3D printing ( additive manufacturing) has been around for more than two decades now. with improvement in technology and increasing industry participation, 3D printing is moving to the mainstream manufacturing from being a mere tool for prototyping. One of the key factors inhibiting the adoption of 3D printers in the manufacturing sector was the limited options of materials. Photo-polymers and plastics have been the dominant material in past. However, metal is now being widely used and being widely seen as the future material of the industry.

Consequently large number of 3d printers are now capable of handling more than one materials, which is a significant shift from last few years.  With the maturity of the technology and acceptance across different verticals 3d printing market is forecast to grow from over $2.5 billion in 2013 to $10 billion by 2018.  The info-graphic below depicts the different use cases across each application verticals.

BIS Research recently  updated its 3D printing market report  to include all possible application with detailed analysis of different use case across each industry.

1. Market growth and trends across different application verticals such as aerospace & defense, architecture & construction, automotive, consumer lifestyle products and electronics, education & research, healthcare, and industrial and other application market have been covered.
2. Consumer lifestyle products and electronics held highest market revenue generating over $384.80 million in 2013. This sector is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.60% (2014-2022) to a market value of over $2.9 billion.
3. Automotive sector accounted for second largest share ($365.74 million) in 2013.
4. Healthcare sector accounted for the third largest revenue ($319.04 million) which was followed by aerospace & defense ($300.57 million).