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Here's why these 3D printer companies are now reeling in: go to kickstarter and search for "3d printing". There are 315 results. That's right, 315. 3D system

by pp19dd 11y ago

Here's why these 3D printer companies are now reeling in: go to kickstarter and search for "3d printing". There are 315 results. That's right, 315. 3D systems was founded in 1986. Stratasys was founded in 1989. These are not toy companies. These companies defined and refined the printing methods we're talking about today. What did their devices print? Engineering prototypes. Cars. Car parts. Medical and research parts. Things that preceded mass production. From cat scan to a hip broach with no room for error. That kickstarter explosion is a reflection of the hype initially driven by hobbyist interest that brought 3D printing in the forefront some 4-5 years ago. Also fascinating is the RepRap family tree, which identifies the design origin of many of these kickstarter printers: http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Family_Tree http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Family_Tree So the market, the buyers, are confused because seemingly new printers and 3d printing companies are sprouting like mushrooms after a rain promising faster and cheaper printing for a hundred bucks, and they keep tanking. Failing to deliver. Breaking promises. Consumers don't know many of these are just remixed open-sourced printers or that it takes 8 hours to make a small toy. The product dilution is eroding confidence in the technology and stealing resources from starter companies who are serious and could deliver real products. And to the two above-mentioned companies, who own patents and keys to the technology, this means their robust product has been massively devalued and confidence in them shaken.

nemo44x 11y ago
3D Systems stock (DDD) over the last 3.5 years has been a classic example of a bubble. A case studio, really. It has been amazing and educational following this stock the last 4 or so years.
Htsthbjig 11y ago
"3D systems was founded in 1986. Stratasys was founded in 1989. These are not toy companies. These companies defined and refined the printing methods we're talking about today. What did their devices print? Engineering prototypes. Cars. Car parts. Medical and research parts. Things that preceded mass production. From cat scan to a hip broach with no room for error." This is exactly the problem with those companies. They had the patents that let them charge $60.000-$100.000 for something that cost less than $2000 to manufacture. They will spend more money sending you a sales representative, or in Shows and parties and fancy buildings. Everything they sold to you was incredibly expensive, and God help you if your machine breaks. For 20 something years they had done that and gotten away with it. But now patents are expiring and they are dinosaurs. "So the market, the buyers, are confused because seemingly new printers and 3d printing companies are sprouting like mushrooms after a rain promising faster and cheaper printing for a hundred bucks, and they keep tanking. Failing to deliver. Breaking promises. Consumers don't know many of these are just remixed open-sourced printers or that it takes 8 hours to make a small toy. The product dilution is eroding confidence in the technology and stealing resources from starter companies who are serious and could deliver real products." I don't know what are you talking about. A Prusa Steel takes 30 minutes to mount. You can buy a printrbot, a bukito, a kossel already mounted. Stealing resources? What? If I device to spend my money whenever I wish after a 20 years monopoly grant ends it is "stealing resources" from those guys?
- pp19dd 11y ago
  You sound like the kind of person who can work through photogrammetric scanning, mesh reconstruction, 3D modeling with openSCAD, manual bed leveling, nozzle jams, picking the right nozzle sizes, print and bed temperatures, and other slic3r settings. You can figure out why your print came out looking like a malnourished waffle. Most consumers who are interested in 3D printing can't. This is not a hobbyist product. This is a product for a hobbyist engineer. With some elbow grease and love, it could become a hobbyist product, but an ungodly lot of these kickstarter companies are selling unicorns.

by pp19dd 11y ago

nemo44x 11y ago

3D Systems stock (DDD) over the last 3.5 years has been a classic example of a bubble. A case studio, really. It has been amazing and educational following this stock the last 4 or so years.

Htsthbjig 11y ago

"3D systems was founded in 1986. Stratasys was founded in 1989. These are not toy companies. These companies defined and refined the printing methods we're talking about today. What did their devices print? Engineering prototypes. Cars. Car parts. Medical and research parts. Things that preceded mass production. From cat scan to a hip broach with no room for error." This is exactly the problem with those companies. They had the patents that let them charge $60.000-$100.000 for something that cost less than $2000 to manufacture. They will spend more money sending you a sales representative, or in Shows and parties and fancy buildings. Everything they sold to you was incredibly expensive, and God help you if your machine breaks. For 20 something years they had done that and gotten away with it. But now patents are expiring and they are dinosaurs. "So the market, the buyers, are confused because seemingly new printers and 3d printing companies are sprouting like mushrooms after a rain promising faster and cheaper printing for a hundred bucks, and they keep tanking. Failing to deliver. Breaking promises. Consumers don't know many of these are just remixed open-sourced printers or that it takes 8 hours to make a small toy. The product dilution is eroding confidence in the technology and stealing resources from starter companies who are serious and could deliver real products." I don't know what are you talking about. A Prusa Steel takes 30 minutes to mount. You can buy a printrbot, a bukito, a kossel already mounted. Stealing resources? What? If I device to spend my money whenever I wish after a 20 years monopoly grant ends it is "stealing resources" from those guys?

pp19dd 11y ago
You sound like the kind of person who can work through photogrammetric scanning, mesh reconstruction, 3D modeling with openSCAD, manual bed leveling, nozzle jams, picking the right nozzle sizes, print and bed temperatures, and other slic3r settings. You can figure out why your print came out looking like a malnourished waffle. Most consumers who are interested in 3D printing can't. This is not a hobbyist product. This is a product for a hobbyist engineer. With some elbow grease and love, it could become a hobbyist product, but an ungodly lot of these kickstarter companies are selling unicorns.