"Governments in this region are relishing the potential of 3D printing in transforming nations to be more competitive gearing towards industrial 4.0. Countries like China, Australia and South Korea have taken major initiatives in incorporating 3D printing to drive the nation forward," said Mun Chun Lim, Market Analyst of IDC’s Imaging, Printing and Document Solutions Research, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Fused Deposition Modelling / Fused Filament Fabrication (FDM/FFF) remains the popular choice of technology in APeJ. In 2016, FDM/FFF accounted for the highest percentage of adoption with a total market share of 96.2% across the region. However, IDC observed that stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing technology is gaining traction as the entry price has been lowered. Aside from that, metal 3D printing is also gaining high attention across the region with companies exploring how metal 3D printing could fit into their supply chain.

"The expiry of SLA patents causes the influx of new products into the market. Traditional FDM/FFF vendors are seen diversifying their product portfolio into SLA. Metal 3D printing will be the one to observe. We see the adoption rate will remain positive for countries which are promoting advanced manufacturing and industrial transformation," adds Lim.

The education sector continues to be the largest adopter of 3D printing technology and accounts for almost 68% of the APeJ region while the dental industry had a significant growth rate of about 82% vs. the previous year. The reduction of SLA prices has helped the adoption uptake in the dental industry. At the same time, we are also seeing increasing adoption numbers in the tooling industry in the past year. The tooling industry uses 3D printing in developing conformal cooling channels for injection molding and jigs & fixtures.

"The dental industry is going through a digital revolution, with digital dentistry set to take over the traditional process. We will see the dental industry transitioning into the digital era. For the tooling industry, growing demands in the automotive and consumer appliances industries has surge the requirement for rapid tooling development. 3D printing is a viable solution for the industry to cater to the demand," says Lim.

3D printing applications are now transitioning from well-known prototyping purposes into manufacturing aids and end use part production in the APeJ region. Dental industry has seen the usage of 3D printing for surgical related guide, which significantly increased by 112% in year 2016.

Moreover, the electrical and electronics industry are exploring the use of 3D printed manufacturing aids to help speed up the production process. Medical, dental, aerospace, and defense are the major industries which uses 3D printing to produce end use part applications. Personalized implants and customized aircraft functional components are some of the use cases seen in this region. End use part application accounted for 19% increase in the market in year 2016.

"3D printing is no longer just a prototyping machine. Companies are evaluating how 3D printing could transform the traditional workflow in organizations. Companies are starting to relish the benefits of 3D printing in direct part production. We will see a leaner supply chain soon as 3D printing technology becomes mainstream," says Lim.