Metal Additive Manufacturing Market Size and Trends

Global metal additive manufacturing market is estimated to be valued at USD 5.85 Bn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 14.37 Bn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7% from 2024 to 2031.

Metal Additive Manufacturing Market Key Factors

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Global metal additive manufacturing market growth is driven by increasing demand from the automotive industry for additive manufacturing of complex parts and a reduction in production costs. Adoption of 3D printing for rapid prototyping and increasing focus on personalized healthcare can also boost demand. Ongoing research and development activities to expand the application scope along with the capability to produce intricate design parts, not possible through conventional methods, can provide opportunities for market growth in the near future. However, high capital requirement for equipment and lack of standard processes can hamper the market growth.

Customization of applications

Additive manufacturing enables the customization of applications in manufacturing industry. With additive processes, manufacturers can produce complex parts and products with intricate internal features, moving parts, optimized lattices and lightweight designs, which were simply not possible with traditional machining or molding. These also have capability produce fully customized designs on demand for each customer without having to produce bulk inventory. This offer tremendous value to customers who need specially designed solution for their unique application or requirements.

Now designers have freedom to design without limitation of machinability or molding constraints. These can configure complex internal cooling channels in metal parts, put customized logo or designs on products and create complex geometries optimized for strength or other performance parameters. Recently an example where a manufacturer of off-road vehicles was able to produce suspension joints of customized design for each vehicle depending on its intended application of rough terrain racing or long-distance Rally. Previously these manufacturers had to produce standard design with some compromises to cater to both types of vehicles but with additive manufacturing these could tune the suspension for precise needs.

Even in production of replacement parts, additive manufacturing allows customized configuration. A tool and die factory had problem with frequent breakdown of particular machine part which required long downtime for replacements to be shipped from overseas. With metal additive technology inhouse, these are now able to scan the damaged part, modify the design as needed and print customized replacement part within a day to minimize disruption.

Cost-effectiveness for low-volume production

Competitive advantage of metal additive manufacturing for production of low volume parts with complex designs can drive the market growth. While traditional methods of machining or molding require high set-up costs and long lead times for non-standard parts, additive processes have much lower incremental costs for additional parts. Once the initial file preparation is done, additional parts can be printed with relatively lower material and time costs involved. This makes additive manufacturing highly cost effective for prototype development and low-rate initial production where very few parts may be needed.

An aerospace components OEM assessed production of minor spare part which was needed occasionally when older aircraft went through routine maintenance check. With traditional methods, the small production volumes did not justify investments in tooling or setup. With metal 3D printing, these were able to produce these customized parts on demand without minimum order quantities or shelf-life issues of pre-produced inventory. Similarly, medical device companies routinely use additive processes to produce surgical guides, dental moldings or customized implants based on patients CT/MRI scans. Provided each patient's anatomy is unique, conventional production becomes too costly.

Many industrial equipment manufacturers have transitioned from refurbishing old components to additive repair or replacement due to cost benefits. Rather than warehousing inventory of standardized parts, printers can now be setup on-site or near field service centers to print any customized parts when needed. Overall total ownership cost reduces significantly especially when transportation or inventory carrying costs are high for infrequently needed specialty parts.

Additive manufacturing allows traversing the learning curve much faster for new complex product development when iterations are needed. Limited production runs for testing designs or new materials become feasible as compared to conventional tooling. Effectively it lowers the barriers for low volume specialized component manufacturing.