Additive Manufacturing Ecosystem Overview — PART 2
Article Highlights
The Additive Manufacturing (AM) market (a.k.a. 3D Printing) is currently growing at more than 30% yearly [1]. Although most people associate 3D printing to 3D printers, and sometimes stretching its definition to the associated printed materials, it is important to get a general perspective on a 7 segments AM ecosystem to understand their interlaced dynamic, as well as how to navigate them as a member of the “maker” community.
In a multi-parts article, we will aim at providing perspective on the following points:
PART 1: Defining the AM ecosystem segments
PART 2: Ecosystem dynamics and realities: Hardware Manufacturers
PART 3: Ecosystem dynamics and realities: Service Bureaus
PART 4: Ecosystem dynamics and realities: Makers Community
PART 2: Ecosystem dynamics and realities: Hardware Manufacturers
Let’s look at the interactions between some of the key segments of the AM ecosystem:
Hardware Manufacturers
The hardware manufacturers of 3D printers and other AM-related hardware such as 3D scanners are diversified and very polarized in terms of sizes. There are a few giants (e.g. 3D Systems and Stratasys) who tend to offer a very wide range of 3D printer technologies covering personal, professional and industrial uses. They dominate various market shares depending on the technology sector.
On the other side, there are several startups, up to large manufacturers which are answering a niche market with targeted product lines, such as industrial metal DMLS printers, personal FDM or DLP printers (e.g. Carbon 3D, MakerBot, Concept Lasers, SLM Solutions, Arcam AB, etc.)
Other manufacturers are already existing large companies that are expanding their product portfolio by adding AM products or modules to their existing product lines (e.g.: Trumpf, Renishaw, etc.).
What you should know:
- For personal-class printers, most manufacturers sell directly to consumers, as well as distribute their products on various marketplaces such as Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart, Home Depot, etc.
- For professional and industrial printers, except for a few high-end niche vendors, most will prefer to sell their products using established local distributors, or service bureaus.
- Most distributors will have exclusivity agreements with non-competing manufacturers, limiting the variety of offered products, as well as polarizing the technical PROs/CONs for a given printing technology for a potential buyer.
- Manufacturers are machine experts, but most often lack tribal knowledge in using them for applications. This is why many of them will partner with service bureaus to beta test and gather feedbacks. Users considering buying a printer of significant value (professional and industrial classes) should make sure to talk to experienced service bureaus which can have a perspective on competing technologies to offer best value advises. Stay tuned at Makernest.com for more information.
- Beware of materials and consumables (spare parts) sourcing options when considering a printer manufacturer. Many manufacturers “lock” their printer customers into sourcing parts and consumables at high cost through their exclusive distribution channels (even if they do not manufacture the materials). For personal and professional printers, it makes a significant operational cost difference. For industrial printers, it might limit the printable materials available through the manufacturer based on their proprietary tests and associated machine parameter sets. In other words, it makes the exploration of new printable material more complicated and limiting.
- For professional and industrial printers, after sale service should be of consideration. Especially when the manufacturer is selling through distributor, often, the services provided after the initial installation are limited by the distributor. The handling and management of service is then left to the users, which have to deal with both distributor and the manufacturer separately sometimes. Value the “one stop shop” aspect of your choice of printer provider.
- Most high-end professional and industrial printer manufacturers will not advertise their pricing, given the variety of options available, etc. BEFORE you engage a vendor for pricing, we recommend that the PROs and CONs on the competing models/technologies be carefully reviewed and understood by the buyer, from UI software, to materials quality and stability, to post-processing of the printer parts (look out for our upcoming article on key selectrion criterion for different class of printers, coming soon).
- When choosing a printer technology, it is important to pay particular attention to the required post-processing of the printed parts in order to render them functional/finished. In other words: how complicated is the removal of the support structures? How much waste does the printing and cleaning process generate? How does it limit the printable functional part features?
Let’s now look into more details one of the key segment of today’s 3D printing market: Service Bureaus in Part 3 of this article.
References
[1] Wohlers Report 2015. “State of the Industry Annual Worldwide Progress Report on Additive Manufacturing”. Wohlers Associates, ISBN 978–0–9913332–1–9, p.22–24
[2] Photizo Group Report 2014. “2014 Consumer & Desktop 3D Printer Market Size, Shares, and Forecast”. Photizo Group, http://photizogroup.com/products/2014-consumer-desktop-3d-printer-market-size-shares-forecast
[3] Columbus, Louis. “2015 Roundup Of 3D Printing Market Forecasts And Estimates”. Forbes, Mar 31, 2015, http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/03/31/2015-roundup-of-3d-printing-market-forecasts-and-estimates/#4e708e4b1dc6
[4] Fabian, “Top 25: Most Popular 3D Modeling & Design Software for 3D Printing” iMaterialize.com, August 5, 2015 https://i.materialise.com/blog/top-25-most-popular-3d-modeling-design-software-for-3d-printing
[5] “2016–3D Printing Fairs, Conferences & Events List”, 3dprintingforbeginners.com, February 9, 2015 http://3dprintingforbeginners.com/fairs_events/