Is 3D Printing Progressing As Fast As You Thought It Would

It's been a few years now since we've launched this site. The 3D Printing Industry has grown by leaps and bounds no doubt, and so have we, but has it grown as fast as you thought it would? In my opinion the industrial section of the industry is expanding quite rapidly from a technology standpoint. I believe that the next 12-18 months will usher in quite a few new innovations as HP enters the space in a big way. From the consumer side of things I think I personally was expecting more by now, but the next couple of years will certainly be bright. It will be interesting to see if any larger entities enter the consumer side of the market over the next 12-24 months.

Thoughts?

Yup, I definitely think so. Majority of people think linearly & 3D printing, like most new technologies, are ALWAYS on an exponential growth rate. Last year, earmarked the year when more people begun hearing about the wonders of 3D printing. This year we'll see the casual consumer being more involved with 3D printing -- purchase 3D printers, 3D designs, 3D printed objects.

I think if you just look at one subsection of the consumer 3d printing market I would say no.

For instance. look at FDM. There isnt anything radically different than there was 1-2 years ago when I first got in to it. I mean one of the best printers then the makergear m2 is still one of the best printers now. If it was growing that fast, that shouldnt be the case. There is only so much FDM can do. Its a hot glue on on a stick. The progression is going to have to come from other areas, axis's, and materials (and speed/ease of use).

Now the other side of the coin, SLA is growing at a rate that I am very happy to say is as fast as I expected, except in 1 major area (resin/materials). I want metal resin, more options etc.
But for instance, my Muve3d printer is INSANELY good. That team is making improvements all the time, as its a modular printer for the most part. You can go down to tiny SUPER high detail prints (for jewelry etc) or use a LARGE vat at higher rez and get huge part volumes.
Thing is, me being at a psuedo silicon valley "start up" I realize that innovation does NOT come from the big boys, hardly EVER. Innovation comes from young companies that can afford to take a risk. HP cant really afford to fail, so they will largely play it safe to appease share holders. thats how it works. Same with their storage. HP had MSA, EVA, Lefthand, now 3par. Nothing ground breaking in any of that IP. Its all legacy crap that works, but doesnt innovate. So I look to venture backed companies and individuals to bring the next great innovation to 3d printing and if i had to place my money on that, I would.

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There isnt anything radically different than there was 1-2 years ago when I first got in to it.
I mean one of the best printers then the makergear m2 is still one of the best printers now.

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in your opinion :-)

Actually fdm is coming along in leaps and bounds - maybe not in the states ;-) but in europe there are some amazing new machines come along in the last year or two.
My personal favourite being the bcn3d sigma.
A simple idea but one that makes dual material printing as simple and easy as single extruder printing.
https://www.bcn3dtechnologies.com/en...og/bcn3d-sigma

Spain in particular at the moment seems to be where the next gen fdm machines are coming from.
And then you really have to look at the other end of fdm - the actual available materials.
From non-warp nylons to antibacterial filaments - the sheer number and variety of of materials is expanding on an exponential basis.
There's not that much you can do with fdm hardware - but there seesm to be no end of what you can do with the actual printable marerials.

But fdm is far from resting on its laurels. You just need to take a global perspective :-)

And yeah there are also some amazing things happening in sla.
Oddly it's the opposite of fdm - huge leaps forward in the actual manufacturing technology - and very little change in the available materials to print with.

its actually no my opinion :) its kind of a lot of peoples... its been so highly reviewed for so long :)
I loved my FFCP and im not as bullish on my taz 5 as others have been. its a solid machine and its a beast, but Im struggling with quality just a bit.
good points aardvark