3D Printing Filament Market Information: By Material Type (ABS, Polylactic Acid, Polyvinyl alcohol, Polyethylene terephthalate, Sandstone, Nylon, Carbon Fiber, Others), By End-Use (Aerospace & Defense, Healthcare, Automotive, Electrical & Electronics, Others) - Forecast to 2030

3D Printing Filament Market Overview

By the end of 2025, the 3D printing filament market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23%, reaching USD 8.1 billion. FDM/FFF technique uses filaments made of materials such as plastics, metals, and ceramics, which are less expensive than other types of 3D printing materials. These filaments are useful in the creation of complex-structured things. As a result, rising demand for customized products from sectors such as aerospace is a primary driver of the 3D printing filament market's growth. The growing use of 3D printing filament in the aerospace and defense industries for design communication and prototype is driving demand. Furthermore, the market expansion is fueled by a rising focus on high print in automobile industries.

Rising innovation and R&D in 3D printing filaments, such as multi-property materials and bio-degradable 3D filaments, are enticing market players to invest. Furthermore, tight environmental rules are expanding the possibilities for bio-degradable 3D printing materials. The benefits of 3D printing include the ability for designers to make better selections when it comes to production procedures and the ability to produce an optimal result. Manufacturers of 3D printing filament are concentrating on tailored formulation mixes and customer-provided compounds, as well as 3D printer private labeling.

Market Drivers

• High demand for biodegradable plastics due to widespread international environmental concerns towards traditional plastics


• Increasing demand for 3D printing in end-use industries is likely to fuel the demand for 3D printing filament


• Widespread use in the aerospace industry for multi-functional and high-performance parts or components


• Growing government initiations towards manufacturing 3D printed parts as end-use products under stringent safety regulations and standards

Market Restraints

• Threat posed by the high manufacturing cost coupled with high energy consumption

Segmentation

By Material Type

• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS): The ABS segment held the largest market share of more than 30% in 2018 and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to its renewable thermoplastic property which offers an elastomeric base over polybutadiene, which provides better flexibility, resistance to shock, and low cracking over stress. These properties allow ABS to be implemented into shock-absorbing components in the end-use industries.

• Polylactic Acid (PLA): It is used when rigidity is the priority along with the biodegradable eco-friendly property it is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the global 3D printing filament market report.

• Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA): The PVA exhibits water solubility owing to which it is widely used as a support material across multi-extruder FDM 3D printers.

• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET): PET filament has the strength of ABS and easy to use as PLA and could be used across the food industry while providing waterproof properties.

• Sandstone: Sandstone filament provides a rock-like gritty finish, which stimulates a ceramic or sandstone look to the object.

• Nylon: Nylon filaments are strong, durable, and versatile material. They offer a naturally white, bright, and a translucent surface that can absorb color post-printing process through synthetic cloth-specific dyes or acid-based clothing dyes.

• Carbon Fiber: Carbon fiber filaments include short fibers that are infused into ABS or PLA in order to increase the stiffness and strength of the components while imparting lightweight property and dimensional stability. 3D printed carbon fiber parts are eight times stronger than ABS and over 20% stronger than yield strength of aluminum.

• Others: The others segment of the global 3D printing filament market includes PETG, PETT, wood, magnetic iron PLA, conductive PLA, flexible/TPE, and amphora.

By End-Use Industry

• Aerospace & Defense: It is expected to be the largest segment in the end-use industry and is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period. The increasing production of aerospace (commercial and military) is fueling the growth of the segment. The segment accounted for the largest market share in 2018 due to a paradigm shift in engineering design and manufacturing process on the backdrop of increasing demand for defense and commercial aircraft in the emerging markets such as India, China, and Brazil, among others.

• Healthcare: The increase in the development of medical devices for high accuracy and performance is fueling the demand for 3D printing filament in this segment.

• Automotive: It is expected to be the fastest-growing segment due to increasing focus on renewable and lightweight materials in the sector.

• Electrical & Electronics: The increasing demand for consumer electronics and customized devices is driving the demand for 3D printing filament in the electronics sector.

• Others: The others segment includes food & beverage, construction, energy, consumer goods, and packaging, among others.

By Region

• North America


• Europe


• Asia-Pacific


• Latin America


• Middle East & Africa

Regional Analysis

• North America: A well-established 3D printing manufacturing industry and high emphasis on renewable energy sources are propelling the growth of the North American market. In addition, the growth of the aerospace sector is likely to boost the product demand in the regional market.

• Europe: High automobile production and focus on renewable energy production are factors driving the market growth in the region.

• Asia-Pacific: Held the largest market share, over 35%, in 2018 and is projected to retain its dominance during the forecast period. This is primarily due to the high demand for the product in the manufacturing of automotive specially e-vehicles for lightweight properties and increase in the aerospace sector in the region. Additionally, major economies in Asia-Pacific such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea are rapidly increasing their 3D printing capabilities. For instance, Japan has invested over USD 40 million in various 3D printing projects. South Korea has planned to invest around USD 20 million to set up research projects for the development of 3D printed ships.

• Latin America: Relatively small but rapidly expanding automotive industry is expected to boost the market growth for 3D printing filament in the region.

• Middle East & Africa: This region has the longest sunshine hours in the world and the construction of renewable energy parts have a vast growth potential, which is expected to impact the global 3D printing filaments market size.

Key Players

• DowDuPont Inc (US) – Hytrel


• Merck KGaA (Germany) – 3DXTech ABS


• Arkema S.A. (France) – Kepstan


• Evonik Industries AG (Germany) – VESTAKEEP


• DSM (The Netherlands) – Novamid


• Stratasys Ltd (Israel) – ABSi, Durus


• SABIC (Saudi Arabia) – CYCOLAC


• Clariant (Switzerland) – ESD safe PET-G


• BASF SE (Germany) – Ultrafuse 316L


• Eastman Chemical Company (US) – Amphora 3D polymer


• Markforged, Inc (US) – Onyx

Market Analysis:

The increasing adoption of 3D printing in numerous end-use industries to develop multi-property components and materials using 3D printing filaments, which are made by various materials that provide high-performance parts to the industries. The product is widely used due to its excellent strength, durability, high-temperature resistance, minimal shrinkage, along with excellent toughness and flexibility. Some of the major applications in which the 3D printing filament finds significant use are in prototype models by various industries, developing elastic components such as wearables, aircraft and automobile parts, and others. In the market, 3D printing filaments are popular by the trade names: Hatchbox, 3rDment, Taulman, NinjaFlex, and MakerBot.

The major factors favoring the growth of the market are surging demand for eco-friendly products over petrochemical products and high focus of the end-use industries towards 3D printing technologies, especially aerospace and consumer goods, and increasing consumption of electronics and growth of the automotive industry across the globe. In 2019, over 90 million units of vehicles were manufactured and is expected to reach over 100 million units by the end of 2019, which is likely to fuel the demand for 3D printing filament in the coming years.

Globally, the aerospace sector is witnessing robust growth in terms of the overall capacity of and production from the application 3D printing components, due to its strong and light-weight properties. In 2019, the global aerospace industry contributed to over 18% of the global 3D printing revenue reaching over USD 4.9 billion and is projected to experience considerable growth during the years to follow. The application of 3D printing filaments in manufacturing of jigs & fixtures, surrogates, mounting brackets, and others, reduces the air drag by 2.2%, reduces fuel consumption by 5.43%, and lowers the CO2 production by approximately 25 tons, which is further expected to boost the global 3D printing filament market growth during the forecast period.

Furthermore, favorable government policies and rapid urbanization in the emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea, are expected to drive the growth for 3D printing filament market during the review period.

However, the manufacturing process of 3D printed parts is highly expensive coupled with high energy consumption, which is likely to hinder the market growth during the review period.

Recent Developments:

• Mar 2022 With the debut of Precise PLA, Markforged, a Massachusetts-based company that went public last year via a SPAC sale, has introduced a new element to its repertoire. On the company's integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing framework, the Digital Forge, this specialized version of the frequently used AM prototyping resource PLA, or polylactic acid, allows users to create more affordable designs. The company currently provides a total of 28 industrial-grade AM materials, comprising stainless steel, copper, and other metals, aerospace-ready composites Onyx FR-A and Carbon Fiber FR-A, fiberglass, carbon fiber-filled ESD nylon, and more.


• Feb 2022 To create stronger composites, scientists from the Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute are delving deeper into the mechanical characteristics of glass fiber-reinforced 3D printing filaments. The team made multiple ABS-based composite filaments using varying quantities of ABS and tested the mechanical performance of the 3D printed items using tensile, flexural, and short beam tests.

Pricing and Regulatory Analysis

• In 2018, the ABS and PLA filament was priced around USD 20.61–175.1 per kilo tons across the globe. In the same year, the price of PVA filament varied from USD 105.2 to 120.0 per kilo tons. The product has witnessed a gradual rise of USD 4.15–4.40 per kilo tons in its price from 2015 till 2018 and this trend is likely to continue during the forecast period owing to fluctuating raw material prices.

The stringent safety standards for medical, automobile and construction applications of 3D printing filament are likely to boost the demand for 3D printing filament during the forecast period. For instance, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) regulates the 3D printing process of the firms who manufacture, repackage, relabel, and import medical devices across the US. Medical devices are classified into Class I, II, and III according to the risk associated with the patient. Regulatory control increases from Class I to Class III. The device classification regulation defines the regulatory requirements for a general device type. Most Class I devices are exempt from premarket notification 510(k); most Class II devices require premarket notification 510(k); and most Class III devices require premarket approval.