The market for additive manufacturing is clearly showing its potential, as new trends have emerged in recent years. We can always expect new developments, trends and opportunities in additive manufacturing technology. CECIMO, European Association of Machine Tool Industries, and Related Manufacturing Technologies conducted the European Additive Manufacturing Survey this year to identify the top trends in AM in Europe. It is a six-month long survey that helps industries to identify potential business areas. It will assess companies that work in the additive sector. CECIMO is collaborating with VDMA, Germany’s Engineering Federation, to get as much data possible.
The report on European trends is split into two parts. First, it presents the combined results of the CECIMO survey and the VDMA survey. The former questions about what the sector is expected to develop, and the latter about how it actually developed. The second section shows data only from countries that used the CECIMO surveys. Both parts cover topics like trends in general, but also provide data such as statistics on material and machine, investments, exports, or customers from other industries, such as aerospace or automotive.
Comparatively to spring 2022’s survey, domestic market expectations have increased (Image: CECIMO).
In Europe, the AM Sector is experiencing exciting trends
CECIMO differentiates the trends between the foreign and domestic markets. If we look at the respective domestic market, according to the survey carried out, it is noticeable that a slight increase in the market growth of the domestic market is expected by around 50% of the respondents, whereas just 6% of respondents expect a decline – this has also decreased compared to the last survey carried out. Consequently, domestic market growth prospects are more positive. Similarly, if we look at the foreign market according to the survey, this year’s results show that especially in contrast to the last survey conducted, respondents have a more positive outlook on the growth of the AM market. 47% believe that orders and exports from overseas will rise in the next six-months. 47% believe that foreign orders will increase while the remaining 6% anticipate a decrease. CECIMO summarizes that this indicates a stronger foreign market demand and an increase in optimism among additive manufacturing companies.
When asked how the respondents assess the order situation in their own market in the next six months – especially in comparison with the previous six months – optimism is evident, indicated by the fact that the percentage expectations in all AM categories (products/manufacturing parts, machines, materials and services) are higher than before. CECIMO’s survey shows that AM products and the manufacturing parts category will see the most growth. Full 52% of respondents anticipate growth and 1% expect a decline. This is especially encouraging, as it was only 16% in the Spring 2022 poll. The 36% remaining expect results to stay the same. Although it may seem obvious, AM machinery is the second-best category. This has increased significantly after a slight decrease in spring 2022. This also shows that only 1% expects a drop in incoming order. This is good news for AM machine manufacturers.
Respondents to the survey found that the AM category was very promising. Photo credit: CECIMO.
AM Industry Expects a Boost in Investments
If we compare this year’s survey on additive manufacturing trends in Europe, more companies stated that they expect an increase in future investments (36%), but also more companies think that a decrease will happen (9%). CECIMO, however, is optimistic. It says that this positive investment trend will likely continue, particularly considering the strength of the additive market and its past growth. It also asks for your opinions on future exports. It can be summarized as follows: More foreign/export orders will be expected. Similar to domestic market forecasts, this trend is similar: a lower percentage of respondents are negative about it, while more are expecting an increase. With a positive balance at 59%, AM service providers will see the greatest growth in orders.
The survey asked respondents to rate the order numbers and trends in Europe for materials. We see strong growth in comparison to the survey that was conducted in spring 2022. However, there are different trends. The order prediction for composite materials shows a slight drop, with metals coming in at 60%. Only 1% of respondents anticipate a decline in orders in the next six-months. Concerning ceramics as a material to make AM, there is a consensus that there will be an increase in this area. This forecast was given by 39% of the respondents, as opposed to 12% in previous surveys.
Only 1% of the metals as material sector expects a decline. (Image by CECIMO).
The order intake by customer segment is also discussed in CECIMO’s report on trends in AM in Europe. In summary, it can be said that the percentage balance in the aerospace, mechanical engineering and chemicals & pharmaceuticals sectors has improved strongly and the respondents expect better business in this area. It is worth mentioning the aerospace industry, which saw a significant increase in positive percentage from 7% to 37% since the survey started. This sector represents the highest value measured. Respondents are less confident about the automotive sector, where the positive growth balance has decreased from 41% to 28%. Although order expectations for this sector remain high, respondents are not as optimistic about it as they were before. CECIMO cites the increasing supply problems and challenges as a reason for this European trend. This sector may finally be able to show a positive expectation value after the latest survey on AM orders from pharmaceutical and chemical sectors. This encouraging result is however overshadowed though by the fact that the expectation for additive manufacturing orders remains below 2020 and 2021 levels.
This report and the opinions of individual respondents regarding AM trends in Europe can be viewed as positives, especially when compared to previous surveys. Click HERE to find out more about AM trends.
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*Cover photo credits: CECIMO