The market for the rapid prototyping materials is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 8% globally during the forecast period.

  • Increasing applications from the medical sector and growing demand from the manufacturing sector are driving the market growth.
  • The outbreak of COVID-19, higher material cost, and other reasons are expected to hinder the market growth.



Key Market Trends

Growing Demand from the Manufacturing Sector

  • Rapid prototyping (RP) is a new manufacturing technique that allows for fast fabrication of computer models designed with 3D computer-aided software. Manufacturing sectors such as automotive, aerospace, defense, and other industries are the key end-users for rapid prototyping.
  • Epoxies, colorable resins, filled resins ABS, polyacrylate, etc., wax, nylon, metals, and ceramics are the materials being used in Laser Sintering (SLS), Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA), FDM, Inkjet based printing techniques.
  • Rapid prototyping is in high demand in North America and Europe because of its advantages. RP can be as a fast and inexpensive method of prototyping design ideas, multiple design iterations, physical validation of design, thereby reducing product development time largely.
  • Rapid prototyping finds applications in the automobile sector such as gearbox housing, driver control system, metal engine block, production tooling, and dashboards. Aerospace sector applications include airline electrical generators, engine components, air inlet housing, and other lightweight parts.
  • Also, RP materials help in vehicle weight reduction processes that support in increasing the performance and efficiency of the vehicles.
  • The impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns is expected to decrease the usage and demand for rapid prototyping from manufacturing sectors.
  • Increasing applications for manufacturing units, technological advancements in materials that are being in production in developed regions are expected to drive the demand for rapid prototyping materials market through the years to come.



Asia-Pacific Region to Dominate the Market in Coming Years:

  • North America leads the global Rapid Prototyping Materials Market. But, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global market owing to the highly developed automobile sector in China, Korea, and India, coupled with the continuous investments done in the region to advance the medical and aerospace technologies through the years.
  • Medical sector is one of the major end-users that use rapid prototyping technology to make surgery equipment, implants, scaffolds for tissue engineering, stents, prosthetics, and many others.
  • In Asia-Pacific, the growth in medical technology in developing countries is immense in recent years. The need for customized implants like tooth crowns, hearing aids, and orthopedic replacement parts has attracted the medical industry.
  • Metal materials, ceramics, and alloys are being used in the manufacturing of defense products. The defense area is one of the gradually growing sectors in developing countries in Asia-Pacific is to be expected to increase the demand for rapid prototyping materials.
  • The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected the economic growth of all the countries at present, as almost all the manufacturing and service sectors have been stopped due to lockdown.
  • This is expected to slowdown the market for rapid prototyping materials in the short term.



Competitive Landscape

The global rapid prototyping materials market is fragmented in nature with many companies operating in the market. Some of the major companies are Carpenter Technology Corporation, Arkema, EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, Sandvik AB, and Royal DSM N.V, among others.

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