Polymer Additive Manufacturing market valued at EUR 5.14 billion in 2020

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market 2021

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market size

Polymer AM suppliers predict to hit double-digit billion range by 2025

Polymer Additive Manufacturing was a key element to overcome the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The technology of polymer Additive Manufacturing was highlighted by the media for its capability of suppling medical goods quickly, where and when they were needed. Additive Manufacturing was broadly used to overcome the lack of availability for certain goods suddenly spiking in demand. Most prominent example is the manufacturing of nasal swabs or face shields as the traditional production lines were not available or able to cover the demand on such short notice. Overall, the AM community demonstrated the advantages and capabilities of the technology in such scenarios.
Nevertheless, most suppliers from the polymer AM industry reported a near to flat year in 2020, reaching an overall market value of EUR 5.14 billion. However, parallel to the general economic recovery in 2021 and beyond, the AM market expects to go back to its strong growth of the past. Suppliers expect a CAGR of 15.4 % over the next 5 years.

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market 2020 and supplier forecast 2025 [EUR billion] preview

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market by region

AMER is leading the way in polymer Additive Manufacturing

The market analysis segmented by regions will provide insights into the current state and outlook of the polymer Additive Manufacturing market for the different areas of the world.
The regions of interest are mostly categorized into the groups of the Americas (AMER), the Asia Pacific region (APAC) consisting of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania as well as the group of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market by technology

LB-PBF is the dominating technology in the Additive Manufacturing market

Currently 16 different polymer Additive Manufacturing technologies are commercially available. Many of them in an early market penetration stage looking for fast growth and increasing market share.
Filament Based Material Extrusion continuous to lead the way in polymer Additive Manufacturing.
The spread of this technology will continue to dominate the installed base in the future. However, other technologies will gain share in the next 5 years and thus further diversify the market. Particularly, Area-wise Vat Polymerization is projected to gain market share as productivity increases are expected.

Polymer machine sales by technology 2020 [units] preview

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market by industry

Mass customization of individual products on the rise

Various industries have successfully adopted polymer Additive Manufacturing. Medical and dental have fully embraced the technology and exploit its potential in the mass customization of medical supplies.
The AMPOWER Report clusters industries into the categories of “Civil Aviation, Turbines, Helicopters”, “Defense, Space”, “Automotive, Motorsports, Trucks, Buses”, “Energy, Powerplants, Oil and Gas”, “Medical”, “Dental”, “Mechanical Engineering, Automation, Robotics”, “Tooling, Moulding”, “Naval, Rail”, “Consumer Goods” and “Others”. The following chapter will describe the metal Additive Manufacturing market from the perspective of these verticals.

Industrial polymer system sales revenue by industry 2020 [EUR billion]

Polymer Additive Manufacturing market by material

Polymer materials consumption to annually grow

The polymer Additive Manufacturing material market is expected to significantly increase from 2020 to 2025. Most of the material consumption is driven by mass customized products and serial production.
Over the next years, it is expected that the material market will adapt to the certain characteristic of the applications. The extended material portfolio within all printing material categories will eventually enable the development of new applications. Material as the source of the polymer Additive Manufacturing will contribute to the maturing of the polymer market.

Industrial polymer material consumption 2020 and forecast 2025 [ton] preview

Polymer Additive Manufacturing industrialization

Dental leads mass customization efforts

Over 16 different polymer AM technologies are currently known and all at different stages of technological and industrial maturity. This section evaluates important characteristics describing the state of the industrial use of polymer AM today and in the future.
While the dental industry has already implemented mass customized products, the consumer goods industry is also picking up the advantages of Additive Manufacturing. The mass customization of lattice structures within sporting goods or eye ware frames is just another step for the polymer Additive Manufacturing market to take to widespread industrial use of AM.