Why is Increasing Use of 3D Printing Technology by Healthcare Industry Driving Slicing Software Market?
The global slicing software market is predicted to reach a value of $2,202.5 million by 2030, rising from $422.2 million in 2019, progressing at a 16.7% CAGR during the forecast period (2020–2030), as per a report by P&S Intelligence. The primary factors leading to the growth of the market are the requirement for enhanced manufacturing speed, need for integrated slicing software, and increasing utilization of 3D printing in aerospace, healthcare, jewelry, automotive, and several other industries around the world.
Based on application, the market is categorized into tooling, prototyping, and functional part manufacturing, out of which, the prototyping application held the major share of the market in 2019. The category is further expected to advance at the fastest pace during the forecast period, owing to the increasing use of 3D printing for swift prototyping. This enables designers to generate a number of design iterations rapidly and change the design of the product according to the requirements of customers.
When industry is taken into consideration, the slicing software market is divided into automotive, aerospace & defense, jewelry, education, healthcare, architecture & construction, and consumer products. Among all these, the healthcare industry is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the high adoption of the 3D printing technology for designing medical products and surgical equipment. The increasing inclination towards acquisition of 3D printing material providers by market players is also leading to the growth of the category.
Geographically, the slicing software market was dominated by North America during the historical period (2014–2019) due to the easy availability of skilled labor, high adoption of technologies, utilization of new materials, and requirement for reliable technology for the production of solid objects. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecast period, because of the increasing government initiatives that are supporting the 3D printing industry and rising focus of countries on the implementation of AM.
The increasing utilization of 3D printing technology in the healthcare industry is a major driving factor of the slicing software market. 3D printing technology is being utilized for a number of applications in the healthcare industry include tissue engineering, wearable devices, 3D-printed prostheses, manufacturing of surgical equipment, and image processing. This technology offers a number of advantages, including lower operative risks when complex procedures are being conducted, decreased anesthesia requirement, and minimized risk of infections associated with prosthetic devices.
A key trend being observed in the slicing software market is the rising preference for cloud-based slicing software. This software enables easy connection with 3D printers, remote printing of files, quick slicing of files, and easy management of 3D printers from a number of locations. Cloud-based solutions further offer flexibility in controlling the 3D printing operations. Ascribed to this, various 3D printing services providers are becoming inclined on introducing cloud-based software, which is predicted to drive the growth of the market.
Hence, the market is growing due to the increasing demand for 3D printing technology in the healthcare industry and rising preference for cloud-based slicing software.