Marshall Burns wrote:
> "-- Does anyone have any data on the growth of the 3-D scanner
> market? It would be very interesting to know how this sister market of
> ours is doing, and if they are growing more dynamically than us, there
> may be some things we could learn from them."
I'm about 99% certain that nothing is available. The market is small and
very fragmented. The applications range from digitizing machine parts and
clay models to horses and cattle. Several years ago, someone from the beef
industry wanted to know how he could digitize cattle. Mike Murphy's
interest in scanning a live horse's head reminded me of that.
Over the past many years, several companies have asked me whether I had
"something" or would be willing to do "something," but adequate sponsorship
never followed. The bottom line is that the players and market may be
insufficient to support a full-blown study. What's more, defining the
market and categorizing the technology has not been easy. For example, do
you include or exclude CMMs? Most would agree that CMMs are not 3D
digitizing systems (at least not like those from Cyberware, Digibotics, or
even Immersion, with its handy MicroScribe-3D device), yet many use CMMs
for digitizing and reverse engineering. Articulated arms from Faro, Romer,
and others are referred to by their makers as CMMs, as well as 3D
digitizing systems. So where do you draw the line if you're trying to
determine the market size? And where do industrial CT scanners fit in?
Many companies use these devices for part inspection, so that further
muddies the water if you're trying to measure their use for digitizing,
copying, and reverse engineering applications.
Several years ago, I had done some informal research that led to some size
estimates, but the numbers are now quite old. Just this week in Chicago, I
was trying to find out if any market research had been done in the area of
FEA, mold filling, kinematics, vibration, and other types of analysis and
simulation. Two very knowledgeable individuals convinced me that this
market also suffers small size and fragmentation problems, and that's why
no one has been able to justify the cost of conducting and publishing a
study on CAE software. If anyone knows of any recent market studies on
either 3D digitizing or CAE, please speak up. Thanks!
Terry
**************************
Terry Wohlers
Wohlers Associates, Inc.
OakRidge Business Park
1511 River Oak Drive
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 USA
970-225-0086
Fax 970-225-2027
twohlers@compuserve.com
www.WohlersAssociates.com
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