3D printing competitors

And, of course, the majority of people have a desire, if not to open their own printing business, then at least recoup the costs of purchased equipment or make 3D printing an additional source of income.

Some 10 years ago, 3D printing was just beginning its development, in principle, little was known about this technology.

European 3D printers, which were already on the market at that time, were quite expensive.

And only, approximately, since 2013. printers of Russian manufacturers began to appear, which were more affordable for our consumers.

The absence of competition made this field of activity attractive and profitable for start-up entrepreneurs .

With the development of Russian manufacturing companies and the availability of the most affordable Chinese-made 3D printers, such studios began to appear like mushrooms after the rain.

Most entrepreneurs in this area chose the most popular path - they leave an order for a single product, they fulfill it and wait (or, at best, look for) the next customer.

This approach, in most cases, ends in failure.

This was probably due to two factors:

• significantly increased competition
• and the lack of demand for services, since few of the inhabitants knew exactly how 3D printing can be applied.

Large labor costs for finding orders, insufficient number of clients, in addition, it often turned out that it took much more time for one print than expected, in connection with this, the question arose of the advisability of purchasing additional 3D printers, since it was difficult to fulfill a large volume of orders.

Not all studios survived.

Hence, in our opinion, the widespread opinion that this type of activity cannot be profitable.

But, for some studios, on the contrary, things are going uphill, and from makers working at home, they are turning into a steadily growing company that brings a stable income.

Why does this happen?

This time we talked to the user of our Hercules Strong 3D printer, Alexander Bogomolov, the founder of the “MIR3D.RND” workshop.

Alexander opened his own workshop ,

, which combines the directions of milling and 3D printing, and it should be noted that he focuses on the second direction.

It all started with the fact that in 2019 Alexander completed the gubernatorial training program for small and medium-sized businesses. And, since the topic of additive technologies has long interested him, he presented his graduation project in the form of a business plan for creating a workshop that combines 3D printing and milling.

After the defense of the project, the workshop was opened.

The 3D printer was selected based on the following requirements:

• it must have been professional equipment
• Russian assembly
• the ability to contact and get help from technical support if necessary
• the ability to quickly get printer spare parts in case of their breakdown.
• large working area that allows you to place a large number of parts.

Our Hercules 3D printers met all these requirements, and the choice fell on the Hercules Strong model.

Of course, like most 3D printing studios, they print to order, for the most part

functional parts, for example, for household appliances that are out of order.

But, Alexander realized that in order to develop and stand out from the competition, you need to create a unique selling proposition.

He decided to find his own narrow target audience and focus on development in this direction.

And he managed to do it!

The focus is on the beauty industry, and more specifically on the masters involved in weaving dreadlocks.

Alexander has developed a special device for weaving, which is now very popular and helps craftsmen a lot in their work.

Thus, having managed to find his consumer and created the necessary product, Alexander ensured the demand for his unique products and received a source of stable income.

In addition, the studio specializes in printing brackets, crosses and corners for exhibition pavilions and awnings for recreation.

Previously, we have already told you the story of entrepreneur ,

, who also grew from a maker that prints at home to a company that entered Russian marketplaces with its products.

Evgeniy Rubtsov, the founder of the "3Dform" company, also took the path of developing a narrow niche

- they print molds and cutouts for confectioners on Hercules Original and Hercules Strong.

Also, the company "3Dpoint" - specializes in printing and selling rare auto parts,

work on Hercules G2.

By the way, the founder of this company, Victor, participated in streams on the YouTube channel "Additive Kitchen", where he shared his impressions about this printer in detail.

From this we can conclude that not always a wide profile of services in the field of 3D printing gives a stable result, but going into a narrow line of business and correctly identifying your potential audience, their needs and requests can lead a printing studio to larger volumes work, and as a result, a stable income.

Share your stories in the comments, if you also opened your own print studio, what results and conclusions did you come to in the process? What was the secret of your success?

>_____________________________________________________________________________

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3D Printing Market Research: 6 Important Trends

Time is the most valuable commodity today. High competition and the emergence of new business models require accelerated development cycles to quickly and flexibly implement innovative ideas. With new, more efficient equipment, high productivity, and a wide choice of materials, 3D printing technology saves time and money in the development and production of parts.

3D printing was originally designed to completely change the principles of production. The technology has a number of strategic advantages, such as design flexibility, reduced time to market, mass customization, distributed manufacturing, and many others. Despite some difficulties, 3D printing continues to show undeniable advantages.

Over the past few years, Jabil, an international manufacturing services company, has sponsored three 3D printing trend studies to set the direction for additive manufacturing and assess current realities. The 2021 survey surveyed more than 300 people responsible for making 3D printing decisions in manufacturing companies. The report allows you to get acquainted with the experience and opinion of professionals working "at the forefront". Respondents work in a wide range of industries, including electronics, plastics and packaging, industrial engineering, automotive, healthcare, and many others, giving us a comprehensive understanding of the 3D printing market and how additive technologies are being used.

1. The scope of 3D printing is rapidly expanding

Thirty years is a very short time when it comes to traditional production methods. Additive technologies are revolutionizing a wide variety of industries.

The results of the last two surveys are in stark contrast to the information obtained in the first survey in 2017. Even in the past two years, the adoption of 3D printing has increased significantly. The rise in popularity and expansion of the scope of additive manufacturing is clearly seen in the present study.

In 2017, the most popular answer to the question “what is 3D printing used for in your company?” was the answer "for rapid prototyping". Seven out of ten respondents confirmed the use of 3D printing for this purpose. The remaining answer options lag far behind the first: only three out of ten respondents chose the second option (tooling production). Since then, the scope of 3D printing has expanded significantly.

R&D has become the most popular area for 3D printing, ahead of prototyping. At the same time, there is a sharp increase in application scenarios in other areas. Since 2017, the proportion of companies using additive manufacturing to manufacture parts and tooling has doubled, and the use of these methods for mass production of parts has tripled.

Nearly 100% of study participants reported that they use 3D printing to produce functional or end-of-life parts. Undoubtedly, the scale of their production varies. Nearly 80% of respondents report using additive manufacturing to make at least 25-50% of functional parts.

Improvements in 3D printers allow companies to experiment with additive technologies in areas where they were previously unavailable. As the price of 3D printers declines and their productivity rises, the technology will become more accessible and will change the manufacturing industry as a whole.

2. The growth of additive manufacturing: forecasts are more optimistic than ever

Prospects for the development of 3D printing are extremely positive. Market participants are confident in a significant increase in the popularity of technology in the future. 97% of respondents believe that the adoption of 3D printing in their companies will grow in the next five years.

The majority of study participants believe that the use of 3D printers in their organizations will at least double over this period of time. Nearly half of respondents expect usage to double, and 4 out of 10 expect much more significant increases (5x or more). In addition to the growing popularity of additive technologies, a significant role in expanding their use, as already mentioned, will be played by their availability.

Companies in general plan to increase their additive capacity, but the highest expectations are related to mass production of parts and goods. Slightly more than 80% of respondents expect that the use of additive technologies for mass production of products in their organizations will grow at least twice over the next five years.

H. 3D printing brings many benefits to companies

During the first study, many of the benefits were perceived as "intangible" concepts. However, over the past few years, use cases have increased, concepts have become reality, and two years later, respondents are even more inspired by the benefits of additive technologies. We have identified three main benefits of additive manufacturing according to reviews.

Perhaps the rise in popularity of 3D printing is not a coincidence, but is due to increased demand for additive manufacturing during the COVID-19 crisis. As the pandemic spread, companies with 3D printers began to produce personal protective equipment such as respirators and masks that suddenly became scarce. When developing new diagnostic equipment and analysis kits, the use of 3D printing has accelerated the process of prototyping and design.

Respondents cited faster manufacturing of parts as the main benefit of additive manufacturing. Jabil saw this first hand: indeed, the desire to eliminate the labor-intensive iterative process was the driving force behind the introduction of additive manufacturing into the Auburn Hills facility. Not only did it speed up workflows, but it also helped reduce costs by being able to immediately recreate the exact geometry (no need to cut off excess material). In fact, savings amounted to 30-40% on tooling and 80% on lead times.

“With the power of 3D printing, every aspect of manufacturing has been greatly improved,” said John Wahl VI, Tooling Engineer at Jabil's Auburn Hills facility. “The first aspect is time, the second is a more creative approach, the third is costs, the fourth is materials.”

According to the distribution by job level, senior managers are more optimistic about the benefits of 3D printing than department heads. Since it is the leaders who shape the vision (and plan the budget) for the future of the company, everything points to the further spread of 3D printing.

4. 3D printing materials become more affordable

Compared to 2019, companies are using many more types of 3D printing materials. Despite the fact that plastics/polymers are still leading the way, other materials are not losing ground and are catching up. This confirms our conclusion that the scope of 3D printing is expanding.

When it comes to primary material, the difference between plastic and metal in 3D printing is not as big as you might think. More than a third of respondents answered that they use plastic and metal equally, and those who choose only plastics are only 10% more.

Certainly some problems must be overcome in order to use some materials. More than half of the respondents (twice as many as in 2019) said that it takes too long to develop the necessary materials. Slightly more survey participants said that some materials are too expensive for large-scale use, and are not available or certified.

However, as these problems are overcome, interest in different materials increases. When you look at what materials companies actually use and what they would like to use, plastic still comes out on top. At the same time, the desire to use almost all materials exceeds the current use. It is noteworthy that the interest in printing with glass exceeds the actual use by 20%, ceramics - by 14%, metal - by 10%. It will be interesting to see the changes in the use of materials in the next two years.

5. Additive manufacturing still a source of problems

Despite the optimistic view of the development of additive manufacturing, companies still have to solve a number of problems associated with 3D printing. In 2019, half of respondents cited material costs as a problem, but this year only about two-fifths did so. All problems are located approximately on the same level: most of them fluctuate around 40%.

However, many of the current problems are related to costs, since 95% of respondents reported financial barriers to adopting additive manufacturing. Obtaining appropriate qualifications and certifications is the main challenge, followed by capital expenditures associated with equipment and the need for in-house specialists.

In 2021, pre- and post-processing costs have become a major concern. Companies are using more and more pre- and post-processing methods. In 2019, just over half of respondents reported using mechanical finishing, now it is almost three-quarters, with no polishing being the most common option. Given that the use of all processing methods has increased significantly, it is possible that companies are experiencing growth difficulties. If these problems continue to be given priority attention, they can be overcome.

6. Training of specialists is a priority

Now about three-quarters of respondents are engaged in additive manufacturing on their own. Given that half of the time they chose “lack of in-house talent” as their problem, it can be assumed that companies are prioritizing educating their employees about additive manufacturing or attracting professionals with experience and knowledge in the field of 3D printing.

This does not mean that organizations are opposed to outsourcing additive manufacturing: in fact, almost 100% of respondents said they were considering this option. When looking at potential suppliers, companies take into account a variety of criteria. Design capability is key, and scalability, pricing, and experience continue the list.

We are seeing significant growth in 3D printing in some areas. In others, this growth is still small. Four years ago, companies used 3D printers primarily for fast, low-cost prototyping: Few businesses relied on additive manufacturing for full-scale production. However, in just four years, as the problems with materials for additive manufacturing were solved and the scope of its use increased, the situation has changed. We have seen how 3D printing has literally taken over many manufacturing industries, which is reflected in the growth of market performance. Slowly but surely, the adoption of additive manufacturing continues. Digital manufacturing is the future.

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