Additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is already used in production. Where it spreads depends on qualification, repeatable results and the total cost of a finished part. Check restructurings and announced manufacturing targets company by company.
Research snapshot · updated Nov 12, 2026
Core thesis
Metal 3D printing is already used for regular production. GE Aerospace's Auburn plant has shipped more than 100,000 printed fuel-nozzle tips for jet engines, and printed parts are also used in rocket engines and orthopaedic implants. The method suits complex parts made in small numbers. How far it spreads depends on what each part requires, how repeatable the process is, how long qualification takes and what the finished part costs compared with casting or machining. Relativity Space, which flew a largely 3D-printed rocket in 2023, was still aiming in September 2026 for a first launch of its larger Terran R in late 2026.
State of the art (2026)
The Wohlers Report 2026 puts global additive manufacturing revenue at $24.2 billion in 2025, up 10.9% on 2024. Machine sales grew 3.6%, more slowly than the market as a whole. Ownership of several suppliers is changing. Desktop Metal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2025, and Stratasys agreed in 2026 to buy Markforged from Nano Dimension for $42.5 million. VulcanForms raised $220 million in January 2026 to expand its metal manufacturing business in the US. Where the technology spreads next depends on the finished cost of each part, how repeatable the process is and how long qualification takes. These differ from one application to the next.
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Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
5 signals
Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
2 tracked
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
150 players · 5 layers
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
2 ahead
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
2 milestones
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
20 · 18
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Locked
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
9 updates
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
Change our mind
2 disconfirming conditions
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The full signal stack, technology-native KPIs tracked over time, the landscape of who depends on whom, the dated catalyst calendar, decision frameworks for every desk, live watchlists and a record of every time our view on Additive manufacturing has changed. All of it is in CanaryIQ.