3D printing growth rate

North America 3D Printing Market Size, 2021 (USD Billion)

To know how our report can help streamline your business, Speak to Analyst

The Middle East & Latin America is expected to showcase high growth during the forecast period. The rapid adoption of 3D technology in the region is mainly due to technological advancements and improvements in the manufacturing industry.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Companies are Focusing on Partnership and Collaboration Activities for Safer Internet Environment

The prominent players of the market are focusing on offering advanced and innovative solutions catering to the growing needs of industries. These key players are investing in R&D to provide innovative services and materials. They are entering into strategic partnership and collaboration to provide next-generation solutions. These companies are offering consumer-centric solutions to help in boosting business growth. Similarly, the key players are keen on offering a vast range of 3-dimensional materials to grow across every industry application.

February 2022 – Imaginarium partnered with Ultimaker to introduce desktop & industrial 3D printer range in the India market. This partnership would help Ultimaker to expand its business in India, where additive manufacturing is anticipated to reach a point of breakthrough in the coming years.

November 2021 – 3D Systems is planning to enhance additive manufacturing innovation through partnerships and launch of products. The company launched new 3-dimensional printing tools and collaborated with the U.K.-based startup Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) to present novel 3-dimensional printing workflows and improve AM software, which is ideal for automotive components.

List of the Key Companies Profiled:

• 3D Systems Corporation (U.S.)


• The ExOne Company (Germany)


• voxeljet AG (Germany)


• Materialise NV (Belgium)


• Made in Space, Inc. (U.S.)


• Envisiontec, Inc. (Germany)


• Stratasys Ltd. (U.S.)


• HP, Inc. (U.S.)


• General Electric Company (GE Additive) (U.S.)


• Autodesk Inc. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• March 2022 – South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) launched a pilot project to build around 25 houses by utilizing 3D printing technology to combat the shortage of housing in the country.


• March 2022 – 3DGence, a European manufacturer, launched a new industrial FFF machine, INDUSTRY F421, which is well-suited with high performance materials. Additionally, the firm has also introduced AS9100, a new high-temperature filament, which is made using polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and certified for use in defense and aerospace sectors.

REPORT COVERAGE

To get information on various segments, share your queries with us

The global 3D printing market research report highlights leading regions across the world to offer a better understanding to the user. Furthermore, the report provides insights into the latest industry growth trends and analyzes technologies that are being deployed at a rapid pace at the global level. It further offers drivers and restraints, helping the reader gain in-depth knowledge about the market.

REPORT SCOPE & SEGMENTATION

with what resolution 3D printers are printed

threaded parts of the printed parts

6 safe ways to remove 3D scribes

Desktop printers

3D print speed settings

In general, there are currently three blocks of speed settings supported by 3D printers. The first block includes speeds from about 40 to 50 mm / s, the second - 80-100 mm / s, the fastest printing is carried out at about 150 mm / s. Some printers can even print at speeds over 150mm/s.

Usually, though, faster 3D printing means lower quality. At speeds above 150 mm/s, the quality drops significantly, and problems can arise, since the filament is prone to slip at such speeds.

How to set the print speed

Typically, the 3D print speed is set in the slicer software used to prepare the 3D model for printing. In Cura, for example, you just need to enter the desired print speed in the Print speed field in the Basic tab (in previous versions, you first had to switch to the Advanced mode and open the Speed ​​ tab).

Cura calculates the duration of the print process based on print speed and quality settings.

As soon as the print speed ( Print speed ) or other setting is changed, Cura recalculates the print time and displays it (see arrow). Cura's calculations turn out to be very close to real-time printing.

How long does 3D printing take in practice?

To find out how fast 3D printers actually print, two popular desktop printers, the Ultimaker 2 and the Wanhao Duplicator 6, were tested on two more or less complex objects.

These two models were printed:

3DBenchy. This 3D model is designed to test and measure the speed of 3D printers; it is quite complex and requires attention. The boat is 6 cm long, 4.8 cm high and 3.1 cm wide. Here you can get the 3DBenchy STL file for testing for free.

3DBenchy's 3D printing speed is relatively slow, the model is quite difficult to print (Photo: 3DBenchy.com).

Universal tablet stand (up to 1.2 cm thick). The stand is 14 cm long, 4.2 cm high and 9.8 cm wide. The STL file is available for free on Thingiverse.

The stand is quite large and difficult to print (Photo: Thingiverse).

These objects were printed at two speeds, 100 mm/s and 50 mm/s, at similar settings. Here are the results:

Printer

Model

50 mm/sec

100 mm/sec

Ultimaker 2

3DBENCHY

h 09 min 9 min.0003

1 h 55 min

Wanhao Duplicator 6

3dbenchy

2 h 13 min

1 h 51 min

Ultimaker 2

Strection

4 h 36 min 9000 min

Wanhao duplicator 6

Stand

6hrs 27mins

4hrs 45mins

• For the smaller models, the difference between slow and fast printing is not particularly striking: almost 2. 25 hours versus less than 2 hours. Unless you're insanely short on time, choose a slower speed for better print quality.
• For large models, the print speed varies more significantly: 6.5 hours versus 4.75 hours.

Cunning. If you don't have your own 3D printer, download the free Cura software from the Ultimaker website. Cura has profiles for most desktop printers (FDM), so you can check how long it takes to print a specific 3D model on a particular device - just import the STL file and play with Cura settings. To try another 3D printer, select Machine > Add new machine.

Does high-speed sintering promise the fastest 3D printing?

On an industrial scale, even more impressive prospects dawn on the horizon. The University of Sheffield has announced that its scientists have built a £1m-funded 3D printer that can produce plastic parts as quickly as traditional mass-production methods such as injection molding.

The process is called high-speed sintering (HSS), which melts the polymer layer by layer (similar to the additive printing process), but instead of using lasers, HSS prints on a powder substrate with infrared-absorbing inks. After the layer is printed, it is exposed to infrared radiation, the ink-coated powder is heated, resulting in melting, while the non-irradiated powder remains cold.

A team led by Prof. Neil Hopkinson claims that their machine is capable of producing parts up to 1 m³, i.e. with a washing machine, which is three times more than existing printers can. The print speed is dependent on the size of the object, however, Hopkinson estimates that small components will be created at speeds of less than one second per part.

What use is this to us? The good news is that HSS technology has been licensed to industrial 3D printer manufacturers on a non-exclusive basis, and new machines are expected to hit the market in 2017. This means that in the near future we can expect the transition of this industrial technology to the "home" level.

What do the characteristics of a 3D printer mean?

As I wrote the other day, I am currently writing a book on choosing a 3D printer. The working title is 'How to choose a 3D printer' In it I will tell you what to pay attention to first of all for a beginner. And what does this or that parameter mean. What are the schemes of 3D printers. And a lot of what is scattered over various discussions. Here the information will be compiled in one place. The book will be FREE, with free distribution.

Below is a draft of one chapter, in which I will look at what the individual characteristics of 3D printers, which are published by equipment manufacturers and sellers, mean.

Using the Zenit 3D printer as an example, let's take a look at the specs and I'll explain what they mean.

· Printable area: 240 x 215 x 230 mm

One of the main parameters. Tells us what is the maximum size we can print a part. In fact, the printable area is usually slightly smaller. And in reality, details of this size are not printed. Typically, a part can be larger than one of the sizes. But here we must understand that we can place the part diagonally on the desktop. Therefore, the maximum length of a part is usually limited by the length of the table diagonal. Although in some cases it is possible to connect a third dimension. But here we must already take into account the direction of the layers.

· X, Y axis positioning accuracy: 0.04mm

An important parameter that affects print quality. This is how accurately the printer can position the extruder over the printable area. Achieved with good mechanics. Tensioned belts. And greased guides.

· Positioning accuracy of the Z axis: 0.01mm

Also an important parameter that affects the quality. It depends entirely on the implementation of movement along the Z axis. There are different implementation options. We will consider them later.

Filament diameter: 1.75 mm

A parameter that tells us about the consumables used by the 3D printer. Now, in fact, there are two sizes of filament: 1.75 mm and 2.85 (3.00) mm.

1.75mm is now the most common. Such plastic is used by most 3D printers. All new materials first appear in this diameter.

2.85mm or 3.00mm older size. It is now used in 3D printers, Ultimaker clones and various homemade products. The original Ultimaker uses a diameter of 2.85mm. 3.00mm plastic is usually produced by "non-mainstream" manufacturers. And it is used in clones and DIYs.

There is no significant difference in usage between these standards. The only thing is that for 1.75mm there are more types of media offered for printing. Basic ABS, PLA plastics for both standard sizes are in stock.

There are also technical differences in the used extruder circuit. The so-called Bowden extruder is more adapted to the "thick" plastic 2. 85 (3.00) mm. This is one of the reasons why 2.5mm filament is used in Ultimaker 3D printers equipped with similar extruders.

Nozzle diameter, mm: 0.3

Everything is simple here. The thinner the nozzle, the more accurately we can print the part. In theory. In fact, a thinner nozzle is prone to clogging. And starting with a diameter of 0.2 mm, this can be a serious problem.

The second reason is that as the nozzle diameter decreases, the print time increases. Here the dependence is linear - the smaller the diameter of the nozzle - it is necessary to go through more layers and passages in order for the walls to have sufficient strength.

As a result, the most common nozzles are 0.3-0.4 mm in diameter. They achieve decent accuracy. And the print time is quite adequate.

Larger diameter nozzles 0.5-1.0mm are commonly used in printers with a large printable area. With them, a speed is achieved that is more important when printing large parts than the quality of printing small parts of a model.

Most printers can change the nozzles and use the correct diameter for their job. But in fact, by setting 0.3-0.4mm you will close 95% of all possible tasks.

· Layer height : 50 to 150 microns

Many manufacturers declare layer heights even less than 50 microns. This is 0.05mm. For most, the lower limit is 50-100 microns. Here you need to understand - the thinner the layer, the more the printing time increases. That is, a part with a layer of 0.05 mm will be printed at least twice as long as a part with a layer of 0.1 mm.

Therefore, for most applications, a lower limit of 0.1mm or 100 microns is more than adequate.

As for the upper limit of the thickness, there is also a dependence here. For high-quality printing, it is necessary that the layer thickness be no more than 0.5-0.6 of the nozzle diameter. That is, for a nozzle diameter of 0.3 mm, the optimal upper limit of the thickness, as indicated here, is 150 microns or 0.15 mm.

· Print speed: 40-150 mm/s

Print speed is a relative term and is usually achieved on large straight parts. The print speed is uneven and depends on many parameters. And the more complex the model, the slower the print speed. The average speed of most printers lies in the region of 50-100mm/sec. If a printer can't print simple parts well at 50mm/sec with standard PLA or ABS, there's something wrong with it.

As I said, super quality is usually achieved at 30-40mm/sec. This speed is selected either manually in the settings or the slicer itself (print preparation program) itself reduces the speed to adequate values.

· Maximum print head speed: 300mm/s

Parameter that affects print speed. It is indirectly related to the overall print speed.

Demonstrates the maximum speed at which the extruder can move "idle". In theory.

· Heated table: Yes

Another important option that caused a lot of copies to be broken. The presence of a heated table allows you to use almost all available materials for printing. First of all, with a large shrinkage. For example, one of the two most common materials is ABS. But here is a nuance ... Now there are quite a lot of materials that replace ABS in many tasks. If you do not plan to use such plastic, then you can get by with a table without heating. Conclusion - a table with heating is certainly better than without heating. But if you do not plan to use ABS in your tasks, then you can safely do without it.

Number of printheads: 1

Most 3D printers have one extruder and this is also usually enough for the vast majority of applications. The second extruder makes it possible to use the dissolved material to create supports. For example, HIPS or PVA.

You can also print in two colors. But it almost didn't work out. And apart from demonstrating the possibilities, it is usually not seriously used.

In general, two-material printing got its momentum after the launch of the PRO250 printer from PICASO. It uses an extruder with JetSwitch rotary nozzles. It allows you to achieve high-quality printing with two materials. And most importantly, he dramatically reduced the printing time with two materials. The fact is that when printing with two materials, when the extruders are located next to each other, you have to build an additional technological “tower” next to the part. This leads to a significant increase in print time. Switching between extruders can take several minutes.

So if you don't need to print complex models, then you probably won't need a second extruder.

· Software : RepetierHost, Slic3r, Cura

With the exception of some 3D printers with their own software, most can work with universal programs. Both paid and free. These are Cura, RepetierHost, Slic3r, Simplify3D and many others.

Computer connection: USB

Most 3D printers connect to a computer using USB. Although more and more new models are appearing that also support connecting to the network using WiFi or Ethenet.

· SD card printing: Yes

This is the more important setting. Almost all printers have it. But there are still printers that cannot print from Flash or SD cards.

Why is this necessary? If possible, start printing using such memory cards. Printing via USB can lead to marriage. The fact is that the USB interface is quite dependent on the speed of the computer. And if you load your computer with a “heavy” program at the time of printing, it is possible to “hang” it, which will lead to marriage.

· Dimensions: 460x360x370 mm

The parameter is only important for understanding where you can place the equipment.

· Weight : 20 kg

The same - it will help you choose a place for the printer. Although it’s probably clear that it’s not worth putting 20kg on a flimsy stool.

Warranty: 3 years

Everything is clear here too. The bigger the guarantee, the better. Most printers now have a warranty of around a year. This, of course, is about printers bought in Russia, and not purchases from Ali.

Learn more

• 
  3D printing brasil
• 
  3D print rapid prototyping
• 
  3D print overhangs
• 
  3D print germany
• 
  Stratasys fortus 900mc 3d printer price
• 
  Airbrush 3d print
• 
  3D printer manual pdf
• 
  3D scanner stocks
• 
  Where to 3d print yourself
• 
  3D print abs settings
• 
  Metal desk 3d printing