What Were the Key 3D Printing Trends in 2025?

As the end of the year approaches, we at 3Dnatives are taking a step back to analyze what has truly defined the additive manufacturing industry in 2025. It is already clear that this has been a year of technological maturity, shaped by a broader reconfiguration of the market. Shifts in market dynamics, the consolidation of several applications, and a clear move toward real-world adoption all stood out. In this article, we review the key trends that marked 2025 and place them in context to better understand how the industry has evolved over the past year and where it is headed next.

Last year, we described a “gloomy” period for the additive manufacturing market, driven largely by heightened activity among key industry players. This included, for example, the disputes between Stratasys and Bambu Lab, as well as Nano Dimension’s acquisitions of Markforged and Desktop Metal. That context, however, set the stage for what unfolded in 2025: a year in which the market began to stabilize, certain applications proved their real-world viability, and not all players succeeded in adapting to the new landscape.

The Bambu Lab booth at Formnext 2025. The company continues to grow in the desktop 3D printing sector. (Photo Credit: 3Dnatives)

At the same time, trends that were already emerging last year gained real momentum. China further strengthened its position as a central player in the market, while major manufacturers such as Stratasys, HP, and Raise3D expanded their portfolios to include new materials. Strategic sectors like defense and aerospace also confirmed that additive manufacturing has definitively moved beyond its experimental phase. Against this backdrop, the question is no longer whether the industry remains in a “gloomy” period, but what kind of industry is emerging after this phase of adjustment. Read on to find out!