Guolian Securities: AI drives 3D printing from prototyping to mass production as Apple, aerospace adopt

For most people, 3D printing still conjures images of "toy-grade" devices in university maker spaces—good for printing figurines or small trinkets, but limited by poor precision, slow speeds, and an inability to scale beyond prototyping.

Recent shifts in the industry, however, are rapidly changing that perception. Apple's latest foldable iPhone uses a 3D-printed titanium alloy hinge cover, produced in a single integrated process. Commercial aerospace companies are now using the technology for rocket thrust chambers, and humanoid robots are incorporating 3D-printed skeletal joints at scale.

The market reflects this momentum. Industrial-grade 3D printing stocks have performed steadily this year. Companies like Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) and Farsoon Technologies are seeing earnings materialize. On the consumer side, Bambu Lab has surpassed RMB 10 billion in annual revenue. The sector is transitioning from "concept speculation" to "earnings delivery."

According to CONTEXT data, global shipments of entry-level 3D printers rose 39% year-over-year in Q1 2026, signaling a return to rapid growth.

01 Why Is 3D Printing Suddenly Breaking Out?

The most critical variable is AI.

Historically, the biggest pain point for 3D printing was not the hardware itself, but modeling. Creating a printable model required proficiency in professional 3D software—a barrier that kept most users out. For companies conducting production validation, dedicated teams would spend weeks tuning parameters, incurring high trial-and-error costs.

Generative AI has demolished this barrier.

Users can now input text or an image to generate a 3D model, with automatic topology repair, print parameter matching, and support generation. Tools like Tencent's Hunyuan3D and Tripo AI can directly produce printable models from text or images, complete with remeshing, printability checks, and auto-repair functions.

This is analogous to the shift from requiring professional programmers to write code to enabling non-specialists with AI assistance. As the modeling barrier falls, the 3D printing user base expands from professional makers to ordinary consumers and small-to-medium businesses, naturally opening up the market.

Demand-Side Shift: From Prototyping to Mass Production

The more critical change is on the demand side, which is pushing the industry from "small-scale tinkering" toward the threshold of mass production.

Previously, the biggest criticism of 3D printing was that it could "only prototype, not produce." Demand was fragmented, volumes were low, and the industry struggled to scale. That logic is now being overturned.

• Consumer Electronics: Apple has led the way, with foldable hinge covers, watch cases, and connector components moving to batch 3D printing. Domestic brands like Honor and OPPO are following quickly.
• Commercial Aerospace: Companies like LandSpace and Galactic Energy are adopting 3D printing for rocket thrust chambers and injectors, reducing costs by 15%–70% and shortening production cycles by over 60%.
• Humanoid Robots: Lightweight load-bearing structures and internal cooling channels are naturally suited to 3D printing's integrated forming capabilities.

According to China Securities, the domestic 3D printing market is projected to reach RMB 86.2 billion in 2026, up 23.1% year-over-year, with industrial demand serving as the core growth engine. As application scenarios expand, the industry gains genuine volume support.

Business Model Evolution: From Selling Machines to Selling Services & Consumables

Another easily overlooked shift is the business model transition from "selling equipment" to "selling services + consumables."

Previously, 3D printing manufacturers sold machines in one-off transactions, making revenues highly volatile with downstream demand fluctuations. Now, the industry's revenue structure is fundamentally changing.

• Consumer Segment: The device is just an entry point. Recurring revenue comes from consumables, accessories, membership services, and model communities. Creality's interim report shows consumables revenue grew 48.3% year-over-year in H1, accounting for 17% of total revenue, with gross margins significantly higher than hardware.
• Industrial Segment: The "print farm" model is gaining traction. Clients order parts on-demand without purchasing equipment, while manufacturers handle equipment, processes, and production, creating stronger recurring revenue streams.

The Wohlers Report 2026 indicates that global 3D printing services now account for 48.3% of the industry's value chain, surpassing equipment sales.

As the business model shifts, the industry's cyclicality weakens and its growth attributes strengthen.

02 Hardware Is the Threshold; Software and Ecosystem Are the Moat

Many still evaluate 3D printing by comparing hardware specs: speed and precision. But the competitive logic has quietly shifted.

The industry chain can be divided into three layers:

1. Upstream: Raw materials and core hardware—titanium alloy powder, photosensitive resin, lasers, galvanometers, motion control boards. These form the cost base and are key areas for domestic substitution.
2. Midstream: Equipment manufacturing and printing services—the core of the industry's value.
3. Downstream: Application scenarios—consumer electronics, aerospace, medical, humanoid robots.

Hardware specs are rapidly converging. Mainstream consumer FDM devices now commonly reach top print speeds of 500–600 mm/s, with precision at ±0.1 mm. Auto-leveling, filament detection, and camera monitoring have become standard features.

Just as smartphones evolved from competing on CPU clock speed to competing on systems, ecosystems, and applications, 3D printing competition is shifting from single hardware parameters to integrated software-hardware system capabilities.

The true moat is moving toward software, data, and ecosystems.

• Layer 1: Slicing Algorithms & AI Assistance. The same hardware can yield vastly different print speeds, success rates, and surface quality depending on the slicing software. New entrants can copy hardware designs, but not the slicing algorithms and process databases.
• Layer 2: Content & Model Ecosystem. Whether users can actually utilize their devices depends heavily on the model library and one-click printing experience. Bambu Lab's success is largely attributed to its MakerWorld community—a vast library of validated models with pre-tuned parameters, enabling even beginners to produce quality prints with a single click.
• Layer 3: Process Data Accumulation. Knowledge of material-parameter matching, fault handling, and scenario-specific process solutions is built from massive print data. The larger a manufacturer's installed base, the more data it accumulates, the more mature its processes become—creating a difficult gap for newcomers to close.

The clearest evidence of ecosystem moats is increasing industry concentration. By 2025 GMV, the global consumer 3D printing CR4 reached 72%, with Bambu Lab alone holding 42.7%. As hardware converges, the gap in software, ecosystems, and data continues to widen.

Blurring Lines Between Consumer and Industrial

Another often-overlooked change: the boundary between consumer and industrial segments is dissolving.

Previously, consumer devices were toys and industrial devices were expensive professional equipment. Now, consumer-grade devices are becoming powerful enough, when paired with cluster management software, to handle many small-batch custom orders at costs far below industrial equipment—opening up a massive market for small-to-medium batch customization.

03 Three Investment Themes—and the Risks

From an investment perspective, different segments offer varying logic, elasticity, and certainty.

1. Leading Equipment Manufacturers: Betting on Industry Concentration

Whether consumer or industrial, the trend toward concentration is strengthening. Resources, orders, and ecosystems are flowing to leaders.

• Consumer: Bambu Lab dominates with clear scale and ecosystem advantages.
• Industrial: BLT is the leader in metal additive manufacturing, with a full-chain layout covering "equipment + customized products + raw materials + services." Farsoon Technologies excels in large-format, multi-laser equipment, pursuing both metal and polymer routes while extending into services.

2. Upstream Materials & Components: The "Pick-and-Shovel" Play

No matter which equipment maker wins, they all need core raw materials and components.

• Metal Powders: Demand for titanium alloy and superalloy powders is surging. Previously heavily import-dependent, domestic substitution is accelerating, benefiting companies with powder-making capabilities.
• Optoelectronic Components: Lasers are upgrading from infrared to green, with increasing power. Demand for galvanometers and motion control components is also growing.

This segment offers a "pick-and-shovel" advantage: no need to bet on a single manufacturer's success. As long as the industry expands, these players benefit, providing stronger defensive characteristics.

3. Vertical-Specific Print Service Providers: Betting on Scenario Penetration

3D printing ultimately must land in specific applications. Different industries have high barriers in processes, certifications, and customer relationships. Companies that understand the process, hold certifications, and have customer access can capture the dividends of scenario scaling.

• 3C (Consumer Electronics) Structural Parts: Following the ramp-up of foldable phones and smart wearables, order growth is rapid.
• Aerospace: With the commercial space boom, demand for engine components and satellite structural parts is steadily releasing.

Service providers in these verticals often offer greater earnings elasticity than general equipment manufacturers.

Risks to Watch

Opportunities exist, but risks remain:

• Application deployment falling short of expectations
• Technology iteration and obsolescence
• Price competition
• Raw material price volatility
• Policy and regulatory changes

Prioritize targets with technical moats, confirmed order pipelines, and ecosystem or customer barriers. Avoid pure concept plays without earnings support.

04 Conclusion

The 3D printing industry has repeatedly promised mass adoption, only to retreat into niche circles, earning a reputation for "theme speculation." This time, however, is genuinely different.

• AI has solved the core pain point of modeling, expanding the user base from professional makers to the general public.
• Application scenarios have moved from prototyping to mass production.
• Business models have shifted from one-time equipment sales to recurring revenue from equipment + consumables + services.

With these three forces converging, 3D printing is evolving from a "maker's toy" into a manufacturing infrastructure.

Note: The companies mentioned in this article are for industry case analysis only and do not constitute investment advice. Market risk exists; invest with caution.

Disclaimer: This report is prepared by the research team of Beijing Gelunhui Investment Advisory Co., Ltd. (Duan Yuehan: A0160625050003). It is based on independent, objective, fair, and prudent principles, using information from public sources with lawful, reasonable, and appropriate collection and editing. Stock market investment carries risk. Any investment advice herein does not serve as a basis for your trading decisions. You must make independent investment decisions and bear your own risks. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or publication by any individual or entity is considered infringement, and the company will pursue legal liability.