Worldwide sales of 3D printers will reach 496,475 units in 2016, up 103 percent from the predicted 244,533 units in 2015, according to Gartner’s latest forecast – and they should hit 5.6 million in 2019, the market researcher predicts.
There’s no separate prediction for Australian sales, but sales in “mature Asia-Pacific countries” – a selection by Gartner that includes Australia, NZ, Japan, Singapore and South Korea – are forecast to grow more than 20 times, from 12,110 this year to 243,000 in 2019, local management has noted.
“Rapid quality and performance innovations across all 3D printer technologies are driving both enterprise and consumer demand,” said Pete Basiliere, Gartner research VP. “The 3D printer market is continuing its transformation from a niche market to broad-based, global market of enterprises and consumers.”
It notes that the primary market drivers for consumer 3D printers costing less than US$2500 are not in fact household purchases, but acquisitions of low-cost devices by schools and universities.
Primary enterprise 3D printer market drivers are said to be finished-piece quality and material advances.
