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3D printing trends 2020

The new Protolabs Network 3D Printing Trends Report 2020 has just been released. Discover the industry highlights of 2019, VC funding raised for 3D printing startups, and predictions from industry experts.

Written by Tess Roberts

The new Protolabs Network 3D Printing Trends Report 2020 has just been released. This report takes you through the industry highlights of 2019, VC funding raised for 3D printing startups, and predictions from industry experts including HP, Formlabs, Carbon and Medical Goes Additive.

From our research, there were 5 key findings that stood out:

  • 3D printing is now adopted by the early-majority for serial production
  • 3D printing entrepreneurship is strong and driven by applications
  • The 3D printing market keeps growing at record speeds
  • Professional users are turning to online manufacturing platforms
  • 3D printing is only one part of the new digital manufacturing stack
3d printing trends map
Online 3D printing demand by country

By looking back over data from 2019, we discovered the key emerging trends in the additive manufacturing industry. To produce the report, we collected data from 5 main sources:

  • A systematic review of the news reported by the media
  • An analysis of the trends in VC funding raised for 3D printing startups
  • Market trends through a comparison of market analyst reports
  • Transactional data from the Protolabs Network online manufacturing platform
  • Informational interviews with HP, Formlabs, Carbon and Medical Goes Additive

Drawing on 5 different points of data enabled us to create a holistic picture of the current state of the 3D printing market.

Online 3D printing demand by industry

So what should you expect in 2020 from the Additive Manufacturing industry? Bram de Zwart, Co-founder and CEO of Protolabs Network shares his prediction here:

"2020 marks a new decade in which manufacturing will become more localized, on-demand and freed of design constraints. 3D printing is a key driver of this change."

Learn more about the industry developments by downloading the full 3D Printing Trends Report 2020 here.