Crozet, VA: According to a newly issued report from SmarTech Analysis, the additive manufacturing (AM) industry will utilize almost $350 million worth of industrial lasers by the end of 2019, with the bulk of these revenues coming from laser sales for SLA and PBF machines. SmarTech’s report projects that in 2024, AM laser revenues are expected to grow to $870 million in revenues and go on to reach almost $1.2 billion by 2028.
The new SmarTech Analysis report is titled “The Market for Lasers In The Additive Manufacturing Sector: 2019-2028”. Details about the report are available at https://additivemanufacturingresearch.com/reports/lasers-in-additive-manufacturing-sector-2019-2028/ including a description, TOC and sample excerpt.
About the Report:
This SmarTech Analysis report identifies and quantifies the opportunities to sell industrial lasers to the 3D printing/AM industry. Another goal of this report is to pinpoint where cost and technical advantages can help 3D printer firms achieve a competitive advantage. The report also discusses trends towards non-laser AM solutions, such as DLP and jetting; trends which reduce the number of lasers need for AM machines.
This report covers laser-related opportunities in established areas of AM including SLA, PBF, and DED, along with some AM processes that are still in the labs. It also includes a market assessment of laser-based post-processing of 3D-printed objects. Laser types covered include Nd:NVO4, CO2, excimer, diode lasers and Yb-fiber lasers. An analysis of pump lasers used in the AM sector is also included. The report also examines the role of multilaser design strategies in the AM industry.
The ten-year forecasts contained in this report break out the market for lasers in the AM sector by laser type, AM process and geography. The report also includes profiles of leading firms that are shaping laser-related strategies in the AM sector. These companies include Coherent, Concept Laser/GE, EOS, Formalloy, GE Global Research, IPG Photonics, Optomec, Renishaw, SISMA and Trumpf, among others.
From the Report:
Multi-laser machines are a major trend in the AM industry and are making AM more productive for the end user. They also use more lasers than conventional 3D printers; good news for the laser industry. Multi-laser machines also provide a new way for 3D printer makers to distinguish themselves in the marketplace – one that is not easily copied – since multi-laser systems can be a design challenge requiring new optics systems and close coordination between printer and laser firms. The growth of multi-laser PBF systems will dramatically increase the number of lasers that would otherwise be needed for the PBF sector – by as much as 30 percent by 2028.
The use of diode laser arrays has also been proposed as a way to increase performance of AM machines. Currently diode lasers are used only in a few DED machines and in one EOS PBF machine, but they may be the wave of the future, primarily because of their very high efficiency and their very low maintenance requirements.
Many of the today’s laser-based AM machines use CO2 lasers. However, there is a significant shift to Yb-fiber lasers and other solid-state lasers, which have many advantages over CO2 lasers including low maintenance costs as well as the ability to connect fiber to the laser, which is not possible with CO2 lasers. SmarTech Analysis estimates that shipments of Yb-fiber lasers in 2019 will reach about $80 million but will grow to about $280 million by 2024.
Most SLA printers today utilize Nd:YVO4 lasers and they are also used in PBF printers and in post processing equipment. Nd:YAG/Nd:YVO4 exhibits a larger process region in which processing can take place compared to a CO2 laser. Nd:YVO4 lasers are also very long-lived lasers. By 2024, the market for Nd:YVO4 lasers will have reached just under $400 million.
