and other factors rather than increased demand. Creality continued to lead this segment but newcomer Bambu Lab accelerated to second place after moving from kickstarter to commercialisation.
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Industrial Unit Shipment Forecast by ASTM Process and Material
“While much of the industry’s attention has recently been focussed on Western company consolidation, vendors like China’s Farsoon have continued the trend in the Asia–Pacific region of going public by way of more traditional IPOs”, added Chris Connery, CONTEXT's head of global analysis, referring to ongoing Stratasys M&A activity taking over the additive manufacturing headlines. “While mergers, acquisitions and public listings often dominate headlines, such actions do not typically drive demand or market growth in the near term. Separate from the potential industry consolidation, the prospects for 3D printing remain bright, with demand growing and accelerating, especially as many companies are managing to keep supply-chain challenges and reshoring initiatives at top-of-mind while the inside-the-industry machinations play out around them.”
Looking ahead, CONTEXT says metal PBF is on track to see a 5-year shipment CAGR of +26%. Meanwhile, although forecasts predict that metal binder jetting will remain behind PBF, the projected CAGR through to 2027 for this technology is +30%.
