Wohlers Report 2020 Details A Maturing Additive Manufacturing Industry

This week, the “bible” of 3D printing has released its 25th edition: Wohlers Report 2020 is available now.

The report details the applications, materials, hardware, software, and workflows of 3D printing today. From design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) through post-processing, from patents to R&D, it’s all here. More extensive than ever, the whopping 2020 edition contains 380 pages, with input from, they say, “a record ensemble of 129 service providers, 114 manufacturers of industrial AM systems, and 40 producers of third-party materials and desktop 3D printers.”

“The report documents government-sponsored research and development, collaborations and consortia, and the activities of 139 academic and research institutes around the world. Seventy-nine co-authors and contributors in 33 countries provided expert views and opinions in the report,” the release notes.

That is all to say: it’s extensive, and wide reaching.

With more than 250 unique examples of production or development applications for additive manufacturing, the report also reinforces the ever-growing reality of AM today. It’s here, it’s in use, and the benefits are tangible.

“In one case, Jabil redesigned an impeller for manufacture by AM. Instead of 73 metal parts assembled by hand, the impeller is made of fiber-reinforced polymer composite in a single part. Fifty impellers can be produced in the time it previously took to make one,” they note.

The 2020 report is quite up to date; while data reflect 2019 numbers, cases include those as recent as this past week when 3D printed respirator valves came to fruition in just two days to help with COVID-10 patients in an Italian hospital.

New and expanded for this year:

• Maturing and emerging applications of AM for series production

• Review of AM in the dental industry

• Commentary on 77 early-stage investments valued at $1.1 billion

• Compilation of 72 industry partnerships from the past 12 months

• Expert reports from 35 countries

• Tables of systems, third-party materials, software tools, and emerging technologies

By the numbers:

• 380 pages

• 377 images and illustrations

• 168 tables

• 145+ pages of supplemental online content

• 42 charts and graphs

I’ll be spending a good amount of time in the next few days digging into my copy; reading it is a highlight of my spring each year.

Among the many resources in 3D printing, the Wohlers Report remains the authoritative report for well-researched and trustworthy data.

The 2020 edition is available now for $595 (digital-only) or $695 (print).

See what Terry Wohlers had to say about the 2019 Wohlers Report here.

Via Wohlers Associates