A new US survey suggests that the demand for aluminum powder in the 3D printing market could grow from US$147 million in 2018 to over US$695 million in 2023, a 36.5% compound annual growth rate.
The survey was carried out by industry analyst IDC and sponsored by powder producer Equispheres.
‘The entire AM industry has faced challenges surrounding the mechanical properties and reliability of their production powders for years,’ said Kevin Nicholds, president and CEO of Equispheres. ‘Now recent events have permanently impacted existing supply chain approaches and there is immense market pressure on the AM industry to improve process reliability and part mechanical properties so that supply chain gaps can be filled.’
According to the company, current metal AM often relies on slow, expensive, and often unreliable technology but with the ability to use higher quality feedstock in production, the process could be suitable for more applications.
The whole paper is available here.
This story uses material from Equispheres, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
