#6 There is no time for peace – only the eternal war

I wrote about this three weeks ago… Can't see it yet, but something fishy is happening beneath the surface… Of course, I had no idea back then that Stratasys would sue Bambu Lab for patent infringement, but honestly… Can anyone closely following the 3D printing industry really say they’re shocked by what happened?

Shocked – not surprised. These are two different reactions. Being shocked means asking, “Why did this even happen?” Being surprised means asking, “Why did this happen now?”

Exactly. Why did it happen now?

There are various opinions and theories circulating on social media. Some are trivial (“because they’re running out of money”), others are rational (“they see Bambu Lab reaching a certain market share and don’t want them to go further”), and some delve deeper into the issue (“it’s really about shareholder sentiment…” or "it's all about saving UltiMaker").

Then there are those who reduce it to the lowest level (“it’s because Stratasys is a corporate @#$%! and they hate regular 3D printees”).

Well, someone is definitely right…

Regardless, the fact is it happened. And it will have very specific consequences. Because, you see, I’ve reviewed the patents that Bambu Lab allegedly infringed. And if the court finds this to be true, it will have dramatic consequences for the rest of the companies producing FDM 3D printers.

These particular patents could potentially block their continued market presence and future development!

But if the court dismisses Stratasys’ claims, nothing will stop the counteroffensive from desktop 3D printing companies.

Either way, a war is about to begin.

In comments on LinkedIn, X, and Substack, I’ve mentioned that this feels like a bit of history repeating itself – 10 years ago, we witnessed a similar legal battle between Stratasys and Afinia, but today’s market context is a bit different.

Back then, far fewer 3D printers were being sold than now. Companies like GE, HP, and Nikon weren’t in the market yet. 3D printing was viewed more as a consumer technology than an industrial one (by regular people).

And there weren’t as many global conflicts and social unrest as there are today. Yes, this also impacts additive manufacturing.

But the patent war isn’t everything that is going on right now…

• Microsoft has completely abandoned 3D printing.
• In the U.S., the issue of 3D-printed guns is resurfacing (but in a whole new dimension).

Can't see it yet, but something fishy is happening beneath the surface… And it's slowly starting to emerge.

So much for the introduction. And now, without further ado...

I hereby present you The Atomic Layers!

Last week, I introduced the concept of atomic newsletters and asked for your thoughts on it and whether you’d be interested in using it.

Thanks for all the feedback… (-_-)

Anyway, I’ve decided to move forward with it. That’s how Atomic Layers were born.

In my opinion, it looks and works great, and I encourage you to join. I’ll be dedicating a separate post to explain it in more detail soon, but for now, here’s how it works:

• every day around noon (CET) subscribers receive an email
• the email consists of five headlines and short introductory sentences:

1. Atomic News of the Day
2. Atomic News from the Past
3. Atomic News from a Friend
4. Atomic News from the Sponsor
5. Quote of the Day

• the sentences link to dedicated articles.

The entire email fits on one screen of a monitor or laptop.

It’s the absolute essence and my personal contribution to keeping you as well-informed as possible. Subscription is free (there’s also a paid version, but it’s a song of the future… it’s still under development).

So once again, I invite you to sign up.

That's all from me - for now, I invite you to read:

? 4 articles on Medium

? TOP 7 news of the week

? TOP 7 historic events in the 3D print world.

#7. 40th anniversary of the invention of 3D printing

Although everything about this topic has already been said and written multiple times, it’s worth mentioning once more (possibly for the last time this year). On August 8th, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the invention of 3D printing by Chuck Hull.

Of course, we all know that Hull was not actually the first to develop this method, nor was he the first to file a patent, and his patent was not the first to be granted. There were others. I wrote about this in an article on 3DPrint.com—others have written about it too.

But the reason we call Hull the "grandfather of 3D printing" is much broader. He was the first to build a working machine around this technology, find customers for it, establish a company around it—and ultimately create a market.

Therefore, the date of August 8th, 1984, marks not only the beginning of "stereolithography—the world’s first additive technology," but also the foundation of the job we can all perform today.

Read full story: www.3dprint.com

#6. Elon Musk confirms new Raptor 3 engine optimization was possible thanks to 3D printing technology

We all know that additive manufacturing often plays a crucial role in the creation or modification of applications used in aviation and aerospace, but typically, the projects involving 3D printing are classified.

This makes it even more significant when we receive such information from one of the most well-known people in the world, especially when it concerns one of the most high-profile technological projects of the past decade.

Elon Musk confirmed during an interview that the Raptor 3 engine, used in SpaceX rockets, was largely optimized to its current version thanks to additive manufacturing technologies.

Moreover, a comparison photo of the first, second, and third-generation engines highlights not only the functional aspect but also the aesthetic improvement.

In short, this photo is a huge advertisement for 3D printing:

But, of course, it's not just about appearance—it's about power. As reported by Davide Sher on VoxelMatters:

According to an analysis by Brian Wang on NextBigFuture, if Raptor 3 is improved to over 300 tons of thrust at sea level, then each engine would have 2.95 million newtons of thrust. In this case, 35 Raptor 3 engines would provide 103.25 million newtons of thrust for a 35-engine super heavy booster. By comparison, the Saturn V had 34.5 million newtons of thrust.

Although neither Musk nor any SpaceX representatives have said anything more, we can speculate that the technology behind the Raptor 3D might come from Velo3D, which has supplied many 3D printers to the company. But that's just industry speculation...

Davide Sher of VoxelMatters was the first to report this: www.voxelmatters.com

#5. Xeometry sets a revenue record

Although Xeometry is not exclusively focused on the AM market, and its area of operations is quite specific compared to other companies in the industry, it has come to be regarded as part of the AM community afterall.

And when this company achieves outstanding financial results, the rest of the AM sector draws closer, eager to share in its success.

Xeometry recently published its results for Q2 2024. Last week, I mentioned that second quarters are notoriously challenging for the industrial sector, making Xeometry's achievement all the more impressive.

The global AI-powered marketplace that connects enterprise buyers with suppliers of manufacturing services announced that its revenue grew by 25%, with notable growth in the US. It also achieved a record 33.5% marketplace gross margin.

Total revenue reached a record figure of $133 million, marking a 19% increase year-over-year. Marketplace revenue surged to $117 million, up by 25% year-over-year. Total gross profit climbed by 21% to $52.9 million, underscoring the company’s robust performance.

Additionally, the number of Marketplace Accounts with at least $50,000 spend in the last twelve months increased by 24%, from 1,159 to 1,436, highlighting the platform’s growing importance to high-value clients.

Read more: www.voxelmatters.com

#4. The old Shapeways attempts resurrection in Europe under Manuevo brand

On July 3, 2024, American-Dutch Shapeways, one of the most well-known and recognized comprehensive 3D printing service providers worldwide, unexpectedly declared bankruptcy. Now, a month after the event, the Dutch team from Shapeways BV is trying to salvage the remnants of the company by creating a new entity called Manuevo BV.

Manuevo has acquired the assets of the bankrupt company, which was the European subsidiary of Shapeways Holding Inc. The former Shapeways managers-now the new owners of Manuevo, claim that the Dutch subsidiary was always a profitable unit serving customers worldwide. Its operations were disrupted solely due to the bankruptcy of the American parent company.

The new company has resumed operations in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Customers in these regions will still be able to access 3D printing services without incurring additional customs duties. The new enterprise primarily focuses on serving B2B customers, offering 3D printing services for industries such as automotive, aerospace, architecture, medical technology, and semiconductors.

While this news is encouraging and offers hope for a positive resolution to the July drama, it should be noted that the new-old company still carries significant burdens from its predecessor. Only 30 employees from the previous 53-member team will be retained. It also remains uncertain how many former clients will decide to return to the newly reconstituted team. And as Joris Peels from 3DPrint.com reports, there are many more problems to solve and many dangers lurking for old-new management around the corner.

Nonetheless, this is not the end of the Shapeways story, and I keep my fingers crossed for a happy ending.

Read Joris Peels’ report at: www.3dprint.com

#3. Microsoft is really pulling the plug on 3D printing

A few days ago, I published a long, elegiac article about 3D Builder—a super simple and super efficient 3D modeling application by Microsoft that is now being phased out. However, it turns out that this isn’t just about that specific app; it’s part of a much broader strategy aimed at withdrawing from consumer 3D printing altogether.

Not only is 3D Builder disappearing—its clumsy successor, Paint 3D, is also being phased out.

Paint 3D, which was intended to eventually replace Microsoft Paint, is no longer part of Windows. While it can still be manually downloaded and used from the Microsoft Store, its days are numbered.

Microsoft has just announced that the app will be officially discontinued on November 4, 2024. As of now, Microsoft has no active projects in consumer 3D printing, similar to all other leading Big Tech companies.

This marks the end of an era in the history of desktop 3D printers and is a sign of the times. Large corporations are moving away from 3D printing, focusing instead on other current trends (like AI, whose bubble is just starting to burst).

Read the original story: www.3dprintingjournal.substack.com

#2. The threat of 3D-printed guns returns, but in a completely new form

Surprisingly, this news has gone largely unnoticed in industry media, yet it could have significant consequences in the future.

The City of Chicago has filed a lawsuit against firearm manufacturer Glock, accusing the company of deliberately profiting from the sale of pistols that can be modified with "auto sears."

The lawsuit claims that Glock refused to implement design changes that could prevent the use of them. The lawsuit also indicates that Glock pistols, which are easily modifiable, are more popular among criminals in Chicago compared to other brands.

Auto sears are small mechanical devices that can be added to a semi-automatic pistol, converting it into a fully automatic weapon.

In practice, this means that when the trigger is pulled, the weapon will fire continuously until the ammunition is depleted or the trigger is released, instead of firing single shots.

Most commonly used in Glock pistols, auto sears are popular among criminals because they allow semi-automatic pistols available on the market to be turned into machine guns. These devices are small, making them difficult for law enforcement to detect.

In recent years, auto sears have become even more accessible due to 3D printing capabilities. The design for the device can be found online and then printed using a 3D printer, making them cheap and easy to obtain. In the U.S., the use and possession of auto sears is illegal, as they convert weapons into fully automatic firearms, which are subject to strict legal regulations.

Read full story: www.3dprintingjournal.substack.com

#1. The 2024 Patent War

Stratasys filed a lawsuit against five Chinese companies, alleging that they infringed on 10 patents by developing and selling 3D printers under the Bambu Lab brand. Two notice letters were sent on August 5 to:

? Beijing Tiertime Technology Co.

? Beijing Yinhua Laser Rapid Prototyping and Mould Technology Co.

? Shanghai Lunkuo Technology Co.

? Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology Co.,

? including Tuozhu units Bambulab Ltd. and Tuozhu Technology Ltd.

On August 8, two lawsuits were filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where Bambu Lab's American headquarters is registered.

2/3 of the patents were filed by MakerBot—some when it was still an independent company, and others after it was acquired by Stratasys.

I reviewed all the patents. In my opinion, some are absolutely questionable, as they were filed after similar solutions were already on the market from other companies.

However, there are a few where there seems to be little that can be done. For example, the patent stating that only MakerBot (and later Stratasys) can use video cameras in 3D printers.

This patent was filed back in 2012, during Bre Pettis's time.

I don’t feel like checking when exactly this feature was implemented and how it worked (it doesn’t matter in this case), but the fact that someone once seen as a symbol of the open-source movement turned this now-standard functionality into a legal infringement is striking.

The real reason behind the start of this patent war is unclear. Of course, it’s about money—Stratasys clearly emphasizes this in the lawsuit—but what’s the deeper motive?

• is Bambu Lab supposed to be pushed out of the market entirely?
• or should they start sharing profits from sales?
• or maybe they’re being set up for an acquisition, to be integrated into the UltiMaker structure?
• or could this be a peculiar invitation to discuss something else, something bigger? perhaps the people behind Stratasys want to start negotiations with those behind Bambu Lab?

One person involved in the discussions on LinkedIn asked about TierTime's role in all this. Maybe it’s worth following that lead?

Read the patent analysis: www.3dprintingjournal.com

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

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