The market for 3D printing hardware, materials, software and services grew by 13.5% year-on-year in 2023 to $14.7bn, according to Additive Manufacturing Research.
The fourth quarter of 2023 capped a challenging year for additive manufacturing (AM), the company said.
The AM metals segment outpaced polymers, with nearly 15% growth compared with just over 10% for polymers.
The AM services market totalled $6.7bn, growth nearly in line with the total AM industry.
AM hardware revenues for the fourth quarter grew by less than 1% compared with the same quarter of 2022, while annually hardware revenues across both metals and polymers grew by just under 6% in 2023 versus 2022.
Momentum for AM markets in the military/government sector increased further in Q4, to the point that it is becoming likely that government spending on AM will be the single largest market factor at play over the next two years.
An up-and-down year for additive manufacturing
Scott Dunham, EVP at AM Research, said: “An abnormal, up-and-down year for the AM market ended about the same as it began – with shifting trends in system purchasing making a lot of headlines and depressing revenue growth.
“Still there exists a real appetite for AM technology that is likely to break loose in the near term, driven by a combination of government spending and maturity in key markets. We expect a return to normal historical growth levels this year. Longer term, AM is still the technology to watch for manufacturing evolution.”
