Domestic Prototype Model Industry Exceeds 6.7 Billion RMB in 2026, Hybrid CNC & 3D Printing Becomes Mainstream

Release Date: July 2026

Source: Industry Monitoring Report, China Additive Manufacturing Industry Alliance

Content:

Statistics show that China’s prototype model market reached 6.72 billion RMB in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 17.5% over the past three years. Demand from three downstream sectors — new energy vehicles, high-end medical devices and aerospace UAVs — has surged dramatically.

The industrial landscape has undergone major shifts. Hybrid manufacturing combining CNC subtractive machining and 3D additive printing has achieved a market penetration rate of over 52%, replacing single-process production and becoming the standard solution for leading prototype manufacturers. Traditional CNC-only factories face bottlenecks in fabricating intricate structures, while pure 3D printed prototypes fail to meet micron-level precision requirements for assembly. The hybrid process leverages the strengths of both technologies: 3D printing produces integrated hollow and internal channel structures, followed by 5-axis CNC precision finishing on critical mating surfaces, balancing delivery speed, design freedom and dimensional accuracy.

Geographically, the Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen, Dongguan) remains the core industrial cluster, accounting for more than 60% of national output. Central and western tech hubs including Chengdu, Wuhan and Xi’an rely on local universities and tech startups; the number of regional prototype factories grows by over 20% yearly, forming new growth engines for the industry.

In terms of equipment, the industry owns 83,000 CNC machine tools, 34% of which are 5-axis simultaneous machining centers. The total stock of industrial 3D printers exceeds 128,000. The continuous cost reduction of domestic SLM metal 3D printers has greatly lowered the threshold for functional metal prototype production.