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Top 3d printing companies in the world


5 Biggest 3D Printing Companies

DDD, PRLB, and FARO lead the 5 biggest 3D printing companies list

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Nathan Reiff

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Nathan Reiff has been writing expert articles and news about financial topics such as investing and trading, cryptocurrency, ETFs, and alternative investments on Investopedia since 2016.

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Updated August 01, 2022

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Thomas Brock

Reviewed by Thomas Brock

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Thomas J. Brock is a CFA and CPA with more than 20 years of experience in various areas including investing, insurance portfolio management, finance and accounting, personal investment and financial planning advice, and development of educational materials about life insurance and annuities.

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The manufacturing process known as 3D printing is one of the most promising and rapidly developing technologies with applications across a multitude of industries. 3D printing involves the additive layering of thin sheets of material that are fused together to create a physical product from a digital design. While the industry is currently hampered by relatively slow production times, advocates believe that 3D printing ultimately will have the capability to mass produce everything from medical equipment to automotive parts to airline components. Below, we look at the 5 biggest 3D printing companies by 12-month trailing (TTM) revenue. This list is limited to companies that are publicly traded in the U.S. or Canada, either directly or through ADRs. Some foreign companies may report semiannually, and so may have longer lag times. All data are from YCharts as of September 8, 2020.

  • Revenue (TTM): $566.6 million
  • Net Income (TTM): -$78.4 million
  • Market Cap: $632.3 million
  • 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -24.6%
  • Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

3D Systems invented 3D printing in 1989 with the development and patenting of its stereolithography technology, which uses ultraviolet lasers to help create highly precise parts. DDD built on that by developing new technologies, including selective laser sintering, multi-jet printing, film-transfer imaging, color jet printing, direct metal printing, and plastic jet printing. 3D Systems has three business units: products, materials, and services. The products category offers 3D printers and software and includes small desktop and commercial printers that print in plastics and other materials.

  • Revenue (TTM): $451.0 million
  • Net Income (TTM): $58.6 million
  • Market Cap: $3.9 billion
  • 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 58.2%
  • Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

Proto Labs was founded in 1999 with a focus on building automated solutions to develop plastic and metal parts used in the manufacturing process. The company expanded to launch an industrial-grade 3D printing service that allowed developers and engineers to move prototypes into the production process. The company's primary business services include injection molding, sheet metal fabrication and 3D printing.

  • Revenue (TTM): $334.7 million
  • Net Income (TTM): -$79.7 million
  • Market Cap: $1.0 billion
  • 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 20.6%
  • Exchange: NASDAQ

FARO specializes in 3D measurement and other services for the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction. With a 40-year history, FARO' began before the advent of 3D printing. The company's products include coordinate measuring machines, laser trackers and projectors, mappers, scanners, and software. FARO also serves the aerospace, automotive, and power generation industries.

  • Revenue (TTM): $205.3 million
  • Net Income (TTM): -$2.7 million
  • Market Cap: $1.9 billion
  • 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 94.8%
  • Exchange: NASDAQ

Belgian company Materialise has a 30-year history providing 3D printing solutions and related software. It provides platforms to facilitate the development of 3D printing applications in industries such as healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and art and design. Some of the company's first 3D printing activities included anatomical models in both dental and hearing aid products. Materialise also produces eyewear and automobile products.

  • Revenue (TTM): $52.9 million
  • Net Income (TTM): -$14.5 million
  • Market Cap: $238.2 million
  • 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 48.3%
  • Exchange: NASDAQ

ExOne specializes in manufacturing 3D printing machines for customers across various industries. It also produces 3D printed products to specification for industrial customers. ExOne 3D printers utilize binder jetting technology, fusing powder particles of materials like metal or sand into molds, cores, and other products.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

  1. YCharts. "YCharts."

  2. 3D Systems. "Our Story."

  3. Materialise. "Timeline."

The World’s Largest 3D Printing Companies By Market Cap: 3D Systems & Xometry On Top

This is a list of the world’s largest 3D printing companies measured by market capitalisation. Thanks to their resources, these companies dominate the global 3D printing market. The listing is as per the data verified on 4th March 2022.

Contents

  • 1 3D Systems (NASDAQ: DDD)
  • 2 Xometry Inc. (NASDAQ: XMTR)
  • 3 Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS)
  • 4 Protolabs (NASDAQ: PRLB)
  • 5 Velo3D Inc. (NYSE: VLD)
  • 6 Desktop Metal Inc. (NYSE: DM)
  • 7 Materialise N.V. ADR (NASDAQ: MTLS)
  • 8 Nano Dimension (NASDAQ: NNDM)
  • 9 Markforged Holding Corp. (NYSE: MKFG)
  • 10 Shapeways Holdings Inc.: (NYSE: SHPW)
  • 11 MeaTech 3D Ltd. (NASDAQ: MITC)
  • 12 Organovo Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: ONVO)
  • 13 Voxeljet AG ADR (NASDAQ: VJET)
  • 14 Final Thoughts

3D Systems (NASDAQ: DDD)Above: 3D Systems Headquarters in Rock Hill, SC/Image Source: 3D Systems

Market Capitalisation: $2.2B

3D Systems is the most valuable and biggest 3D printing companies in the world, with a market capitalization of $2.2 billion. The company sells a variety of items, including 3D printers, printing materials, digital design tools, and more. Manufacturing, 3D scanning, and healthcare are among the industries where the company’s 3D printing services are used.

With the acquisitions of Titan Additive and Kumovis, it is now expanding into extrusion-based 3D printing technologies.

Share Price (March, 2022): $17

Xometry Inc. (NASDAQ: XMTR)

Market Capitalisation: $2.17B

Xometry, which debuted on the stock market less than a year ago in June 2021, is now second on the list of the top 3D printing companies. Xometry is an on-demand manufacturing company that was founded in 2013 as a convenient marketplace for products people to make and use. Xometry digitised manufacturing by starting from 3D printing but expanding to include much of the conventional manufacturing processes as well. Today, it is one the world’s biggest on-demand manufacturing platform. To understand Xometry better, think of it as the Airbnb of On-demand manufacturing.

Share Price (March, 2022): $49

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS)

Market Capitalisation: $1.55B

Israel-based Stratasys is on the third spot in the list of world’s largest 3D printing companies as per market capitalisation (rising from 5th position last year to the third position). It also ranks high among the biggest 3D printer companies across the world. With a market cap of $1.55 billion, the company is undeniably a force to be reckoned with in the global 3D printing market.

Share Price (March, 2022): $23. 97

Protolabs (NASDAQ: PRLB)Above: Protolabs Corporate HQ Maple Plain, US/Image Credit: Protolabs

Market Capitalisation: $1.51B

With a market cap of $1.51 billion Protolabs stands fourth in the list of largest companies in the global 3D printing market. Specialising in rapid prototyping, the company is known to offer the fastest source for and customised custom prototypes production parts. The company uses three additive processes namely stereolithography, selective laser sintering (SLS), and one of the metal 3D printing technologies such as direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). With more than half a dozen manufacturing locations across three continents, the company is known to produce and assemble custom parts in just one day.

Share Price (March, 2022): $54.93

Velo3D Inc. (NYSE: VLD)

Above: Velo3D team at the New York Stock Exchange/Image Source: Velo3D

Market Capitalisation: $1.47B

Velo3D is a new entrant to the list as it debut as a publicly-traded company in October 2021. Velo3D is a leading additive manufacturing technology company for mission-critical metal parts. It has quickly rose to prominence due to its proprietary Sapphire® system. Velo3D’s reputation can be gauged by the fact that its AM systems are used by some of the most innovative companies in the world, including SpaceX, Honeywell, Boom Supersonic and more. Velo3D is said to be effective in producing mission-critical parts and that too at fraction of time and cost required by conventional technologies.

Share Price (March, 2022): $7.78

Desktop Metal Inc. (NYSE: DM)

Market Capitalisation: $1.27B

Desktop Metal became a publicly listed company on December 10, 2020 after going through a SPAC deal. There was much excitement as Desktop Metal went public but for multiple reasons the DM stock has continued to fall. From the stock hitting an all-time high of $35 per share last February, it has plummeted to $4 per share (March 3rd, 2022).

Though the picture seems dark, Desktop Metal is betting big on its flagship Production System P-50 printer. The company shipped its first P-50 printer on 28th February. So, there is something to look forward to.

Share Price (March, 2022): $4.03

Materialise N.V. ADR (NASDAQ: 

MTLS)Image Source: Materialise

Market Capitalisation: $1.17B

With a market capitalisation of $1.17B, Belgium-based Materialise NV comes at number seven this year. The company has more than two decades of 3D printing experience and offers a host of software solutions and 3D printing services to a variety of industries such as automotive, art and design, consumer goods, and healthcare.

The Materialise stock is steady at $19 per share. Though it reached a 52-week high of $77 per share in February last year, but has seen a downturn since then.

Share Price (March, 2022): $19.34

Nano Dimension (NASDAQ: NNDM)Image Credit: Nano Dimension

Market Capitalisation: $890. 02M

Israel-based Nano Dimension is the next on the list of the world’s largest 3D printing companies with a market cap of $890.02M. The company has registered exponential growth recently and has emerged as a leader in additive electronics and nanotechnology-based ink products. Its products include the award-winning DragonFly Pro 2020 3D printer known to 3D print a variety of functional electronics such as sensors, antennas, moulded connected devices, printed circuit boards, and other devices. By easing the process of manufacturing such complex electronic devices, the DragonFly 2020 Pro 3D printer is transforming the electronic additive manufacturing market and allowing companies to take charge of their entire development cycle.

Share Price (March, 2022): $3.41

Markforged Holding Corp. (NYSE: MKFG)

Image Source: Markforged

Market Capitalisation: $691.37M

Markforged is an American public additive manufacturing company that debuted on the NYSE last year in July 2021. It designs, develops, and manufactures The Digital Forge — an industrial platform of 3D printers, software and materials that enables manufacturers to print parts at the point-of-need.

Markforged was valued at $2.1 billion at the time of its debut but has seen a downfall in stock prices like almost every 3D printing company and especially those going public via SPAC deals. One of the reason for the fall in prices is likely due to the SPAC deals going out of favour among many other.

Share Price (March, 2022): $3.57

Shapeways Holdings Inc.: (NYSE: SHPW)

Market Capitalisation: $155.51M

Shapeways is the Dutch-New York counterpart of the Belgian Materialise. It is a digital manufacturing platform offering customers access to high-quality part manufacturing from a wide selection of processes and materials through automation, innovation and digitisation.

It also offer ready-made products from its marketplace like an E-commerce store catering to B2C clients who can place an order and get it delivered to their doorstep.

Share Price (March, 2022): $3.13

MeaTech 3D Ltd. (NASDAQ: MITC)

Market Capitalisation: $82.49M

MeaTech4D is also among the biggest 3D printing companies in the world. MeaTech 3D Ltd. is an Israeli food technology company, that promotes and focuses on developing alternative option to industrialised farming. It does this to circumvent the ethical and environmental issues surrounding conventional animal husbandry by developing an industrial cultured meat production process with integrated 3D printing technology. It aims to develop a customised process to manufacture protein without animal slaughter.

MeaTech was also among the companies that went public last year in 2021.

Share Price (March, 2022): $5.15

Organovo Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: ONVO)

Image Source: Organovo

Market Capitalisation: $32.82M

San Diego-based Organovo is at the 12th position in the list of the world’s largest 3D printing company with a market cap of $76. 65 million. Known to transform the future of regenerative medicine with its 3D bioprinting technology, the company has partnered with several pharmaceuticals, medical centers and develops 3D human tissue models that could be used for different medical purposes such as biological research, predictive preclinical testing of drug compounds, therapeutic implants and even to treat damaged or degenerating tissues and organs.

Share Price (March, 2022): $4.67

Voxeljet AG ADR (NASDAQ: VJET)

Market Capitalisation: $30.57M

The next on this list of the world’s largest 3D printing companies with a market cap of $96.59 million is Voxeljet. A manufacturer of 3D printing systems for industrial applications, Voxeljet is known for its large-format production and a chemical 3D printing process. The company caters to industries that range from automotive, aerospace to architecture and design.

Share Price (March, 2022): $4.60

Final Thoughts

The list of 13 of the largest and the best 3D printing companies around the world also offer a great representation of the entire 3D printing ecosystem. This list has some of the biggest 3D printer manufacturers, 3D printing service providers, software manufacturers and also one of the top medical/healthcare 3D printing company.

Note: The article is for informational purposes only. Manufactur3D does not offer personalised investment recommendations or views about any particular company or stock of a company

About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D printing. which publishes the latest 3D printing news, insights and analysis from all around the world. Visit our 3D Printing Education page to read more such informative articles. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Largest listed companies in the 3D printing sector

3D printing dates back to the late 1980s. At the end of 2018, the size of the 3D printing market, according to various estimates, reached from $9 trillion to $10 trillion. Calculations were made based on the cost of producing printers, components and 3D printing.

In the coming years, expert agencies (IMARC, Inkwood Reasearch, Marketwatch, etc.) predict a steady growth of at least 20% per year. In this scenario, by the end of 2025, the scale of the entire 3D printing segment will reach at least $ 32 trillion - 3.5 times higher than the current values.

The outlook for the sector makes it attractive to investors. Consider the largest and most stable companies in this segment, whose shares can be considered for purchase and take their rightful place in your portfolio.

1. HP Inc Capitalization: $29.3 billion

HP manufactures computers, printers, tablets and a number of other devices. The release of 3D printers is not the main specialization of the company, but HP occupies one of the leading positions in the 3D printing segment. In 2014, the company developed the Multi Jet Fusion technology, which allowed to increase productivity and reduce the cost of professional (industrial) 3D printers. The technology has been successfully applied in mass production of printers since 2016.

In 2017, HP opens the world's first 3D lab, equipped with printers in various build states and essential tools for device experimentation. The company has opened up the first opportunities to test new materials in 3D printers to increase efficiency.

In 2018, HP will open a joint manufacturing center with China's Guangdong in Guangdong, China, which is the largest such 3D printing project in Asia Pacific and Japan. The facility is equipped with ten high-tech next-generation HP Metal Jet printers to produce parts and prototypes for industrial customers.

2. Proto L abs (NYSE: PRLB). Capitalization: $2.56 billion

The company was founded in 1999 and has more than 10 production sites in seven countries. The head office is located in Minnesota. The company specializes in the production of parts for other manufacturing companies. The corporation positions itself as the fastest in the world in the production of custom prototypes and finished parts for industrial customers. In 2014, Proto Labs launched 3D printed parts.

In addition to 3D printing, the company produces CNC (Computer Numerical Control) parts, injection molding and sheet metal parts. In 2015, Proto Labs bought Alphaform (specializing in innovative 3D printing) with divisions in Germany, Finland and the UK. This allowed the company to expand its 3D printing business in Europe. To diversify its business and introduce sheet metal manufacturing, the company acquired Rapid Manufacturing in 2017 for $120 million. 9 Systems ( NYSE: DDD). Capitalization: $1.01 billion

3D Systems was founded by inventor Chuck Hull in 1986 as the world's first 3D printing company. It produces 3D printers and components, including software, and also designs them. The company provides services at various stages of design, development and production of products for many large industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical, entertainment and other areas. It should be noted that the corporation also works with retail consumers. Business diversification within the 3D segment makes the company financially stable.

3D Systems is headquartered in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA. The number of employees of the company exceeds 2600 (as of the end of 2018), which is twice as high as five years ago.

4. Stratasys ( NASDAQ: SSYS). Capitalization: $0.98 billion

The company was founded in 1989 by Scott Crump. The technology was based on the idea of ​​creating the shape of a figure by layering after Scott decided in 1988 to make a toy for his daughter using a gun filled with glue. At 1992 Stratasys released its first 3D Modeler product.

Today, Stratasys manufactures industrial and desktop 3D printers and related accessories. The range of services includes installation, maintenance and training in working with printers. The company serves various industries by developing technologies for the production of prototypes and parts. The first public offering of Stratasys shares took place in 1994 at $5 per share and a total volume of $5.7 million. The head office is located in Minnesota.

5. Materialize Capitalization: $0.88 billion

Incorporated in 1990 in Leuven, Belgium, Materialise specializes in 3D printing services and 3D printer software. Like other leaders in this sector, Materialize works with various major manufacturers around the world (Adidas, HP), but a significant share of the business is in cooperation with medical centers and institutions. The company's portfolio includes more than 150 medical patents. Materialize offices are located in 18 countries, including one office located in the CIS in Ukraine.

Issuer Comparison

The most valuable company among the leaders is HP, which is due to the scale and diversification of the company's business in the entire technology segment. 3D Systems, Stratasys and Materialize specialize exclusively in the 3D printing segment, while their capitalization is on the same level. Proto Labs has three businesses besides 3D printing and is in the middle of our list in terms of capitalization.


The most undervalued company in terms of EV/EBITDA is HP, but it is not correct to compare it with other issuers by this multiplier due to the differentiation of the company's products and services. 3D Systems has the highest EV/EBITDA, and from this point of view, the paper is not so attractive to buy. Moreover, over the past four years, 3D Systems shares have been in a stable sideways trend without technical prerequisites for growth.

The remaining three companies, in our opinion, may be of interest. At the same time, if your long-term goal is to get the maximum increase from the growth of the 3D printing sector, then investing in HP shares is less preferable compared to other securities. After all, the reaction of the shares of companies with a direct specialization is more sensitive to changes in the sector. Below are the consensus forecasts of investment houses according to Reuters, according to which Stratasys (14.9%) and Materialize (13.6%) shares have the greatest potential now.

HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ): $20.5 (+3.4%)
Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB): $98.7 (+3.0%)
3D Systems (NYSE: DDD): $8 .6 (+0.6%)
Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS): $20.8 (+14.9%)
Materialize (NASDAQ: MLTS): $19.2 (+13.6%)

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Overview of leading companies in the provision of 3D printing services / Habr

I got the impression that in Russia there is a stereotype that there are only two ways to make money on 3d printers:
1) Become a dealer of an international company / set up the production of your own 3d printers
2) buy several 3d printers and take orders from architects/doctors/military

This post will focus on the fact that there are many more opportunities, the "entry price" to this market for an individual designer person is lower than it seems, and the future, which is distributed/distributed unevenly and not entirely in Russia, is already here.

Under the cut you will find a brief overview of the three giants of the European and American 3d printing industry, which do not specialize in the production of their own 3d printers, but develop communities, create a "marketplace", act as platforms for startups, designers, etc. After the review of the "big three" follows a review of the most interesting projects created around these giants.

Some projects are commented by Konstantin Ivanov (consst), who attended European (3DPrintShow) and American (Inside 3D Printing) conferences.

Three giants in 3D printing marketplaces from USA and Europe

www.shapeways.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeways
The company, organized in 2007 in the Netherlands (originates from the Philips business incubator), but is headquartered in New York. The company employs 90 people. At the moment, it has attracted about $40 million in investments. It has two full-fledged productions in the Netherlands and in New York. The number of ordered products has exceeded one million.

Konstantin: “World and US market leader Shapeways. Successfully located its head office in Queens, NY, becoming a Mecca among the creative people. For a pretty decent history of its existence, Shapeways has gathered a huge community of designers, at the end of 2013 - 300,000 people. Of course, the number of active and prolific designers is much smaller, but the total number and products on the marketplace cannot fail to impress.

With each of the active designers, Shapeways community managers (they are usually called community managers, which is rather rare in Russia so far) work a lot, communicate, and help resolve any issues: high-quality photography of products, placement on the marketplace, correction of 3d models. In general, the community is the heart of Shapeways.

The huge knowledge base they have collected on the forum and in the Tutorials sections on the site allows you to find the answer to almost any question that arises when working with 3d models for printing. Storehouse of knowledge.

Some of the people from Shapeways (former community managers, production managers) are already creating their own separate businesses in the field of 3d printing. Shapeways encourages and develops an entrepreneurial culture.

However, competitors really, really dislike Shapeways for dumping the market. Indeed, their prices for 3d printing from many different materials are almost always lower than competitors from Europe. They can afford it, with so many investments involved)

Shapeways have created and are developing an excellent powerful API for developers of various online 3d model customizers, which can also be made through them. As a result, in addition to the marketplace, they work as a production and API, which is very convenient.

They have completely stopped delivering to Russia since last year, citing problems at customs. By the way, I must say that the experience of ordering 3D printing from them in NY is also not ideal: they missed the delivery time for samples, I had to write to support, but the issue was quickly resolved. ”

Some videos and articles in English for a deeper understanding

Video about the company. Keanu Reeves is there too.


Number of unique items made from 2008 to 2013

Founder Peter Weijmarshausen

Forbes article (10/10/2011)
Wired article by Bruce Sterling (10/3/2011)
BusinessInsider article (12/19/2012)

Petermarijhausen speech TechCrunch

Another performance by Peter Weijmarshausen



www.sculpteo.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpteo
French startup, launched in 2009. Raised several million investments, has a small fleet of its equipment
Strengths: a very interesting online service, with the ability to not only analyze your model, but also prepare it online for printing. There is a mobile application 3DPcase

Konstantin: “French guys who started after Shapeways was on the market. Small team, own small production (industrial 3d printers) in Paris.

Like many other players in the market, part of their production capacity is outsourced. This is quite logical, since to control a huge production, including from metals, ceramics, etc. - Pretty messy story.

Quite often you can meet them at exhibitions. The last time, while talking with them at 3DPrintShow in London and Inside3DPrinting in New York, the guys shared their opinion on the pace of market development in Europe and the USA and a little more about competition in Europe, where Shapeways is also actively going.

The main focus of Sculpteo's development is applications, their own online software for calculating, correcting and even preparing 3d models for printing. This is very impressive, none of the competitors do this. For comparison, Shapeways uses only half of its software, the second part is Netfabb's software.

Sculpteo is great for those who are already quite proficient with 3d models and use 3d printing for prototyping.

The team is also developing its API. Delivery to Russia, according to the director of the company Clement, they do, but in fact this is not possible.”
Once they kept their blog on Habré, with some quite useful articles, for example, a translation of an article about the “Industrial Revolution” 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Konstantin: has an office both in Belgium and, for example, in Ukraine. The main activity is prototyping of industrial, engineering, medical, aviation, etc. products.

However, the company also has its own consumer direction, which was named i.Materialise. The marketplace and community are also being developed. If you look closely, they very much follow the example of their American colleagues, up to copying interface elements, which is quite logical - the usability in Shapeways is really very good.

Recently launched the so-called Boutiques, separate shops for selected designers. Continue their movement to the consumer segment.

A number of important advantages: its large production with the most experienced staff and a large number of different technologies, printers and post-processing. Completely own software that works well with models (but no better than Sculpteo does). And, of course, the API, which they are actively developing and connecting more and more partners to it.

I also offer a white label option for companies that don't want their customers to know exactly where their products are made.”


A little video about projects Materialise

Video with TED (in English)

How the largest stereolithographic machine

Print clothing



How to earn on 3D-printing no 3D.

Aggregators:
3DHubs.com - allow owners to register their 3d printer in the database. Thus, it becomes possible for any person to find either the nearest 3d printer, or exactly the printer that is needed (all over the world).
Plus, they can collect useful statistics and publish monthly trend reports. They take a commission of 15-20%

Konstantin: “One of the investors from a London fund introduced me to the founders of a fairly recent startup 3dhubs, who also invested in the company. Brian and Bram came up with and are making a great international story that actually makes life easier for those who need to print something “close to home”.

The service works all over the world and even a little in Russia. The guys are attentive to the customer service inside, help each client if one of the hub owners has problems with printing. Very comfortably.

Coming to each new city or exhibition, they do the so-called unlock of the city and open new hubs with printers there. This was also the case at the exhibition in London last year.”


makeXYZ.com
Texas Entrepreneurs Project. Allows you to search for 3d printers and 3d designers. Received investment from Intel.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

www.sols.co
Allows you to create personalized insoles.

Konstantin: “A great example of how, growing inside a small start-up company, Sols founder Kegan Schouwenburg caught the entrepreneurial spirit and started her own project to produce custom orthopedic insoles made using 3d printing!

Kegan was one of the people who did the entire Shapeways production from scratch, which is a really big job.

Her company has now raised about $8 million in funding from the same investors who invested in Shapeways and is actively building its business. At the same time, he uses polyamide (nylon) for the manufacture of the base for the insoles and makes all samples using Shapeways. Proper collaboration and collaboration.”

mixeelabs.com
An online application that allows you to create figurines ($25), molecules, key chains for dogs, cufflinks and wallets for cards.

Konstantin: “Second success story in the 3d printing business, also from a former Shapeways employee. Nancy Yi Liang is the founder of product customizer Mixeelabs, who makes money from his brainchild and lives in New York.

At our last meeting with her, she told how well things are going with the sale of her products from the site (80% of sales), a little worse from the Shapeaways marketplace (20% of sales), but at the same time, the very first viral effect gave her the same Sad Keanu, which she invented and distributed perfectly everywhere.

Her project is a great example of how, having come up with an interesting and rather viral thing, you can earn money on it in the long run.”

joshharker.com
Joshua Harker — Artist, sculptor, musician, digital adventurer, imagination architect, troublemaker

Konstantin: later he went into business, opened his own company, developed his own unique and recognizable style (which was later copied by many others) and showed how to effectively apply new design approaches to 3d printing.

I could not resist and decided that the worse we are, we will make one for ourselves. Here is the result:



www.minetoys.com
For all Minecraft fans. Prints your character from the game.

www.twikit.com
The service allows you to customize gifts and jewelry made of plastic and metal.

n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com

Konstantin: “Nervous are practically gods in 3D printing design, they come up with new shapes and structures and constantly impress.
In addition to the beautiful futuristic design, they came up with an incredible online thing that creates amazing kinetic structures right in the browser, right in front of you. All this is flexible and allows you to actually make wearable objects made using 3D printing.

Photos of works from Nervous System

Octopussy that I printed a year ago (report on Habré)


Blokify. com
A mobile application that makes it very easy to create a 3d model and send it to print. Convenient for working with children.

Video and a couple of photos


draw


materialize


WhiteClouds.com
»Submit your ideas (even on a napkin). We will bring them to life."

The company does not require its customers to be able to handle a computer: you can send a simple sketch made by hand, and the company's specialists will turn it into a digital three-dimensional model, print it on a 3D printer and send the finished product to the customer. Once, they even sent a cardboard model to the company, asking them to print a copy on a 3d printer, and the order was completed.

Portfolio under the spoiler

A little zombie:

Russian projects

The following picture speaks eloquently about the state of affairs in Russia:

3D Printing Map of the World

a parable on the topic

One company once sent a shoe salesman to an African city.
Shortly after arriving in Africa, he wrote to the office:
“You can take me back. Here everyone walks barefoot.
They returned him to his homeland.

Then they sent another shoe seller.
Almost immediately upon arrival, he sends an urgent telegram to the office:
“Send all the shoes you have. Here everyone walks barefoot!

zdravprint.ru
A service for the creation of individual fixators, which are printed on a 3D printer and are designed to replace plaster at certain stages of recovery.

Konstantin: “My good friend Fedor Aptekarev at the last Yandex Startup Camp launched a project to create plaster using 3d printing. With such a cast, the fracture can be endured a little easier.”
What the future holds for us

Me : Konstantin, while collecting materials for this post, I came across some skeptical statements by highly respected people (for example, the director of Epson) about the future of 3d printing, but you, in turn, You have been actively developing this industry in Russia for a year already, holding training seminars, developing a community, holding competitions for designers, planning to launch an API for your project, what is the basis for your confidence that this is worth doing?
Konstantin: Glad you asked. Let's clarify what exactly the head of Epson said. Something like this: “There is no big future for plastic 3D printing at home. We will only make commercial 3D printers.” He talks about building an industrial design printer. Epson itself is going to develop industrial printers. And I completely agree with them.

In my opinion, industrial 3d printing technologies, which we also use, can really bring 3d printing to a new consumer level. Here you need to immediately make a reservation that the head of Epson is talking about home printing, but he only means FDM technology (plastic filament melting), as the most popular home 3d printing technology. At the same time, do not forget that after the end of the patent for SLA technology (stereolithography), for example, a completely “home” Formlabs 1 printer appeared, which gives a very acceptable quality. Yes, of course, it can not be compared with the industrial one.

I'm talking about the fact that rather than home 3d printing, there is no future, but FDM technology. She will live herself. It is suitable for too narrow an application and the quality is very, very low.

I am sure that what we are doing now will create (and is already creating it abroad) a new market and new opportunities for consumers and designers, will speed up the solution of many problems and, of course, will become more accessible. Confidence is fully confirmed by the facts, the results of communication with colleagues from abroad and in Russia, and, of course, by the numbers, which are constantly growing.

Me: Konstantin, having talked to the CEO of the world's leading companies and "having been in the future for a bit", what will the world expect in the coming years?
Konstantin: In the very near future, I can say with full confidence, the following awaits us:
- the widespread integration of the "print on a 3d printer" button into all conceivable and unthinkable applications, programs, games, and so on. We will print both in 3d printing services and for enthusiasts on home 3d printers

- the end of patents for the main industrial 3d printing technologies (SLA (already), SLS, 3DP, DMLS) will lead to a more serious development of smaller and less expensive printers, respectively, the growth of both industrial technologies and quality will also skyrocket

- Google , actively introducing 3D scanners into their phones, will also contribute to the growth of the market, since many people will have the most important thing for the market - a model for printing.

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