Draft, not yet released. In stewardship review. Not indexed until the first approved release.

Executive summary

The edition on a few pages: the abstract, the key messages, the headline finding and what each steward reads in it.

6 min read1 figure0 tables11 notesNR-XTECH-MANUFACTURING-GLOBAL-2026-BASELINE

Contents
  1. ·Edition home
  2. ·Executive summary
    1. S.1 Abstract
    2. S.2 Key messages
    3. S.3 Headline finding
    4. S.4 At a glance
    5. S.5 What each steward reads in it
    6. S.6 What this edition is, and is not
  3. 1Additive manufacturing is production infrastructure that is still being qualified
  4. 2Key findings
  5. 3Systems and sectors at baseline
  6. 4Risks and capability
  7. 5Defence demand outruns part acceptance and supply
  8. 6Readings from the other desks
  9. 7The 2027 agenda
  10. 8Systems in depth
  11. AMethodology
  12. BData appendix
  13. CReferences and record
  14. ·Complete edition, for print

S.1Abstract

Additive manufacturing matters to the Nexus programme as production infrastructure. Machines build parts layer by layer from polymer or metal powder, wire or resin, and they bring new dependencies: powder and inert gas, qualified process parameters, skilled operators and digital build files that can cross borders. Global revenue was about USD 24.2 billion in 2025, up 10.9%, with printing services growing fastest and machine sales growing slowly, according to trade summaries of the Wohlers Report2. Two listed machine makers reported lower 2025 revenue34, and one machine maker entered Chapter 11 in July 20255. Demand is shifting to defence and aerospace production. The US Navy reports nearly 120 additive parts in development in a year and 20 installed7, and a 2018 company article records the first mass production of a jet engine part6. The weakest evidence is on the physical base. A peer-reviewed comparison found specific energy consumption of 113.66 MJ/kg for one polymer laser sintering platform14, and no common-basis figure for metal machines was bound. A 2025 NIOSH evaluation of a metal powder facility found particles spreading through the building, below exposure limits20. This baseline sets out what the evidence supports and where it is thin. It forecasts no market and ranks no company or country.

S.2Key messages

Six readings that frame the additive manufacturing baseline, and the eight questions this edition answers, each with its status and source.

  1. About USD 24.2 billion in 2025, in a trade summary of a commercial report.2

    How big is the market?Reported

  2. In services and materials; machine sales grew 3.6%; Asia-Pacific grew fastest.2

    Where is growth?Reported

  3. Two listed makers reported lower 2025 revenue and one filed for Chapter 11.345

    Are machine makers growing?Reported

  4. Yes for some parts: a 2018 jet engine part and Navy parts in 2026.67

    Is it in production?Reported

  5. One polymer platform used about 114 MJ/kg; metal machines are not bound.14

    What does it cost in energy?Reported

  6. A 2025 evaluation found exposures below limits and powder spreading through a facility.20

    Is it safe to run?Reported

  7. The US controlled metal machines in 2024; the rule text was not opened.22

    Is it controlled?Reported

  8. Whether defence part acceptance demand outruns powder, standards and skills. SCN-XT13-QAL-01

    What will 2027 test first?Expert input

S.3Headline finding

ReportedEQL 3NRF-XTECH-MANUFACTURING-GLOBAL-2026-BASELINE-GOV-007

The US Navy reports nearly 120 additive manufacturing parts placed into development in a year, 20 installed and more than 1,400 cumulative days of delay removed.

Figure S.1US Navy additive parts in a year
ItemBar, scaled to the largest valueValue
Parts placed into development (nearly)120
Parts installed20

Source: NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support release of 30 June 20267. Official release, not an independent audit.

Additive parts now enter defence production, so part acceptance and supply are production questions. NAVSEA reports lead times cut by up to 70% for some components. The Navy links the effort to a goal of three submarines a year and to strain on casting and forging7. The workforce need is stated as 250,000 skilled workers over a decade8.

S.4At a glance

24.2USD billion

global revenue, 20252

48percent

services share of revenue2

3.6percent

machine sales growth, 20252

20parts

installed by the US Navy7

250,000workers

Navy maritime industrial base need over a decade8

85submissions

AM-Bench 2025 challenge12

S.5What each steward reads in it

GCRI · KEY T

Technical Truth

The evidence supports reading additive manufacturing as production infrastructure with open part acceptance questions.

GRF · KEY M

Public Meaning

For most people the story arrives as a headline about printed parts, a printed object or a controversy.

GRA · KEY F

Capital Meaning

Readiness implications only. Growth sits in services, machine makers report losses and one filed for Chapter 11.

NEXUS

Synthesis

Additive manufacturing is well described by market totals and thinly measured as a system.

S.6What this edition is, and is not

What this edition is

A baseline: the 2026 state of additive and advanced manufacturing as infrastructure and the couplings through which it carries risk into other systems. It synthesises published evidence and ranks no country, company or asset.

What it is not

Not a forecast of any market, a technology or vendor ranking, an endorsement of any machine, process or company, or an assessment of any programme. Standards, export controls and procurement are decisions of competent authorities.

What comes next

National, regional and sector evidence feeds the 2027 additive manufacturing edition through the federation. Each edition reports what changed against this baseline: observations, source revisions, method changes, scenario updates and corrections.

Notes

Numbers are the edition’s reference numbers, so a note reads the same in every chapter. The full list, with every source and its licence, is in Annex C. Annex C, references

  1. 2Voulpiotis, F. (3Dnatives), Wohlers Report 2026: growth continues, but caution defines the AM market (trade article, 17 February 2026; weak evidence: a trade summary of a commercial report; reports 2025 revenue USD 24.231 billion, up 10.9%, services up 15.5% with 48% share, machine sales up 3.6%, Asia-Pacific up 19.8%, Europe and the Americas up 9%). 3Dnatives, Paris. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  2. 3Stratasys Ltd. (ed.), Stratasys releases fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results (company release, 5 March 2026; revenue USD 551.1 million against USD 572.5 million in 2024; GAAP net loss USD 104.3 million). Stratasys, Rehovot and Eden Prairie. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  3. 43D Systems Corporation (ed.), 3D Systems reports fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results (company release, 9 March 2026; revenue USD 386.9 million, down 12%; Healthcare Solutions USD 179.6 million; Industrial Solutions USD 207.3 million). 3D Systems, Rock Hill. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  4. 5Nano Dimension Ltd. (ed.), Annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 (first 100,000 characters read; Desktop Metal Chapter 11 filing on 28 July 2025; Markforged acquisition closed 25 April 2025; revenue tables not read). Nano Dimension, Waltham. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  5. 7Jones, M. (NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support), Shattering bottlenecks: NAVSUP WSS partners with DLA and NAVSEA on submarine advanced manufacturing (official release via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, 30 June 2026; nearly 120 additive parts in development, 20 installed, more than 1,400 cumulative days of delay removed, lead times cut by up to 70% for some components; not independently audited). US Navy, Mechanicsburg. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  6. 6GE Aerospace (ed.), Manufacturing milestone: 30,000 additive fuel nozzles (company article, 4 October 2018; Auburn, Alabama; one piece replacing about 20; about 25% lighter; more than 40 printers; vendor announcement, weak evidence). GE Aerospace, Evendale. Observation year 2018. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  7. 14Baumers, M., Tuck, C. and Hague, R., Selective heat sintering versus laser sintering: comparison of deposition rate, process energy consumption and cost performance, Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium proceedings, University of Texas at Austin (full text read; the year is inferred from the cited 2015 sources). Observation year 2015. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  8. 20American Industrial Hygiene Association (ed.), NIOSH evaluates metals exposures at manufacturing facility (news item, 11 September 2025, on a NIOSH health hazard evaluation dated February 2025 with visits in March and May 2023; secondary summary, the evaluation itself was not opened). AIHA, Falls Church. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  9. 223DPrint.com (ed.), US Department of Commerce issues new export controls on metal additive manufacturing (trade article, 18 September 2024; interim final rule; ECCN 2B910; comments due 5 November 2024; author analysis on scope; secondary source, weak evidence). 3DPrint.com, Chicago. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  10. 8Maritime Industrial Base Program (ed.), Maritime Industrial Base Program highlights workforce mission at Virginia Tech (official release via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, event 18 September 2025; need for 250,000 skilled workers over a decade; Columbia-class and Virginia-class output goals for 2028). US Navy, Washington. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  11. 12NIST (ed.), AM-Bench (program page; 2025 benchmarks 8 metal and 1 polymer sets; 85 challenge submissions; conference November 2025; AM Bench 2028 in planning). National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back

Cite this summary

Valadbaygi, S. (Ed.). (2026). Executive summary: Executive summary. In Exponential Technology Report 2026: Additive and Advanced Manufacturing (Baseline Edition 2026, Report No. NR-XTECH-MANUFACTURING-GLOBAL-2026-BASELINE) [Draft under review]. The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI).

Every citation form of the whole report, BibTeX and RIS included, is on the edition home. Cite this report

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