The laser cutting market is expected to reach $3.77 billion in 2018, according to MarketsandMarkets of Dallas. The value of that market was $2.08 billion in 2012 but will reach nearly $4 billion in 2018, at an estimated compound annual growth rate of 9.71 percent.

The rapid adoption of lasers in materials processing over the past decade to replace older mechanical tools has changed the market dramatically, and the laser cutting market is seeing positive growth because of more support from the government bodies, regulatory bodies and associations of various kinds, the company said, including rulings by the Federal Aviation Administration requiring laser marking of wires and parts, and the FDA’s push to have manufacturers mark equipment and drug packages.