With the metal additive manufacturing market experiencing a stage of high-growth, Machine shops are starting to look into Compact Industrial Metal 3D printer as a necessary addition to existing CNC machining, and are investigating how to bring this capability in-house.
Until recently, most of the focus in metal additive manufacturing has been on large-scale, highly complicated, and expensive printer hardware. As a result, the conversation is often directed towards throughput rather than accessibility. But, investing in $1M+ printer hardware that requires a dedicated space might not be feasible. Aside from the high capital, operation, and maintenance costs, most industrial metal 3D printers also require a large footprint, not to mention a large learning curve. However, there are still options for companies unable to spend seven figures and build a dedicated space.
This relatively new sub-segment of Compact Industrial Metal 3D printers (or metal “Desktop” printers) offer a more accessible price-point and shorter learning curve, while still offering industrial-level production and quality. The analyst has identified Machine Shops as one of the primary customers investigating this market and have developed a Manager’s Guide to help facilitate the journey.
This Manager’s Guide Will Include:
- The definition and requirements for Compact Industrial Metal 3D printers.
- An overview of the hardware technologies, with things to consider and the pros and cons of each.
- An in-depth discussion on the various applications within automotive, aerospace, medical/dental, and general manufacturing.
- A critical comparison of CNC machining vs. Compact Industrial Metal 3D printing.
- A detailed review of each of the current notable Compact Industrial Metal 3D printers on or about to enter the market.
- A discussion on the cost of ownership of the various technologies and notable Compact Industrial Metal 3D printers.
This report is directed toward the end-user market, the companies that are active users of additive manufacturing or considering its adoption. While suppliers of additive manufacturing may find the report useful this study differs from the related study, Compact Industrial Metal AM Printer Market Opportunities 2019 which provides broader analysis and forecasting of the addressable market for the supply chain.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background and Objective
1.2 Definition and Requirements
1.2.1 Accessibility
1.2.2 Speed and Quality
1.2.3 Applicability
1.2.4 Cost
1.2.5 Summary and Comparison of Compact Industrial vs. High-end and Maker/Prosumer Printers
Chapter Two: Printer Technologies
2.1 Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)
2.2 Material Extrusion (ME)
2.3 Directed Energy Deposition (DED)
2.4 Summary
Chapter Three: Applications of Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers
3.1 Applications in a Product’s Lifecycle
3.1.1 Applications in the Innovation Stage
3.1.2 Applications in the Growth Stage
3.1.3 Applications in the Production Stage
3.1.4 Applications in the Decline Stage
3.2 Applications by Vertical
3.2.1 Applications within Automotive
3.2.2 Applications within Aerospace
3.2.3 Applications within Medical and Dental
3.2.4 Application within General Industrial Manufacturing
Chapter Four: Compact Industrial Metal Printers vs. CNC Machining
4.1 Physical Considerations of 3D Printing vs. CNC Machining
4.2 Economic Considerations of 3D Printing vs. CNC Machining
4.3 Summary of 3D Printing vs. CNC Machining
Chapter Five: Notable Compact Industrial Metal Printer Manufacturers
5.1 Additec
5.2 Aurora Labs
5.3 Desktop Metal
5.4 Markforged
5.5 OR Laser/Coherent
5.6 Pollen AM
5.7 Xact Metal
5.8 Others
5.9 Summary
Chapter Six: Cost of Ownership
6.1 Hardware Costs
6.2 Material Costs
6.3 Post Processing
About the Analyst
Acronyms and Abbreviations Used In this Report
List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1-1: Evaluation Criteria for Compact Industrial Metal Printers
Exhibit 1-2: Typical Characteristics of Maker, Prosumer, Compact Industrial Metal, and High-end 3D Printing Solutions
Exhibit 1-3: Speed and Quality vs. Ease of Use for the Various Categories of Metal 3D Printers
Exhibit 1-4: Cost vs. Application/Customer-Base for the Various Categories of Metal 3D Printers
Exhibit 2-1: The Complete Materials Extrusion Process Utilized by Markforged and Desktop Metal
Exhibit 2-2: Benefits and Limitations of Technologies Implemented for Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers
Exhibit 3-1: Applications for Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers within Each Stage of a Product’s Lifecycle
Exhibit 3-2: Considerations for Applications by Printer Technology
Exhibit 3-3: Market Adoption Statistics for Metal Additively Manufactured Implants
Exhibit 4-1: A Comparison of Compact Industrial Metal (CIM) 3D Printing vs. CNC Machining
Exhibit 5-1: A Comparison within the Materials Extrusion (ME) Sub-Segment of Solutions
Exhibit 5-2: A Comparison within the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) Sub-segment of Solutions
Exhibit 5-3: A Summary of the Build Volumes and Spatial Requirements for the Notable Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers (Color sorted by printer technology)
Exhibit 5-4: A Summary of the Resolution and Laser Power for the Notable Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers (Color sorted by printer technology)
Exhibit 6-1: A Summary of the Pricing for the Notable Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers (Color sorted by printer technology)
Exhibit 6-2: Estimated Costs for 17-4 PH Stainless Steel for use in Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers
Exhibit 6-3: Estimated Costs for 17-4 PH Stainless Steel Feedstock for PBF, ME and DED Compact Industrial Metal Printers, as a Function of the Metal-Contained
Executive Summary
The report, “Manager’s Guide to Compact Industrial Metal 3D Printers” is intended to help facilitate end-users and machines shops with bringing this technology in-house.
According to the analyst, the ‘real’ metal desktop printers can be better described as “Compact Industrial Metal” 3D printers. These printers offer a more accessible price-point, shorter learning curve, and compact footprint, while still offering industrial-level quality. This class of metal printers addresses a significant hole in the marketplace and creates a lower-level entry point for new industrial users of metal 3D printing technology. Recognizing that Machine Shops are one of the most prolific emerging customers in this segment, the analyst has utilized their research to create this new Manager’s Guide.
About the report:
This report outlines the definition and applications of Compact Industrial Metal 3D printers. It includes a critical comparison of CNC machining vs. CIM 3D printers, a detailed review of notable Compact Industrial Metal (CIM) 3D printers and technologies, and a discussion on the cost of ownership. This Manager’s Guide was developed to provide the necessary information to facilitate Machine Shops with bringing this technology in-house. The companies discussed include Markforged, Desktop Metal, Xact Metal, and Coherent, among others.
From the report:
When looking closer at Compact Industrial metal printers, the growth of metal AM as a whole will be aided directly and indirectly by the introduction and refinement of this growing class of metal 3D printers. Not only does the introduction of these new technologies give accessibility to a new group of customers, but they will greatly aid the education and further development of 3D printing as a manufacturing tool across industries and applications. These Compact Industrial metal printing solutions give accessibility to an entirely new segment of the market. With a total system cost of less than $200,000 and minimal set-up requirements, industrial customers now have an increasing number of options to aid in their exploration of metal additive manufacturing.
The most recognizable technologies in this market are the material extrusion technologies, specifically by Desktop Metal and Markforged, which are poised to grow dramatically. By borrowing heavily from materials science established within metal injection molding (MIM), bound metal deposition techniques are experiencing a much higher adoption rate than earlier AM technologies. It is within this subsegment that we are currently seeing a lot of growth for the Compact Industrial metal printing market.
On the other hand, the integration of directed energy deposition technologies with subtractive CNC machining tools has grown significantly in the last couple of years and helped to establish a stronger link between the additive and subtractive digital manufacturing processes. Furthermore, continued improvements within powder bed fusion technologies are being implemented in two ways, which is ultimately opposite of one another: improved productivity and increased accessibility, with the latter driving Compact Industrial Metal printing market growth.
The most notable contributors to the Compact Industrial metal printing market have been, and still are, Markforged and Desktop Metal. And, until recently, Aurora Labs and OR Laser were the only other notable Compact Industrial metal printer manufacturers that had shipped units, taking orders as early as 2016. Pollen AM and Additec are expected to ship units this year, and Xact Metal started shipping the 200C at the end of 2018 and expects to begin shipping the 200S mid-2019.
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Additec
- Aurora Labs
- Desktop Metal
- Markforged
- OR Laser/Coherent
- Pollen AM
- Xact Metal
