Ceramic Additive Manufacturing

Few materials in the world of manufacturing offer as wide a range of applications as traditional and technical ceramics. When it comes to ceramic additive manufacturing, the wide range of different additive manufacturing processes further expands the range of applications and materials. Although ceramics remains a niche market for additive manufacturing, the interest surrounding it is enormous and continues to grow.

VoxelMatters’ latest reports on Technical and Traditional Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Opportunities and Trends 2022-2032, looks with unprecedented depth at the global additive manufacturing market for ceramics finding that the opportunities are there and must be pursued.

According to the studies, in 2022 the core traditional ceramic and sand AM market generated $137 million while the core technical ceramic AM market generated $113 million. These figures do not include parts 3D printed by companies for internal use and the interest is soaring as new opportunities continue to emerge. Ceramic AM technologies can already be used for industrial production today and the global ceramics industry is very much interested in learning how to implement them.

These reports paint a compelling picture of the industry’s trajectory. In the technical ceramic AM sector, where advanced, lightweight parts are the focus, revenues are anticipated to surge to a staggering $2 billion by 2032. This exponential growth, expected at a 33.5% CAGR, underscores the sector’s potential for transformative change. Similarly, the traditional ceramic and sand AM market is primed for a substantial leap, with revenues predicted to climb from $137 million to $1.7 billion, boasting a 30.4% CAGR over the same period.

The reports stand as a testament to the remarkable growth and innovation within these niche markets. Technical ceramics, renowned for their small-size, high-performance applications, are being propelled by key players such as Lithoz, 3DCeram, and Desktop Metal. Notably, VAT photopolymerization (VPP) technologies are driving this surge. In tandem, slurry materials for VPP constitute a significant portion of material revenues, constituting 54% of the market. Equally noteworthy is the AM services sector, poised for monumental growth at an impressive 35% CAGR from 2022 to 2032. Geographically, EMEA-based companies dominated in 2022, contributing substantially to the sector’s $34.29 million revenue.

On the other front, traditional ceramics, particularly utilized in large molds and cores for sand casting, are experiencing their own renaissance. The hardware sector, primarily leveraging binder jetting technology, is steering the market toward a projected $1 billion revenue by 2032. Noteworthy players such as ExOne and voxeljet are leading this charge. The industrial, automotive, energy, and consumer sectors form the backbone of this expansion, collectively constituting over 60% of the market.