3D printer market rose 35 percent in 2015

Shipments of 3D printers rose 35 percent to 173,962 units in the first three quarters of 2015 compared with the same time period in the previous year. The increase is due largely to low-price personal/desktop 3D printers, according to a report from Context, an IT market research group. The sub-$5,000 market grew 38 percent and made up 95 percent of total shipments. The industrial sector of the market saw a 3 percent decline to 8,706 units. Some of the well-known 3D printer companies did not have a good 2015 as less expensive China companies cannibalized sales. Most notably, the 2014 market leader Stratasys, which owns the MakerBot brand, declined significantly, ceding the top spot to XYZprinting, which had 17 percent of the personal/desktop market during this time. Context’s vice president of global analysis Chris Connery noted that the 3D printer market has not gone mainstream yet, but the products have become important to many because of their profession or education.

Aside from XYZPrinting, the other manufacturers rounding up the top five in order are 3D Systems, Stratasys, Ultimaker and M3D. While Stratasys was knocked down to third place in the personal/desktop segment, it still dominated the industrial/professional sector with 49 percent of shipments and maintained lead by revenue, taking 40 percent. The 3D printing market, including hardware, materials and services, is expected to grow from $4.3 billion in 2015 to $17.7 billion in 2020, so there is plenty more revenue to be had by other players in the field. The market is expected to get more crowded, too, with HP, Canon, Ricoh and Toshiba Machines all having announced their intentions to enter the 3D printing space.

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