North America 3D 4D Technology Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The North America 3D 4D Technology Market is expected to reach a CAGR of 15.5% during the forecast period 2021-2026. According to the US Department of Defence, the outbreak of COVID-19 is affected the cost, schedule, and performance of many DoD contracts, and such impact is beyond the control of the contractor. As the USAF and the US military are investing in 4D printing technology, mainly to bolster infrastructure, while establishing American airpower as a prominent player in the industry, the COVID-19 outbreak is projected to impact the development of 4D printing in the region.​

Key Highlights

• The necessity for 3D printing to aid the disrupted supply chain, firms' moves to improve the variety and range of products to be printed in the long term, and companies' moves toward developing a digital inventory are all factors that will drive the post-COVID-19 3D printing market growth. In the long term, businesses will have to adopt new strategies and make dramatic adjustments to ensure that they do not find themselves in a scenario similar to what they are currently facing due to a future pandemic. As a result, 3D printing is an important aspect of enterprises' digitalization initiatives, which are expected to pick up speed in the future years.
• Furthermore, according to the US National Health Expenditure Projections 2018-2027, the US National health expenditures witnessed a growth of 4.8% in 2019, an increase from 4.4% growth in 2018, and reached USD 3.8 trillion. The spending is projected to increase from year to year. Moreover, the strong presence of market leaders, such as Autodesk Inc. and PhotoModeler Technologies in North America, provided the region with a dominant position in the global market. In the healthcare segment, with the increasing health issues, researchers and players are continuously developing new discoveries in the membrane protein, with inventions through 3D reconstruction, along with new theories in the anatomy part.​
• Similarly, the technological advancements in 4D printing are resulting in the development of technologies in the medical sector. For instance, to minimize the procedures involved in surgery, doctors are using 4D printing to place self-transforming components into the patient's body. Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, the rate of new hospitalizations declined by 50% in the United States.​
• Realistic movies with 3D and 4D motion images and interactive effects are increasingly popular in the entertainment sector. With recent advancements in 3D animation and computer-based graphics, 3D has become the industry standard for special effects. In recent years, 3D animation in films has surpassed both physical effects and hand-drawn animation in terms of popularity. Visual effects (VFX) are also commonly utilized in films to create a more realistic setting. Movies are increasingly employing 4D technology to provide an immersive, multi-sensory cinematic experience.

Key Market Trends

Healthcare is Expected to Hold Prominent Market Share

• With the increasing technology integration in the medical field and the growing manufacturing industry, the demand for 3D reconstruction is expected to increase significantly. Furthermore, with new inventions in the field of spatial recognition by the players, and the application usage in media and films, 3D reconstruction inhibits profitable growth. The market is supported by end-users who are ready to pay premium prices for upgraded services, which support the initial adoption rate.​
• It is expected that in the United States alone, close to 200,000 amputations are performed each year, with prosthetics priced from USD 5,000-USD 50,000; replacement or alterations can be time-consuming and expensive. AM technology is regularly being used to produce patient-specific components of prosthetics, which match perfectly with the user's anatomy. The ability to produce complex geometries from a range of materials has resulted in AM being adapted at the locations where prosthetics are in contact with a patient.
• Growing incidences of chronic illnesses leading to organ and tissue transplants and the limited number of organ donors are some of the primary factors driving the market growth. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), 3D printers are already being relied on to manufacture medical equipment and surgical devices that can match a patient's unique body type or anatomical requirements. The specialized surgical equipment enables doctors to treat the individual needs of their patients more effectively and efficiently. ​
• Moreover, opportunities for expansion of the US medical device come from specific key ongoing policies and activities. For example, the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) launched the 3D Printing Special Interest Group (SIG). Intending to support radiology-centered, hospital-based, point of care 3D printing to impact more patients, it had set up several committees to work in different areas. The areas include prosthetics, anaplastology, regulatory and compliance, and simulations, among others.​

3D Printer is One of the Factor Driving the Market

• 3D printers are utilized in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, health, education, and non-custom prototyping. Both the commercial sector and the federal government have backed these 3D printing uses. The National Science Foundation has provided financing for basic and applied research and research and development from mission organizations such as the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (also known as America Makes) is the flagship institute of the Manufacturing USA initiative, and it has provided substantial federal funding for additive manufacturing. This collaboration between industry, academia, and the government aims to "[accelerate] the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in the United States to boost American manufacturing competitiveness." Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in both public and private 3D printing-related firms and research and development in recent years.
• Medical research and the outcomes of complex operations and particularly difficult cases can benefit from 3D printing. Both Chinese and American researchers have 3D printed models of dangerous tumors to aid in the discovery of novel anti-cancer medications and to understand better how tumors develop, grow, and spread. "Bioprinted cancer models can even approximate the 3D heterogeneity of real tumors.
• In comparison to other manufacturing techniques, 3D printing is unusual in that the time and expenses involved in fabrication are independent of the complexity of the product. Instead, the weight of the materials being deposited in the device determines the lead time. As a result, prototype and completed product fabrication timeframes are extremely predictable. 3D printing reduces repetitive etching, pressing, drilling, and finishing operations during the production of complicated electrical devices, notably multilayer PCBs. A fully working board can be printed in less time than a traditional technique with the correct additive manufacturing technology and process.

Competitive Landscape

North America is the leading market as it has a large number of new investments in the research and development of 3D/4D technology and therefore is a moderately fragmented market. The key market participants of this technology are Dolby Laboratories Inc., Sony Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, 3D Systems, and Stratasys Inc.

• September 2021: LG Electronics USA (LG) has launched an immersive 3D multimedia series to commemorate the start of the school year, which debuted this week on the company's giant high-definition digital billboard above New York City's historic Times Square. LG's first 3D content series for billboards, timed for the back-to-school season, ushers in a three-phase visual spectacular that represents LG's efforts to communicate with viewers directly around seasons that everyone experiences, despite the distance created by the new normal.​
• September 2020: With the adoption of Barco's newest simulation projector for their latest multi-system contract for military jet trainers, Barco, a global leader in visualization technology and 3D perception, is a designer and supplier of turn-key seamless visual display systems and technologies, continue their long-standing partnership.

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