China’s 3D printing sector is one of the fastest growing in the world

When examining China’s additive manufacturing (AM) sector, it can be difficult to verify external claims. For example, in 2023, one of the country’s leading metal 3D printer manufacturers, Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies (BLT), announced a nearly 60 percent increase in revenue compared to the previous year. This number, combined with the growing number of lasers that can be configured in Chinese metal 3D printers, should be more than enough to attract the interest of manufacturers around the world.

In fact, evidence from China’s AM industry suggests that the country is catching up with, and in many ways surpassing, the United States and Europe in the adoption and production of 3D printing. China’s AM sector grew at a rate of about 30 percent between 2015 and 2022, and industry analyst AM Research predicts that the country will reach $8 billion in revenue by 2032 from 3D printer sales alone.

This matters both in China and beyond, and in the 3D printing industry and beyond. Naturally, much of the growth that occurs remains within the country’s borders. While AM ​​professionals are now aware of some prominent Chinese players, there are many more they have never heard of, and despite this, some of these lesser-known companies are growing at a pace similar to their more established competitors.

For example, brands such as BLT, Farsoon and Eplus3D have released metal 3D printers with multiple lasers, in the case of Eplus3D there are as many as 64 of them. However, these three companies are not the only manufacturers of multiple laser printers in China. Tianjin LiM Laser Technology Co., which operates mainly within the country, recently unveiled a metal 3D printer equipped with up to 20 lasers.

This can be compared to companies like Nikon SLM Solutions which max out at 12. This is not just a marketing gimmick. The more lasers in a metal 3D printer, the more efficient it can be and, perhaps more importantly, the more sophisticated the hardware and software that coordinates all of these energy sources. In one case, a large smartphone manufacturer is using metal 3D printing to produce millions of small components per year.

For this reason, these metal 3D printers can be used as an indicator of overall progress across the sector. They are not only more complicated, but also more expensive. Given the high level of AM, we can expect the rest of China’s 3D printing sector to grow at a similar level. Other, simpler technologies are as advanced as the most advanced versions in other parts of the world, such as Europe and North America. HP competitor
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One of the most successful AM polymer printing technologies, Multi Jet Fusion, has emerged in China. 3D sand printing in China is at the same level of automation as in Germany, where BMW has developed a fully automated production line for printing and casting aluminum engine cylinders.

Much of this activity will benefit China because it will be able to deploy advanced manufacturing for domestic use, especially as hostile countries such as the United States use tariffs and other measures to control imports from the country. However, even if China is unable to sell electric vehicles directly to Western countries, it will be able to sell some of its manufacturing equipment abroad.

Companies such as the three metal printer manufacturers mentioned earlier have opened overseas offices in Germany and the US to better serve customers in the region. Their increased presence at foreign fairs resulted in increased interest from foreign customers. And because their machines are much cheaper than those produced in the West, in most cases they can be much more competitively priced without compromising on quality.

This means for American and European 3D printer manufacturers that they will increasingly face fierce competition from China. However, they may not completely lose the market. One of the main reasons for the rapid development of Chinese 3D printing is the huge government support for advanced manufacturing in the country. China allows companies to deduct 200% of research and development (R&D) expenses from their taxes, while in the US, the 2017 Tax Cut Act reduced the deductible portion of R&D expenses for US companies from 100% to just 10%. significantly discouraging investment in research and development.

However, thanks to the Inflation Control Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, the United States is now committing billions of dollars to new projects to support advanced manufacturing at home. Other countries such as Canada and the UK have followed suit, suggesting that competition with China will be fierce, which could ultimately benefit domestic, distributed and renewable production across advanced economies. So, no matter how tight the race may be for individual 3D printing companies in China and beyond, larger countries and their populations will ultimately prevail.