10-Fold Market Growth in 10 Years in Composites Additive

In a new report “3D Printing Composites 2021-2031: Technology and Market Analysis,” IDTechEx forecast the market to reach $2 billion by 2031, which, according to the company, represents significant growth from the current market size. Greater than a 9-fold increase from the calculated 2021 revenue for the most mature extrusion/placement technology is expected, IDTechEx adds. 

“Advanced composite materials opens up new ways to create lighter, stronger parts with less waste in a fraction of the time of traditional manufacturing methods, making them a critical part of an additive manufacturing strategy,” Michael Papish from Markforged tells IDTechEx. “We've seen demand for new composites and methods grow; in response to customer needs, we'll launch the FX20 printer later this year, the biggest, fastest and most sophisticated printer we've ever developed, which will open up new composite applications in aerospace, defense, automotive and oil & gas.

“Over the next 10 years, the global additive market is projected to grow 10x and we believe advanced composite printers and materials will play a key role as manufacturers look for new ways to overcome their supply chain challenges,” Papish adds.

There are several reasons for this growth, IDTechEx reports:

• Technology maturity. This industry has benefited from the development of 3D printing polymers and metals, but there are special considerations from the print head through to the software that had to further develop to fully use the anisotropic properties from the fibers.
• Application maturity. It takes time for end users to find the value-add applications, according to IDTechEx. This has now happened for numerous sectors with benefits ranging from lightweighting through to reducing inventory costs or downtime with replacement tools, jigs or fixtures. The applications will not be the high-volume end-use parts that grab headlines and that many initially aspire to, but nevertheless, tooling, key roles on the manufacturing floor, and low-mid volume part production are still very profitable fields.
• Supply chain maturity. This is often a challenge for a young industry, but the market has seen key partnerships from material manufacturers to distributors that have helped remove this pain point.

Funding, market launches and new entrants have dramatically increased in recent years, according to IDTechEx. This competition is healthy, and there are different business models; the only issue may be in IP lawsuits that could slow this growth, the company adds. There is a significant amount of capital investment in this field and with that IDTechEx are anticipating some M&A activity and, in the longer term, consolidation in the number of players.

The technology progression is also incomplete. There are numerous innovations with some associated with the progression of thermoset resins that will come to market over the decade. There is the development of automation within composite manufacturing in general, from simple pick-and-place robots through to rapid preforming. 

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

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.