#1 - Everything burns

The situation in the 3D printing industry has been pretty bad for many months, but at the beginning of July this year it reached such a low level that several prominent people with a large reach on LinkedIn began to openly wonder if this was not the ultimate end? So what happened at the beginning of July?

Well, "THE DAY" happened...

On July 3, 2024:

• Shapeways filed for bankruptcy
• Forward AM announced its formal separation from BASF, which means that BASF has just abandoned the 3D printing industry for good
• Nano Dimension on announced the acquisition of Desktop Metal - which in itself wouldn't be so bad if not for the acquisition price with over -90% decline in value compared to 2021.

And just a week earlier, there was a RAPID + TCT conference in Los Angeles, CA, where the mood was supposedly low (I don't know, I wasn't there, but I read from others that it was like that).

The industry was talking much about consolidation (one happened right after that), and about the need for better adaptation of industrial AM in the manufacturing industry. But at the end of the day no one had any really good ideas. For now, the solution to the impasse comes down to two things:

• let's start saving and lower our costs (i.e. let's merge)
• let's start selling more.

Well… If that's the whole plan, then it's no surprise that Shapeways filed for bankruptcy immediately afterwards.

So much for the introduction. Without further ado...

Welcome to my newsletter!

From now on, every week I will post the most important events that took place in the Additive Manufacturing industry.

Yes, the industry is in trouble. Yes, the industry is burning. But we don't give up. 3D printing as a technology is doing great - it's the selected companies that that have problems. There are many that do just fine...

So what I'm going to do is document all important events on a weekly basis. Additionally - for those who do not always have the opportunity to follow it, I will publish here a weekly summary of my historical series "On this day in 3D printing..."

OH! And one more thing! I recently started publishing articles on Medium. Some are behind a paywall, but those who subscribe to the newsletter will receive a unique link to read it for free.

So I invite you to subscribe, recommend to others, and comment!

TOP 7 NEWS OF THE WEEK (#27.24)

#7. Adaptive Nozzle for thermoplastic 3D Printing

We start a bit unusually, because formally this news was published at the end of June, but it was posted on LinkedIn already in July. And apart from that, it's a really amazing story!

Engineers from Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering has developed a new 3D printing technique that uses a nozzle that can change its size and shape during the manufacturing process. What does it mean? That depending on the geometry of the part, it can be built with greater or lesser accuracy, slower or faster. This is a perfect solution for pellet-based 3D printers because it can significantly increase their efficiency. Theoretically, it can also solve the biggest challenge of this method - retraction problem.

We do not know if and when the solution will be commercialized, but its potential is enormous.

Read full story: https://engineering.jhu.edu/news/from-minecraft-to-masterpieces-adaptive-nozzle-enhances-3d-printing/

#6. Sygnis decided to issue new shares on the Polish NewConnect stock exchange, looking for extra € 1,4 mln

Sygnis SA – a Polish company manufacturing proprietary 3D printers for scientific research, decided to issue series E shares by private subscription. The company wants to raise PLN 6 million (~EUR 1.4 million) in this way.

Sygnis develops the following products and technologies: Syglass - 3D printers for low-temperature glass, DEPO - 3D printing technique of glassy carbon from the gas phase directly to the solid phase, and F-NIS - 3D printing solution for chemical and materials laboratories. The company focuses on the development of 3D printers from the flagship DIW (Direct Ink Writing) line and increasing their sales by expanding the international network of distributors.

Sygnis is also the owner of the once well-known Zmorph SA brand, which it took over in 2022. Unfortunately, Zmorph seems to be dead at the moment. Recent financial reports also indicated that Sygnis itself was not in the best financial situation. The money raised will definitely come in handy. They really would...

Read full story (polish only): https://mambiznes.pl/aktualnosci-2/biznews/sygnis-zdecydowal-o-emisji-akcji-spolka-technologiczna-chce-przyspieszyc-rozwoj-112096

#5. EOS scores a major sale of metal 3D printers

The German EOS has been leading the development path for the global 3D printing industry for three decades. But it also sells quite a lot of machines. However, selling 25 metal 3D printers in one transaction is no mean feat!

EOS sold 3D printers to American Integrated 3D ( i3DMFG ). These are 4-laser EOS M 400-4 metal 3D printers. i3D will have a total of 36 EOS machines, representing one of the company's largest 3D printer fleets in the world. Some of the machines will be delivered this year, and the rest in the next two years.

This happened in June, but at the very end of the month. And this is really big and uplifting news so I had to include it...

Read full story: https://www.eos.info/en-us/press-media/press-center/press-releases/i3dmfg-acquires-12-eos-m400-4

#4. PRUSA Research has started manufacturing 3D printers in the USA

Prusa Research - the largest manufacturer of amateur and desktop 3D printers in Europe, announced the start of physical production of 3D printers and filaments in the USA. It will be implemented by Printed Solid , which became part of Prusa two years ago.

Now, thanks to the launch of production, the availability of Prusa 3D printers and filaments in the United States will improve. The factory in Newark, Delaware, gained new production spaces, a 3D printer farm, service and production lines for Prusament filaments and assembly of Original Prusa MK4 printers.

Employment growth in the US is expected to be gradual, but the goals are ambitious... Prusa intends to become the largest manufacturer of 3D printers and filaments in the United States within a year.

Read full story: https://blog.prusa3d.com/we-are-now-manufacturing-3d-printers-and-filaments-in-the-usa_99148/

#3. Forward AM decides to go solo - BASF exits 3D printing industry

While this may seem intriguingly enthusiastic at first glance, it is actually pretty depressing news. Forward AM - a 3D printing department created by the chemical giant BASF, bought out and became an independent company. The new entity called Forward AM Technologies includes the Sculpteo business and all the materials portfolio.

So BASF becomes the next big company to leave the Additive Manufacturing business, joining other huge names like Canon, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Autodesk or DuPont. In fact, the only big players that have not yet lost faith in 3D printing are Nikon, HP and GE (although the latter – GE Additive, have recently been rebranded to Colibrium Additive - the letters "G" & "E" have been taken away).

This story has two dimensions:

1. on the one hand, everyone wishes Forward AM the best, hoping that becoming independent from a large corporate behemoth will help them spread their wings; however on the other hand, being part of BASF was an excellent financial guarantee; and now you will only have what you earn...
2. BASF's exit is a continuation of the terrible trend the entire industry is facing; no one believes in this 3D thing anymore - most are disappointed, eh…

Read a great analysis made by Joris Peels here: https://3dprint.com/311132/basf-spins-out-3d-printing-business-forward-am-analysis/

#2. Nano Dimension buys Desktop Metal at a huge sale

Last year, when Stratasys wanted to take over Desktop Metal , Nano Dimension torpedoed the transaction with all its might, claiming that Desktop was a money burner and would lead Stratasys to bankruptcy. It succeeded. The merger did not take place. But now Nano itself has bought Desktop. It turned out that this time it was a great opportunity. A chance like no other. That now they will become a 3D printing giant.

You probably already know this story in detail. If not, I encourage you to read Davide Sher take: https://www.voxelmatters.com/nano-dimension-acquires-desktop-metal-in-all-cash-transaction-of-135m/

The price of Desktop Metal is terrifying... If completed, the deal would lock in a loss of at least 98% in stock value since February 2021. Let me just present one quote from Yoav Stern - CEO of Nano Dimension:

It’s like buying a property for $10 million in a prime location, but the house is not renovated. Now Ric has renovated, and the price is less.

Brutal.

#1. Shapeways is gone. Shapeways is no more...

Long ago, when I started in the 3D printing industry, Shapeways was one of the symbols of a growing market – a model company that many looked up to. It had a very non-standard and effective business model - it dealt with AM, serving both end customers and designers and creators. It was the contractor and the middleman. It had a whole lot of dedicated users – it had a community!

And it produced some truly amazing things.

All this happened during the market boom for home 3D printers. When that ended, Shapeways decided it was also leaving the consumer market and heading into the industrial market. Heck, we all thought it was a great idea at the time! Unfortunately, it turned out that there is slightly different competition on the industrial market and being a “cool 3D printing company” is not enough. Actually, it doesn't mean anything at all.

Then Shapeways promised the moon and went public. And ended badly. It went bankrupt. The entire management left. I don't know if it can be recovered?

Here you can read a great article about “what if” and “what went wrong” by Michael Molitch-Hou : https://3dprint.com/311141/inside-the-5m-shapeways-deal-that-never-happened/

The demise of Shapeways is heartbreaking but fully deserved. It's like friends addicted to stimulants - you watch them gradually sink into oblivion, but there's nothing you can do about it. One day it turns out it is too late to do anything. Only memories remain.

Free articles from Medium:

Summary of the most important events in the history of the 3D printing industry published last week:

7 years ago BlackBelt has completed its successful Kickstarter campaign, creating a trend for conveyor belt 3D printers.

6 years ago Kai Parthy – innovator and expert in “weird” filaments released GROWLAY - bio-degradable 3D printing material for indoor farming

10 years ago colorFabb presented the first consumer version of 3D printing pellets.

7 years ago HP has announced the acquisition of 3D scanning company - David Vision Systems GmbH to advance its Sprout technology and 3D printing ecosystem.

2 years ago Roboze presented two new models of the PRO series dedicated for work with high performence materials.

11 years ago the very first edition of The 3D Printing Days (?Dni Druku 3D”) took place - the largest trade fair event for the Additive Manufacturing industry in Poland.

8 years ago, Dariusz Mi?ek – the fourth richest man in Poland, bought 15% of Zortrax for PLN 44 million. He soon withdrew when month later the scandal of (un)sold 3D printers to DELL came to light.

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