#3DOpinion | What Is the State of the AM Market in the Beginning of 2024?

We’ve all seen the headlines. Coming to the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the 3D printing market has been inundated with thought pieces with titles claiming that 3D printing was dying, or that it failed to live up to its expectations. Certainly, it could seem that case when seeing the increased difficulties that publicly traded companies are facing, as well as several high-profile failed mergers and acquisitions over the course of the year. But is it really all that bad?

Even overlooking the sensationalism, it is true that last year was a difficult one for additive manufacturing. We saw a reduction in sales across the board and serious questions were raised about AM’s future. That said, there is a lot of positive in the industry right now and doomsday predictions will not help address actual issues. Let’s take a look at the current state of the market as well as what the AM sector can do to address the problems it is facing.

The Continued Growth of the AM Market

As mentioned, it is an undeniable fact that the additive manufacturing market is still growing and thriving in many ways. Yes, many manufacturers saw lowered sales of printers, notably when it comes to industrial solutions. Additionally, as a direct result of this, we saw a number of layoffs which seriously raised questions about the health of the market, but that is only part of the picture.