In a way this is similar to what the 3Dprintingbusiness.directory project is doing for companies and businesses. In this, and not just in this, the 3D Hubs network has been leading the way by connecting every 3D printer in the world and releasing data and reports that highlight major industry trends.
First Data on the Open Filaments Market
The filament availability trends are going to be released regularly with monthly updates on new filaments released and announced, as well as progressively more detailed insights. For the time being the first chart indicates the types of materials present on the market, with PLA and ABS (as expected) taking up more than 3/4 of the pie.
What is interesting is the exact percentage that the two leading materials represent, with PLA making up almost half of all 3D printing filament products offered (47.19%), and ABS down to less than one-third (29.08%). This could indicate either that PLA is easier to manufacturer (and thus that more producers offer it), or that consumer and non-functional applications still make up most of the demand for open filaments.
Breaking 3D Materials Down
Another piece of information that emerges is that 2.85 mm diameter filaments represent a very significant percentage of the products present on the market (almost two out of five). Looking specifically at what Filaments.directory defines as “superpowers” (that is the exotic capabilities of certain products), the most common is by far flexibility (more than two-fifths of all exotic filament), followed by wood composites, glow in the dark and high transparency.
Soluble filaments (for supports) make up only 5% of the offer, likely meaning that these materials are still hard to develop and that multi-extrusion 3D printing is not sufficiently on demand (since it is used mostly for complex industrial applications). Carbon reinforced filaments, also used for such applications, represents about the same percentage of products (around one-twentieth of the total offer).
More Products and a Long Way to Go
The Filaments.directoy has been growing significantly over the past few months in terms of products present and more have recently been added (either announced or launched) bringing the count to top 2,000. These include the Volitivo Evo, the Reflow recycled filament and the Sharebot 3DPaper (water soluble and made up of cellulose fibers). Newly available filaments include the new colorFabb_HT (high temperature), Black Magic’s 3D Scorpion Nylon and Kay Parthy’s REFLECT-o-LAY (which works somewhat like the reflectors on a bicycle).
The date is set for new filaments and new data one month from now but if you don’t want to wait you’ll be able to meet Filament.directory founder Gauthier de Valensart at the MakersTown fair in Brussels next May 24th.