Consumer 3D printing years from mainstream adoption - Gartner

Traction among enterprise and medical segments will build more rapidly, market watcher says in first ever 3D printer Hype Cycle

Mainstream adoption of 3D printing in the enterprise and medical markets is just around the corner but consumers may not fully warm to the technology for another five to 10 years.

That's the verdict of Gartner, which also predicted that 3D printing could be more than a decade away from seeing significant adoption among schools as it unveiled its first Hype Cycle for the technology.

With 3D printing by no means a new concept, some applications of the technology, such as 3D printing for prototyping, were positioned at the right-hand end of Gartner's graph in its nirvana-like "plateau of productivity".

Enterprise 3D printing will begin to take off in two to five years, Gartner said, as 3D print creation software, 3D scanners and 3D printing service bureaus become more widely accepted. And at about the same time, 3D printing will be used widely for prosthetics and implants due to the life-altering benefits on offer, the market watcher added.

Consumer 3D printing is about five to 10 years away from mainstream adoption, while macro 3D printing of large structures and classroom 3D printing are more than a decade from hitting the big time, Gartner predicted.

"Adoption of any new technology within secondary and post-secondary schools, even one as transformative as 3D printing, is always expensive and difficult to implement, especially when considered in relation to the explosion of other educational technology that is competing for attention in the classroom," Gartner said.

It claimed there were about 40 and 200 vendors currently serving the business and consumer 3D printer markets, respectively. Prices remain too high for mainstream consumers, Gartner said, despite broad awareness of the technology.

The market watcher said it was important to note that enterprise and 3D printing are "very different" markets, driven by different users and requirements. 3D printing is also not one technology but seven different ones, each with their own pros and cons, with printers working with varying build sizes and materials, Gartner added.

This means firms must begin with the end products in mind, said Gartner research vice president Pete Basiliere.

"First, determine the material, performance and quality requirements of the finished items first; second, determine the best 3D printing technology; and third, select the right 3D printer," he said.