The personal 3D-printing market was ruled by XYZprinting, Monoprice and rising Prusa Research and Wanhao.
HP, GE Additive, SLM Solutions and EOS all saw at least double-digit year-on-year revenue growth from 3D printer shipments in the collective industrial/professional market—printers selling above $5,000—for Q4 2017, leading the way in a period that saw 40 percent revenue growth in the sector. Stratasys continued to lead in overall revenue share, with these vendors making up the rest of the top five.
Currently, Stratasys and HP focus on polymer printing alone and top the rankings for polymer-machine revenues, sitting above Carbon and 3D Systems. When it comes to metal 3D printers, GE Additive took over the top market share position thanks to a phenomenal second half of the year. EOS and SLM Solutions join it as global leaders in terms of metal-machine revenues.
“Over the year as a whole, longtime market leaders Stratasys and 3D Systems saw revenues from the shipment of machines drop a bit while upstarts GE Additive and HP experienced growth, helping the full industrial/professional segment achieve a 23 percent year-on-year growth in printer revenues,” said Chris Connery, vice president Global Analysis and Research at CONTEXT. “The segment also saw the number of printer units shipped grow for the first time in three years; 11,453 industrial/professional printers were shipped in 2017, 5 percent more than in 2016.”
Measured by number of units shipped, the leaders for the full year were Stratasys, 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC and EOS, with Carbon and HP virtually tied in fifth place.
Top 5 3D Printer Vendors by Revenue from Industrial/Professional Machines Shipped in 2017
2017 Rank |
Company |
Material type |
Revenues from machines sold |
2017 Global revenue share |
Y/Y change |
1 |
Stratasys |
Polymer |
$405.5M* |
25% |
-5% |
2 |
EOS |
Polymer & metal |
$240.4M |
15% |
14% |
3 |
GE Additive |
Metal |
$145.9M |
9% |
39% |
4 |
3D Systems |
Polymer & metal |
$123.3M |
8% |
-6% |
5 |
HP |
Polymer |
$97.3M |
6% |
7760% |
* Revenue may include materials, software or other products.
In the personal/desktop sector—printers selling below $5,000—XYZprinting saw a growth in unit share of only 1 percent for the year but still edged out Monoprice to take back the top position globally. Newly accounted for in the full year’s rankings are total shipments from Prusa Research. It particularly excels in kits shipment sales, historically called out in “Others,”but the company’s total aggregate sales for kits and sets are quantified here due to their impact on the market.
Top 5 Personal/Desktop 3D Printer Vendors by Units Shipped in 2017
2017 Rank |
Company |
2017 Units shipped |
2017 Global unit share |
Y/Y change |
1 |
XYZprinting |
81,840 |
21% |
1% |
2 |
Monoprice |
80,156 |
20% |
187% |
3 |
Prusa Research * |
39,264 |
10% |
523% |
4 |
Wanhao |
35,263 |
9% |
60% |
5 |
FlashForge |
19,829 |
5% |
15% |
* Prusa Research kits to set ratio is 71 percent to 29 percent.
When the market is separated into a personal class that covers 3D printers priced under $2,500, and a professional class encompassing those priced from $2,500 to $20,000, Ultimaker and Formlabs lead the professional class in terms of share. Formlabs’ outstanding 61 percent year-on-year unit growth helped drive significant growth in the segment.
For more information on 3D printing on an industrial scale, check out our in-depth features on large-format 3D printers and integrating metal additive manufacturing.