Laser Processing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Gas, Solid-state, Fiber), By Process (Material Processing, Marking & Engraving, Micro-processing), By Application, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The global laser processing market size was valued at USD 17.48 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1% from 2022 to 2030. The market growth is attributed to the increased usage of lasers in medical devices and surgery applications. In addition, the rapid growth of nano-fabrication technology is expected to contribute to the growth of the global market. Furthermore, the manufacturing sector has increased the adoption of laser technology for processing the material due to many advantages over traditional material processing, which is expected to be one of the major factors driving the market.

For example, the traditional manual metal arc welding method is used to cause high potential environmental impacts. This was a hot issue that was solved by adopting laser technology in the car industry. For instance, in July 2021, Furukawa Electric launched an Industrial fiber laser. This machine has a 12kw fiber laser system used to weld the car bodies and their parts, including the aluminum process, battery welding, and motors.

Government regulations concerning the application of this technology in the marking and engraving of products are projected to favorably impact the market growth over the forecast period. The market is anticipated to witness high growth over the next few years due to this technology's usage across a broad range of applications, comprising welding, marking, cutting, drilling, and engraving.

The strict government directives for the usage of laser technology in marking and engraving, coupled with the growing adoption of lasers in medical devices and surgeries, are anticipated to spur market growth in the near future. For instance, LASIK & Refractive technology is used in laser eye surgery to correct refractive errors like myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, and astigmatism.

Furthermore, technical developments have improved the edge quality and cutting speed of laser processing. For instance, Hamamatsu Photonics has developed spatial light modulator (SLM), a liquid-crystal with the highest pulsed laser power capabilities of up to 400 GW/cm2, allowing customers to achieve high-throughput and high-precision laser processing.

Product Insights

The gas segment dominated the market with a revenue share of more than 55.0% in 2021. The gas segment entails copper, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, argon-ion, and helium-neon lasers. The solid-state segment is further categorized as Q-switched Nd: YAG lasers, small diode-pumped Nd: YAG or Nd: YVO4 lasers, and larger lasers in side-pumped or end-pumped configurations. The usage of fiber lasers facilitates manufacturers to exploit the benefits of this technology in their manufacturing processes.

The solid laser industry is predicted to grow at a lucrative rate over the forecast period. This laser minimizes material waste in the active medium and produces high-quality continuous and pulsed output. Solid lasers have numerous applications, such as endoscopy in medical, drilling holes in metals, and targeting in the military. The growing demand for these lasers across diversified verticals, such as automotive, aerospace, machine tools, medical, and packaging, is projected to spur the global market growth over the forecast period.

Process Insights

The material processing segment dominated the market with a revenue share of over 70.0% in 2021. This section includes all the major aspects of laser and material processing, including hybrid processes, development, and implementation of laser beam welding, micro-drilling, surface modifications, cutting and machining, direct manufacturing and forming micro deposition, and ablation of bulk material and coatings.

Laser processing proves beneficial for mining and drilling activities, predominantly crude oil extraction. For example, the main development areas offered by Aerotech comprise mechanics, controls, and laser controls. They then aid the OEMs, system integrators, and end-users with the process of etching, marking systems, welding, and cutting systems. Furthermore, the espousal of water jet cutting technology results in a smooth cutting surface with narrow cuts, subsequently increasing the overall process efficiency and thereby spurring the market growth.

Application Insights

The machine tools segment led the market with a revenue share of over 30.0% in 2021. The increasing adoption of lasers in the industrial sector for various material processing applications, such as cutting, welding, drilling, and engraving, is projected to drive the machine tools application segment. The surging demand in microelectronics and the medical sector is anticipated to spur growth in the global laser processing industry. Welding plays a significant role in the production of medical devices. Key medical applications include pacemakers, implantable devices, and surgical tools, which need ultra-fine wires and non-porous and sterile surfaces utilized in cardiac procedures.

Significant investments by the market players in R&D are fueling the growth of the market For instance, Fudan University researchers produced an all-silicon laser with high optical gains using silicon nanocrystals. Silicon nanocrystals are similar to GaAs and InP. All-silicon laser combines optoelectronics and microelectronics used in various fields such as sensing, communication, displays, detection, and imaging. Moreover, emerging applications in the automotive and oil and gas sectors and the surging demand in machine tools manufacturing are anticipated to augment the industry growth. Additionally, laser cutting offers high processing speeds, upsurges the quality of cutting edges, and provides low heat input into the material for automobile production.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific led the market with a revenue share of over 40.0% in 2021. It is expected to witness substantial growth owing to the rising number of OEMs in this region. Furthermore, China is anticipated to arise as the key consumer of industrial lasers and systems for materials processing and micro-processing. Countries such as India, South Korea, Japan, and China are expected to witness high growth owing to numerous factors such as an upsurge in the number of OEMs and automobile industry growth.

Moreover, the escalating adoption of laser systems across several application areas in the region is another factor expected to spur market growth. Government regulations pertaining to permanent and clear marks on consumer goods are estimated to ensue in greater adoption of laser processing technology across several regions. Furthermore, the growing adoption in the automotive sector is expected to boost demand in the European region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is characterized by intense competition with the presence of a few major global players holding a significant market share. Key players emphasize new product developments to offer avenues for increased profitability through better customer relationships. Companies such as Universal Laser Systems offer products for security agencies and military branches for asset management, custom parts fabrication, and other production and security uses. These systems are also used on airfields, military bases, and naval vessels across the globe. Some prominent players in the global laser processing market include:

• Altec GmbH

• Alpha Nov laser

• Amada Co., Ltd.

• Bystronic Laser AG

• Epilog Laser, Inc.

• Eurolaser GmbH

• Han's Laser Technology Industry Group Co., Ltd.

• IPG Photonics Corporation

• Newport Corporation (MKS Instruments, Inc.)

• LaserStar Technologies Corporation

• Coherent Inc.

• IPG Photonics Corporation

• Newport Corporation

• Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG

• Universal Laser Systems, Inc.

• Xenetech Global Inc.

Laser Processing Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report 

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global laser processing market report based on product, process, application, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Gas

  • Solid-state

  • Fiber

  • Others  

• Process Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Material Processing

  • Marking and Engraving

  • Micro-Processing  

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Automotive

  • Aerospace

  • Machine Tools

  • Electronics and Microelectronics

  • Medical

  • Packaging

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa (MEA)