South Korea's nascent 3D printer industry highlights FDM, DLP types

More South Korea suppliers join the sector, eyeing growth potential as technology adoption gathers steam.

The market potential of 3D printers has been attracting South Korea makers to the line. There are now about 80 suppliers and an estimated 50 are recent entrants. The majority adopts the mature fused deposition modeling or FDM, while a few turn to digital light processing or DLP.

Carima Co. Ltd and illuminaid Co. Ltd are among the latter group. The first started R&D 15 years ago and entered commercial production in 2009. It is ranked seventh in the world in the Wohlers Report 2014 based on share of the 3D industrial printer market. Carima exports half of output to 25 countries, including the US and those in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

illuminaid offers DLP units but largely for domestic distribution. 3D Printing Co. Ltd is preparing to venture into manufacture of DLP variants while continuing to rely on FDM for its core business.

As for stereolithography, no maker in South Korea has tapped the technology at present, said Hyunjun Ryu, Carima's marketing team manager.

In target application, interviewed suppliers agree the education sector presents the most opportunities at present. 3D Printing Co. Ltd is focusing on kits for this segment, noting repeat orders as the product is used as learning tools. NTREX Co. Ltd is planning to bundle instructive materials with its kits for value enhancement, said Jimin Youm, head of the maker's RexBot3D printer team. Carima said academic institutions and government research facilities are its biggest market, followed by the healthcare and chemical industries.

3D Printing predicts huge prospects in the next three years beyond the education segment. "An indication would be the efforts by countries such as Japan and Germany, which are preparing to replace existing semiconductor manufacturing facilities with 3D printing technology," said SunGirl Hong, the maker's technology director. "Some companies are trying to introduce it to the wearables sector to offer higher value-added products."

"The market will be diversified further into segments such as jewelry and medical equipment," said Carima's Ryu.

illuminaid ventured into the dental application in July 2015 after developing a better material for it. CEO Chanwoo Hong said the company is looking to expand to ceramics.

To differentiate products, 3D Printing adopts a linear motion guide to reduce vibration and noise. It ensures easy-assemble but durable designs. The maker and illuminaid have lighter weight models on the agenda. This is to lower freight cost.

Globally, the 3D market, including equipment, relevant servicesand materials, will hit $10.8 billion by 2021 from $2.2 billion in 2012, according to Wohlers Associates. The potential applications are in the consumer electronics and nonelectronics, medical and dental, automotive and industrial sectors.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information projects the local market will have 40 percent CAGR in 2012-16.

See a comparison table of 3D printer suppliers on GlobalSources.com