Guotai Junan Securities: The market prospects are broad under the cost reduction and efficiency improvement of additive manufacturing. Recommended to pay attention to BLT and others

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Guosen Securities released a research report stating that additive manufacturing, or "3D printing" technology, is continuously reducing costs and increasing efficiency through various means, optimizing economies of scale, and has a promising market development outlook. Additive manufacturing is an advanced manufacturing technology based on three-dimensional model data, which uses a layer-by-layer material stacking method. Although there are gaps compared to traditional precision machining in some aspects, it has significant advantages in specific scenarios, such as shortening R&D cycles, efficiently forming complex structures, and improving material utilization. Related companies in the industry chain: the firm recommends paying attention to 3D printing equipment companies BLT (688333.SH), Huashu Gaoke (688433.SH), core component suppliers Jingyan Technology (300709.SZ), and Luxshare Precision (002475.SZ), among others.

Guosen Securities' main viewpoints are as follows:

Additive manufacturing continues to reduce costs and increase efficiency, optimizing economies of scale

Additive manufacturing, also known as "3D printing," is an advanced manufacturing technology based on three-dimensional model data. It adopts a layer-by-layer material stacking method that is completely opposite to traditional subtractive manufacturing technology, using laser beams, thermal melt nozzles, and other means to layer and bond special materials such as powders and resins, ultimately forming the desired shape. Compared to traditional precision machining technology, additive manufacturing still has gaps in processing accuracy, surface roughness, and processable materials, but its unique technical principles have significant advantages in specific application scenarios: 1) Shortening R&D cycles and reducing R&D costs, allowing direct forming without molds; 2) Efficiently forming complex structures, achieving integrated and lightweight designs; 3) High material utilization, in line with ESG concepts; 4) Rapid solidification processes create uniform and dense internal structures in the parts, enhancing strength without losing plasticity.

Diverse 3D printing technology routes, with metal 3D printing being relatively mature

3D printing is mainly divided into metal and non-metal categories, with metal 3D printing widely used in aerospace, medical, and automotive fields, showing higher industrial maturity. According to forming principles, 3D printing technology can be divided into seven major categories, including stereolithography, binder jetting, and directed energy deposition, among others. Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) are currently the most mainstream processes due to their high forming accuracy and material utilization. According to Wholersreport data, the global 3D printing market is approximately USD 20 billion in 2023, expected to reach USD 36.2 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 21.8%. China, as the most potential market, had a market size of approximately RMB 32 billion in 2022, expected to reach RMB 41.5 billion by 2024. In terms of downstream applications, in 2024, aerospace will account for 13.3%, medical for 13.7%, automotive for 14.0%, and consumer electronics for 14.0%, making them the four highest proportion fields.

Additive manufacturing is reducing costs and improving efficiency through various means, pushing 3D printing into the "Additive Manufacturing 2.0" era of mass production

Although its economies of scale are limited compared to traditional manufacturing, it is achieving this through reducing material costs (e.g., the price of titanium alloy powder has dropped from RMB 600/kg to below RMB 300/kg), using beam shaping technology (circular spots are three times the printing speed of Gaussian spots), increasing laser heads (e.g., BLT's six-laser equipment improves production efficiency by 2.7 times compared to dual-laser equipment), and optimizing process parameters (e.g., 90μm layer thickness printing efficiency is 400% higher than that of 30μm) Production efficiency has significantly improved, pushing additive manufacturing towards large-scale production and gradually breaking through the limitations of prototype manufacturing. In addition, China's core components for additive manufacturing (such as lasers and galvanometers) still rely on imports, and the domestic substitution of core components will also drive down costs.

3D printing has been widely applied in the aerospace and automotive fields, and Apple is actively laying out 3D printing technology

In the consumer electronics sector, 3D printing can be used to manufacture precision components such as hinges for foldable smartphones and watch cases. For example, the sky hinge of OPPO Find N5 is manufactured by BLT through metal 3D printing, significantly improving integration and reducing weight. Apple is also exploring the use of 3D printing technology for products like the Apple Watch and foldable devices. In the aerospace sector, 3D printing technology is used to manufacture complex components, with the global aerospace 3D printing market expected to reach USD 4.1 billion by 2024 and grow to USD 8.2 billion by 2029. In the automotive industry, 3D printing supports lightweight manufacturing, customized production, and tool manufacturing, with the market size expected to reach USD 3.36 billion by 2024 and exceed USD 25.61 billion by 2034.

Risk Warning: Technology development may fall short of expectations, and cost reductions may not meet expectations