In the industry analyst’s recent report, “Forecast: 3D Printers, Worldwide, 2013”, Gartner states that 3D printer sales will grow some 75 percent in 2014 and could possibly see a doubling of sales in 2015.
Framing the new forecast, Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner stated, "The 3D printer market has reached its inflection point… While still a nascent market, with hype outpacing the technical realities, the speed of development and rise in buyer interest are pressing hardware, software and service providers to offer easier-to-use tools and materials that produce consistently high-quality results."
Continuing his statement Basiliere said, "As the products rapidly mature, organizations will increasingly exploit 3D printing's potential in their laboratory, product development and manufacturing operations… In the next 18 months, we foresee consumers moving from being curious about the technology to finding reasons to justify purchases as price points, applications and functionality become more attractive."
Based on their predictions Gartner sees spending on 3D printers reaching $412 million by the end of the year with chances of it growing to $669 million by 2015. Due to the fact that more business are seeing the potential for 3D printing technology Gartner sees more and more companies investing in the technology.
"Most businesses are only now beginning to fully comprehend all of the ways in which a 3DP can be cost-effectively used in their organizations, from prototyping and product development to fixtures and molds that are used to manufacture or assemble an item to drive finished goods. Now that many people in the organization, not only the engineering and manufacturing department managers but also senior corporate management, marketing management and others have heard the hype, they want to know when the business will have a 3D printer."
To further accelerate the growth of the 3D printing market Gartner predicts that printer prices will continue to fall as more units are shipped in the coming years.