The Zhitong Finance App learned that Cathay Pacific Haitong released a research report saying that the 3D printing industry is expected to continue to develop along the four main lines of overseas driving, price reduction, experience upgrading, and application expansion. The mature DIY culture in Europe and America provides a good user base for consumer-grade 3D printing, and Chinese manufacturers continue to expand overseas markets by relying on supply chains and product innovation advantages. On the product side, high-speed, multi-color and automated functions are continuously being lowered to the middle and low price ranges, and integration and full color further enhance the user experience; AI modeling and material system expansion are driving applications from models and ornaments to the fields of household goods and functional components. It is recommended to focus on leading manufacturers with product innovation, global channels and content ecosystem advantages, as well as companies related to the consumables industry chain that benefit from increased equipment ownership.
Cathay Pacific Haitong's main views are as follows:
Consumer-grade 3D printing ushered in an inflection point in popularity and became a rapidly growing segment in the field of additive manufacturing
In the past, desktop-level 3D printing was complicated to operate and expensive to learn. It was mainly aimed at makers, designers and professional enthusiasts. After the launch of next-generation products represented by the Tuozhu X1 series in 2022, functions such as high-speed printing, automatic calibration, multi-color feeding, and model community gradually became popular, significantly lowering the threshold for equipment use. Consumer 3D printing has gradually expanded from professional tools to mass consumer products, and the market size has entered a stage of accelerated growth.
The demand side is jointly driven by C-side creative consumption and B-side light production, and application scenarios are gradually being enriched
C-side demand has gradually expanded from model enthusiasts to fields such as home DIY, trendy games, home, education, and personalized consumption, and social media communication and model communities have further enhanced user awareness and frequency of use. On the B-side, low-cost equipment is driving small-batch manufacturing capacity to sink into small and medium-sized enterprises and individual studios. Printing farms accept small-batch, multi-SKU orders through multi-machine clusters, bringing a new increase in demand to the industry.
Supply-side products continue to be upgraded, and high-speed, multi-color, multi-material and AI modeling further lowered the usage threshold
High-speed printing significantly shortens printing time, multi-color printing improves the visual performance of finished products, and multi-material compatibility drives applications to functional components. Functions such as automatic leveling, consumables management, and anomaly detection are gradually being popularized, reducing manual debugging; AI modeling lowers the threshold for content creation and promotes the development of consumer-grade 3D printing in the direction of easier use and automation.
Chinese manufacturers dominate global competition, and the importance of ecological operation continues to increase after hardware performance converges
Pioneering, Creative 3D, Vertical Cube, and Intelligent Factions form the main competitors for global consumer-grade 3D printing. Among them, Tuozhu maintains leadership in product experience and software and hardware collaboration. Creative 3D has a complete product matrix and global channels. Vertical Cube covers different needs through both FDM and light curing routes, while intellectuals have advantages in light curing and professional creator scenarios. As high-speed and multi-color functions spread to mainstream price bands, model communities, software services, and consumables systems will become an important direction for differentiated competition.
Risk warning: Consumer 3D printing demand growth and market penetration fell short of expectations; increased industry competition and falling product prices exceeded expectations; intellectual property and content compliance risks; overseas trade policies, tariffs and localized business risks.