When you ask a veteran of AM industry about the current state of the market, the answer will likely be pessimistic - or at best, tinged with a tone of “hard realism.”
Just two years ago, companies like Desktop Metal and Nexa3D were painting rosy visions of mass additive production, and much of the market was eager to follow their bold narratives. Today, those same companies have become ultimate symbols of the collapse of those ideas - concepts that turned out to be little more than plush illusions.
This year, the industrial sector has finally come to realize that the vision of “3D printing as a replacement for all manufacturing methods” was a mirage. As a result, “old AM” has fallen into stagnation. Meanwhile, a different branch of the industry is flourishing as never before.
The end of the Third Era of AM - the symbolic twilight of industrial 3D printing
In my August article “The Definitive End of the Third Era of Additive Manufacturing,” I proposed a theory suggesting that the history of additive technologies can be divided into three distinct stages:
the era of rapid prototyping (1984–2010),
the era of consumer 3D printing (2010–2017),
and the era of mass additive manufacturing (2017–2025).
The bankruptcy of Desktop Metal in August symbolically marked the end of the third phase in which companies promised to replace traditional manufacturing methods such as casting, injection molding, or CNC machining with 3D printing.
In retrospect, one could say that the third era of 3D printing ended just like the second - with a series of embarrassing disappointments. Between 2010 and 2017, the consumer market experienced its own “boom and bust” cycle, when MakerBot, Cubify (a 3D Systems brand), and XYZPrinting promised a consumer revolution, only to fail to sustain growth once the initial enthusiasm faded.
New AM – when “cheap” became “the best”
Paradoxically, just as the industrial sector plunges into crisis, the desktop 3D printing market is experiencing a genuine renaissance. Companies such as Bambu Lab, Creality, Elegoo, and Formlabs are reporting record revenues and profits, while the number of devices sold has surpassed the million-unit threshold.
Unlike in the early days, today’s desktop 3D printers - both FFF and SLA - are no longer toys for hobbyists. They are mature, technologically refined machines that, in many cases, match or even surpass the print quality of older industrial systems costing tens or hundreds of times more.
New AM is no longer a “costly hobby” but a practical working tool - for small manufacturing firms, service workshops, designers, and research labs alike.
Today, Bambu Lab printers from the P or H series can produce geometrically complex models with speed and quality that just a few years ago were unattainable even for industrial systems. At the same time, these machines cost only between 500 and 1500 euros - a figure that completely changes the economics of additive manufacturing.
The key factor behind the success of this new wave of manufacturers lies in the simplicity of use, low maintenance costs, and minimal setup requirements of their machines. Where once companies had to invest hundreds of thousands of euros in specialized systems, today a few thousand złoty are enough to start producing short runs of functional parts, tools, fixtures, or spare components.
What was once considered an amateur segment has now become the foundation of modern 3D printing’s development.
At the same time, FFF printer manufacturers are ceasing to be part of “industrial AM.” Instead, they are forming their own independent ecosystem - one more closely related to consumer electronics than to traditional manufacturing.
Two worlds that will never meet
The new order within the 3D printing industry seems to cement the growing polarization of the market. On one side, we have the mass segment - dominated by inexpensive, fast, and user-friendly FFF and SLA printers. This sector increasingly resembles the market for inkjet or laser printers: widespread, affordable, and consumer-oriented.
On the other side remains the specialized segment, focused on narrow applications in medicine, aerospace, energy, or jewelry. This is the realm of photopolymerization, SLS, SLM, and binder jetting - precise, expensive, and complex technologies that remain irreplaceable wherever certification and top-tier quality are essential.
Yet it is the mass segment that seems to have the brighter future. Desktop printers, thanks to continuous improvements in both hardware and software, are becoming ever more reliable, and their users increasingly skilled.
In contrast, industrial AM, despite technological progress, is stagnating. The market is saturated, and investments are shrinking. The once-bold innovators now struggle to maintain liquidity and customer interest.
We are entering an era of consolidation and redefinition of what “additive manufacturing” truly means.