Guotai Junan Securities: The consumer-grade 3D printing market is rapidly growing, with a focus on high cost-performance PLA materials

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Guojin Securities released a research report stating that the consumer-grade 3D printing market is rapidly growing, with a focus on high-cost-performance PLA materials. From 2020 to 2023, the annual shipment volume of global consumer-grade printers has remained around 3 million units, expected to exceed 4 million units in 2024, with an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 10.2%. It is projected to reach 13.4 million units by 2029, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 26.6% from 2024 to 2029. As one of the mainstream materials for consumer-grade 3D printers at this stage, PLA is expected to benefit significantly from the increase in downstream demand. It is recommended to pay attention to companies that have PLA production capacity or PLA material processing capabilities and whose related products are involved in the 3D printing field. The consumer-grade 3D printing market is rapidly growing, with "price decline + AI empowerment" as the main driving factors. Market Size: According to the prospectus of Creality and data from Zhaoshang Consulting, the global consumer-grade 3D printing industry market size (measured by GMV) is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $4.1 billion in 2024, with an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 28%. It is anticipated that from 2025 to 2029, the market size will increase from $4.9 billion to $16.9 billion, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 33%. From the equipment side, the annual shipment volume of global consumer-grade printers has remained around 3 million units from 2020 to 2023, expected to exceed 4 million units in 2024, with an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 10.2%. It is projected to reach 13.4 million units by 2029, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 26.6% from 2024 to 2029. Competitive Landscape: According to Shenzhen Commercial Daily, four Shenzhen companies—Creality, TuoZhu Technology, Zongwei Cube, and Smart Pie—collectively hold 90% of the global entry-level 3D printer market share. According to reports from the 3D Printing Resource Library and market research firm CONTEXT, entry-level (priced ≤ $2,500) 3D printers are the only segment expected to see growth in 2024, with a shipment increase of 26%, mainly due to the strong performance of brands like TuoZhu and Creality. Catalytic Factors: In terms of pricing, according to reports from China National Radio and Beijing Youth Daily, the price of consumer-grade 3D printers has decreased by 60% compared to three years ago. Mainstream brands are now focusing on producing products priced between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan. According to our statistics, some entry-level products (such as Creality Ender 3 V3 KE) are priced below 1,000 yuan, and some relatively high-end product lines are priced under 5,000 yuan, which is comparable to some mid-to-high-end smartphones currently available. The significant reduction in equipment prices has provided market conditions and hardware foundations for the rapid popularization of consumer-grade 3D printers. In terms of AI, AI tools represented by Hitem3D have significantly lowered the creative threshold, providing software conditions for the popularization of consumer-grade 3D printing. The popularization of consumer-grade 3D printing drives the growth of material demand, with a focus on high-cost-performance PLA materials. PLA is one of the most common materials in the 3D printing field, primarily made from corn starch or sugar-based plants, and is characterized by being environmentally friendly and non-toxic. Due to its low thermal deformation during the printing process, PLA is very suitable for beginners. The printing temperature of PLA is relatively low, usually between 190°C and 220°C, which helps reduce wear on printer components when using PLA materials In addition, PLA has a high surface gloss, making it suitable for printing display models or artworks. However, due to its low heat resistance and strength, PLA is not suitable for use in high-temperature environments or load-bearing structures. According to the announcement from Levima, the domestic demand for PLA in 2024 is expected to be around 120,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 48.1%. Among these, 3D printing is currently the largest application field for PLA, accounting for about 35% in 2024. 3D printing materials based on PLA are widely used in cultural and creative products, complex structural components required for smart devices, lightweight components, and other fields due to their environmental friendliness, ease of use, good mechanical properties, safety, and cost advantages. From a pricing perspective, according to 3DSourced data, PLA has a relatively low average cost among mainstream printing materials in the FDM route. Considering that printing materials have the characteristic of high-frequency repurchase, PLA has a high cost-performance ratio and is expected to fully benefit from the growth in consumer-grade 3D printing demand