3D printing is a field that has attracted much attention in the industry in recent years. The global 3D printing business has achieved great success in amateur and home users as well as industrial and commercial fields. In industrial and commercial applications, 3D printing has achieved remarkable results as a tool for design and rapid prototyping, and for the production of complex molds and tools that form metal and plastic parts. In the past few years, companies in the aerospace, military, automotive, other ground transportation, and medical and dental industries have adopted 3D printing technology in their industrial and commercial fields.

 The Wallace Association, the world's most authoritative 3D printing industry research organization, has compiled statistics on 61 industrial system manufacturers, 19 specialized material manufacturers, 100 service providers and a group of 3D printing equipment manufacturers. In the 2017 Annual Report, the results of the report are more optimistic, but some are unexpected. In 2016, the global total revenue of the 3D printing industry increased by 17.4%, down from 25.9% in 2015.

 The report pointed out that the decline in the increase was mainly due to the decline of the two major producers in the industry. At the same time, the two major manufacturers accounted for 1.31 billion US dollars (21.7%) of the output value of the 3D printing industry. The current market value of the entire 3D printing industry is $6.063 billion. Excluding the data from these two companies, the industry grew by 24.9% in 2016. Although the increase is slightly lower, the total number of manufacturers of 3D printing is steadily increasing. In 2016, there were 97 3D printing manufacturers in the world, nearly double the growth of 49 in 2014. These manufacturers not only provide interesting products, but more importantly, they have contributed to the unprecedented competition in the 3D printing industry. As a result, the new wave of development and commercialization is putting pressure on existing players in the production of 3D printing equipment.

 The data in the report shows that the explosive growth trend of the future 3D printing industry will continue. By 2027, the global 3D printing output value is expected to exceed 55.8 billion US dollars, and the compound annual growth rate will reach 23.0%.

 In 2017, the global printing industry is surging, new equipment and new technologies are constantly emerging, and the new winds of the industry that have been transmitted are emerging one after another. The trend of automation, digitization and intelligence is full. In 2018, the printing industry will face the challenges and opportunities of coexistence, and what progress and breakthroughs will be made. We will wait and see.