Desktop 3D Printing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Component, By Technology, By Software, By Application (Prototyping, Tooling, Functional Parts), By Vertical, By Material, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Report Overview:

The global desktop 3D printing market size was estimated at USD 3.96 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4% from 2023 to 2030. The emerging applications of additive manufacturing, as well as the increasing need for rapid prototyping and advanced manufacturing in several verticals, are driving the expansion of the desktop 3D printers industry worldwide. The growth is anticipated to be hampered by limitations in raw materials & machinery, and intellectual property concerns. Increased demand for rapid prototyping has allowed manufacturers to design and build efficient products and systems. These factors are expected to collectively drive the market growth over the projected period.

Furthermore, the simplicity of production and additional benefits provided by 3D printing technology are vital drivers in the widespread acceptance of 3D printing technology across numerous verticals. Prototyping, structural design of structures and end products, modeling, and improved time to market are advantages of 3D printing for manufacturers. It has significantly reduced manufacturing costs, allowing manufacturers to provide superior products at affordable prices.

Component Insights

In terms of components, the market is classified into hardware, software, and services. The hardware component dominated the global market, registering a revenue share of 65.8% in 2022. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.0% over the forecast period. Rapid prototyping and advanced manufacturing practices have fueled the growth of the hardware segment.

Factors including increasing penetration of consumer electronic products, rapid industrialization, and urbanization, developing civil infrastructure, and optimized labor costs have propelled the hardware segment's growth over the forecast period. The hardware is responsible for producing end parts with similar parameters, including the orientation, position, and placement of components concerning other elements in the print bed. However, the reliability and accuracy of desktop printers are a prime challenge for hardware manufacturers as the fabrication of metals remains crucial.

The software segment is the second dominating segment based on the component in 2022, gaining a share of 27.5%. It is expected to grow at a notable CAGR of 23.9% over the forecast period. Increasing demand for efficient automation of project and production management for 3D manufacturing has increased the market for the software segment. Each step of the production process in 3D printing primarily depends on software. In addition to automating production operations like build preparation and machine scheduling, the software can provide real-time production data and insights.

Technology Insights

Based on technology, the market is classified into stereolithography, fuse deposition modeling, selective laser sintering, digital light processing, laminated object manufacturing, and others. The digital light processing segment dominated the overall desktop 3D printing hardware industry in 2022, gaining a share of 21.2%. It is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 24.5% during the forecast period. Increasing demand for jewelry production and manufacturing of parts with minute and fine details has increased the adoption of digital light processing across several industry verticals. Digital light processing is similar to that of stereolithography, wherein a safelight (light bulb) is used instead of UV laser to cure the photopolymer resin.

The stereolithography segment is expected to witness a significant CAGR of 22.1% during the forecast period. The stereolithography process enables users to create concept models, complex parts with intricate designs, and rapid prototypes for cosmetics. The process is one of the several methods used to build 3D-printed objects and is amongst the most traditional methods. The technique incorporates the stereolithography apparatus (SLA), which transforms liquid plastic into solid objects. The technology has gained momentum since it makes highly accurate parts using advanced materials and offers isotropic and watertight prototypes featuring a fine and smooth surface finish.

Application Insights

The market is classified into prototyping, tooling, and functional parts based on application. The functional parts segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 23.2%. The prominent growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for designing and building functional parts. 3D printing is a versatile process that is used to create anything from desk trinkets, ornaments, and functioning parts, among others.

Smaller joints and other metallic hardware connecting components are examples of functional parts. When developing machinery and systems, the accuracy of these functioning pieces and their precise sizing are essential. 3D printing of functional parts offers users to easily fabricate the prototype without relying on machine shop resources, allowing iteration with shorter lead times leading to lessened fabrication costs and reduced time to market.

The prototyping segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 23.8% from 2023 to 2030. The market for the prototyping segment has witnessed extensive adoption across several industry verticals. The automotive, aerospace, and defense verticals use prototyping to design and develop parts, components, and complex systems. Prototyping offers highly accurate results allowing manufacturers to build reliable end products. Hence, the segment is anticipated to continue dominating the market during the forecast period.

Material Insights

The market is classified into plastic, metal, and ceramic segments in terms of material. The plastic segment is expected to dominate in 2022 with a 51.4% share of the overall revenue. The demand for plastic to create 3D-printed molds has increased due to its highly flexible manufacturing capabilities. Plastic is comparatively inexpensive, readily available, and suitable for several extrusion processes. Moreover, researchers are conducting extensive research and development to innovate new polymers by synthesizing several polymers and blending them with existing raw materials to ensure better performance in the final product.

On the other hand, the metal segment is predicted to expand at the fastest CAGR of 31.8% throughout the forecast period. The metal used for 3D printing is becoming more popular as the demand for direct fabrication of complex end-use parts grows. Metals enable tooling for traditional manufacturing technologies easier, lowering costs and shortening lead times. Metal 3D printing blends 3D printing's design flexibility with metal's mechanical qualities.

Software Insights

The market is classified into design software, inspection software, printer software, and scanning software segments based on software category. The design software segment dominated the market in 2022, gaining a revenue share of 40.2%, and is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. Design software allows users in the automotive, construction, aerospace and defense, and engineering verticals to create designs of the object to be printed. Design software acts as a bridge between the components to be printed and the printer’s hardware.

On the other hand, the scanning software is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 24.8% during the forecast period. The growing popularity of scanning items and saving scanned papers is expected to increase the demand for scanning software. Scanning software maintains images of objects regardless of size or dimensions for 3-dimensional printing of these products as needed.

Vertical Insights

The market is classified into education, fashion & jewelry, objects, dental/healthcare, food, and other segments in terms of vertical. The dental/healthcare segment dominated with a 23.5% share of the overall revenue. Due to the active implementation of technology in many production processes related to this vertical, the healthcare vertical is expected to contribute considerably to the expansion of desktop additive manufacturing during the projection period. AM contributes to developing artificial tissues and muscles that mimic actual human tissues and can be utilized in replacement surgeries in the healthcare sector. These features are likely to aid in adopting desktop 3D printers in the healthcare sector and contribute considerably to the vertical's growth.

The fashion & jewelry segment is anticipated to witness notable growth at a CAGR of 24.2% over the forecast period. The increasing adoption of 3D printing in manufacturing miniatures, imitation jewelry, clothing, apparel, and art and craft has propelled the market growth. The concepts of investment casting and lost wax casting are integrated with the capabilities of a digital design and manufacturing process for manufacturing 3D-printed jewelry. Jewelers utilize CAD software tools to create digital designs, and these designs are then fed into a high-resolution 3D printer to print the 3D printed patterns, which are cast into the mold. 3D printing minimizes time-intensive manual labor and allows users to efficiently preserve the design, modify and recreate it when required.

Regional Insights

North America is estimated to continue being the leading contributor in the global market, in terms of revenue share. The region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.2% throughout the forecast period. Factors such as the presence of significant players in the region and the ability of consumers to spend higher when compared to other regions are further expected to drive the market growth. Further, the use of 3D-printed metal components in private aerospace companies and the government sector, coupled with high defense expenditure in the U.S., is expected to propel market growth over the forecast period. The U.S. and Canada have primarily adopted 3D printing technology across several manufacturing processes, which has largely contributed to the development of the 3D printing industry over the forecast years. The regional market offers lucrative opportunities for additive manufacturing in different applications.

Europe is likely to emerge as the second most promising region during the forecast period. Rising technological advancements and large-scale adoption of additive manufacturing technology are the factors propelling growth in this region. Favorable government policies, increased funding for R&D, and technology standardization across Europe are expected to boost market growth over the forecast period. According to AMFG, a leading European player engaged in providing automation software for additive manufacturing, Europe is the region with the highest number of additive manufacturing firms.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is anticipated to witness increased competition due to several players' presence. The major players have heavily invested in R&D activities to innovate and develop new composites for 3D printing across several verticals. It has resulted in these players gaining a competitive edge over their rivals. Market players in the desktop 3D printing industry are continuously improvising the 3D printing technology in response to the growing demand for desktop 3D printing applications from the fashion & jewelry, objects, and construction verticals for manufacturing purposes.

Key players are primarily following organic and inorganic strategies, including new product development, expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and investments. For instance, in May 2022, HP Inc. partnered with Oechsler, a plastics technology firm, and Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT), an automated post-processing systems manufacturer, to commence series production of powder-based additive manufacturing processes in Oechsler’s Ansbach-Brodswinden site in Germany. Oechsler is expected to expand its additive manufacturing service portfolio using the HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printers through this partnership. Some prominent players in the global desktop 3D printing market include:

• 3D Systems, Inc.

• 3DCeram

• Autodesk, Inc.

• Canon, Inc.

• Dassault Systèmes

• EnvisionTEC

• EOS (Electro Optical Systems) GmbH

• ExOne

• GE Additive

• Materialise NV

• Proto Labs, Inc.

• Shapeways, Inc.

• Stratasys Ltd.

• Voxeljet AG

Desktop 3D Printing Market Report Scope

Global Desktop 3D Printing Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global desktop 3D printing market report based on component, technology, software, application, vertical, material, and region:

• Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Hardware

  • Software

  • Services

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Stereolithography

  • Fuse Deposition Modeling

  • Selective Laser Sintering

  • Digital Light Processing

  • Laminated Object Manufacturing

  • Others

• Software Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Design Software

  • Inspection Software

  • Printer Software

  • Scanning Software

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Prototyping

  • Tooling

  • Functional Parts

• Vertical Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Educational Purpose

  • Fashion & Jewelry

  • Objects

  • Dental/Healthcare

  • Food

  • Others

• Material Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Plastic

  • Metal

  • Ceramic

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

    • South Korea

    • Singapore

  • South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa