Industrial-Class 3D-Printer Shipments Up in H1 2018


Industrial-Class 3D-Printer Shipments Up in H1 2018
3d printing

Industrial-Class 3D-Printer Shipments Up in H1 2018

Industrial-Class 3D-Printer Shipments Up in H1 2018


On the heels of one of the largest general manufacturing shows in the world - September's IMTS in Chicago - the Industrial 3D-printer market finds itself on a good footing with shipments during the first half of the year up +22%. Shipments of Industrial-class 3D printers which produce plastic/polymer components were +18% higher than a year ago, while those of Industrial metal 3D printers were up +30% year-on-year.

Polymer-based 3D printers accounted for 68% of all Industrial printers shipped during the first half of 2018, and the ongoing rise of shipments from HP and Carbon more than took up the slack from Stratasys which, although it remains the industry leader, continued to struggle. While Q2 was fantastic for 3D Systems, the leading publicly traded company in this market, most of its growth came from shipments of Design and Professional printers. The company began shipping new products - including the much-anticipated Figure 4 systems - in Q3, so the second half of the year is expected to be strong. While most companies focused shipments on North America and Western Europe, UnionTech remained solid largely because of its focus on China.

While Industrial-class models are not the only 3D printers on the market, this segment's shipments represented 70% of total printer revenues in H1 2018. The Industrial class of 3D printers is currently the most closely monitored, due to its ability to disrupt the $12T global manufacturing industry.


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