+353-1-416-8900REST OF WORLD
+44-20-3973-8888REST OF WORLD
1-917-300-0470EAST COAST U.S
1-800-526-8630U.S. (TOLL FREE)

Post-processing for Additive Manufacturing: Market Analysis and Forecast

  • PDF Icon

    Report

  • October 2022
  • Region: Global
  • Additive Manufacturing Research
  • ID: 5667371

Post-processing has significant costs, especially if done by hand. Manual postprocessing is labor intensive, not scalable, and will become unsustainable in large series production. Although not often or explicitly discussed, the revenue potential for the post-processing sector stems from the removal of labor costs and inefficiencies from the post-processing process.

The cost of post-processing can amount to up to 20-30% of the total manufacturing effort; however, recent developments in 3D printing and post-processing automation are forecasted to bring down these costs. There are companies, such as DyeMansion, that solely focus on post-processing. Other companies have embedded post-processing systems into their 3D printers to forgo some of the necessary post printing steps.

Another ongoing challenge when it comes to 3D printing post-processing is how these supplemental operations are qualified or standardized. For heavily regulated industries like aerospace, automotive, and medical there are nonetheless limited standards on exact operations for handling post-processing operations.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: The Need for Post-processing
1.1 The Role of Post-processing
1.2 Sustainability in Post-processing
1.3 Metal vs. Polymer in Post-processing
1.4 Factors Shaping the AM Post-processing Business
1.4.1 Post-processing Creating Value
1.4.2 Diverse Revenue Sources from Post-processing
1.4.3 Evolving Post-processing Industry Structure
1.5 Methodology of this Report

Chapter Two: Impact of Major Manufacturing Industry Trends on the Postprocessing Space
2.1 Automation
2.2 Sustainability
2.3 Non-ecofriendly AM/Post-processing Technology
2.4 Longevity of Printed Parts
2.5 Customization

Chapter Three: Opportunities for Post-processing in Additive Manufacturing
3.1 Post-processing in the Context of 3D Printing Production
3.2 Extracting Value from Post-processing - Time and Costs are not Trivial
3.3 Post-processing Approaches Across Materials and Technologies
3.3.1 Cleaning
3.3.2 Fixing
3.3.3 Curing, Hardening, Surface Finishing and Heat Treatment
3.3.4 Coloring
3.4 Post-processing in AM Companies
3.4.1 Polymers
3.4.2 Metals
3.5 Growth of AM-specific Post-processing Technologies
3.6 Barriers to Entry for Post-processing
3.7 Role of Standardization and Post-processing for Overall AM Quality Management

Chapter Four: Key Hardware and Service Providers: Structure of the AM Post-processing Sector
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Structure of the AM Post-processing Industry

Chapter Five: Market Forecasts
5.1 Background to Forecasts
5.2 Polymer Post-processing Revenues: 2022-2031
5.3 Metal Post-processing Revenues: 2022-2031
5.4 Equipment Service Revenues

About the AnalystAcronyms and Abbreviations Used In this Report
List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1-1: Three Factors Shaping the AM Post-processing Business
Exhibit 3-1: Typical 3D Printing Workflow Information
Exhibit 3-2: Post-processing by Type of Material
Exhibit 3-3: Metal Powder Bed Fusion Workflow
Exhibit 4-1: Prominent AM Post-processing Companies
Exhibit 5-1: Polymer Post-processing Revenues ($ Millions)
Exhibit 5-2: Polymer Market Distribution by Industry,2022 ($ Millions)
Exhibit 5-3: Metals Post-processing Revenues ($ Millions)
Exhibit 5-4: Metals Market Distribution by Industry,2022 ($ Millions)
Exhibit 5-5: Post-processing Revenues: Equipment Versus Service Offerings for 2022 ($ Millions)