Economics

Question 1

In which two segments is the global market for AM separated?

Answer 1

1. Primary market
   • Products (e.g. materials, AM systems, software etc.)
   • Services (e.g. parts produced by service providers, maintenance contracts, conferences, consultancy etc.)
2. Secondary market
   • E.g. tooling produced via AM
   • Parts produced from this tooling

Question 2

What is the pricetag for Industrial and Personal systems?

Answer 2

Industrial (>$5,000 systems)

Personal (

Question 3

What were the revenues for the primary market in 2014 and what was the growth for this segment?

Answer 3

$4.103 billion in 2014 (growth of 35.2%)

Sustained growth in the 30% range since 2010!

Question 4

What is the split in terms of value of the AM industry between products and services?

Answer 4

Roughly equal split (50-50)

Question 5

What is the definition of AM products?

Answer 5

• Products – systems, system upgrades, materials, software etc.

Question 6

What is the definition of AM services?

Answer 6

Services – parts produced by service providers, maintenance contracts, training, consultancy etc.

Question 7

Why has the average selling price of industrial systems fluctuated over the the last decade?

Answer 7

1. Introduction of lower cost systems

2. Increased interest in high-end metal systems

Question 8

No of Industrial system sales worldwide in 1988 and 2014?

Answer 8

1 system in 1988 – 12,850 systems in 2014

Question 9

Which country produces most AM systems?

Answer 9

2012 USA produced ~61% of systems

Merger of Stratasys and Objet changed this as Israel has now become a world leader.

Question 10

Who is the market leader for AM industrial systems in terms of sales?

Answer 10

1. Stratasys
2. 3D Systems
3. Envisiontech

Question 11

Which company has aggressively overtaken smaller companies to grow?

Answer 11

3D Systems has made 25 acquisitions since 2009 (including service providers).

Notable was purchase of Z Corp

Question 12

Which was the industry defining moment for 2012?

Answer 12

2012, Objet and Stratasys merger

Question 13

What can patent expirations cause?

Answer 13

Patent expirations – will this bring a sudden influx of new companies, or will the big guys just squash them/take them over?

Question 14

What are the main industrial sectors for AM?

Answer 14

1. 18% Industrial/business machines
2. 17% Consumer Products/electronics
3. 16% Motor vehicles
4. 15% Aerospace
5. 13% Medical/Dental
6. 8% Academia
7. 7% Gov/military
8. 4% Other
9. 3% Architecture

Question 15

What are the most famous used of AM parts?

Answer 15

1. Functional parts
2. Fit and assembly
3. Visual aids
4. Patterns for prototype tooling
5. Patterns for metal castings
6. Presentation models
7. Tooling components

Question 16

What is the main thing about costing for AM?

Answer 16

Costing for AM is largely process specific:
• Some processes can re-cycle a certain proportion of un- used material
• Requirement for ancillary equipment
• Climate control etc.
• Do NOT forget all the things we covered on pre- and post- processing!

Question 17

10-15 years ago, the idea of using AM for direct part production was pretty much non-existent… but today….

Answer 17

And yet now, ~30% of AM parts are used in this way

Question 18

Overall costing model comprises ultimately of?

Answer 18

• Machine costs
• Labour costs
• Material costs