Will the Printer Hardware Market Give Birth to Just a few Companies?

Seems like there are literally dozens and dozen of companies coming out with new 3D printers, and more being announced each and every day. However, if you look at the PC industry, 2D printer industry, or just about any other tech industry, usually only a few companies emerge to be successful. Do you guys think that only a few 3D Printer hardware companies will be around in a couple years, or do you think there will be 100's of these companies? Personally I don't know which I think is better for the industry.

Lots of companies create healthy competition, driving prices down, and making each company have to come up with innovative ideas. However, if only a few companies emerge, all the funding and research would be concentrated in a few companies that have all the money.

What do you guys think?

I think we will see a bunch of companies emerge, and then after a few years there will emerge about 10-15 companies (similar to what happened with IBM compatible computers). Then if we give it another 2 years or so I think there will only be a few companies that are manufacturing 3D printers.

I'm just hoping we avoid having the Great 3D Printer Crash of 2023.

In My opinion the 3D Printing market is like the PC market of the early 80's. Most printers are Do it yourself home built pieces of Hardware, with a few major companies sprouting out of the pile. Over the next 5 years we will see some consolidation and probably a few major companies emerge.

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Originally Posted by Compro01

I'm just hoping we avoid having the Great 3D Printer Crash of 2023.

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This could very well happen. I too, fear this as a possible outcome. Being a part of 'The Next Generation' as so many people say to me, this kind of stuff is probably going to be my entire future. The next 10-20 years will either show huge progress and humanity will strive, or we will manage to do something that will kill all of us in the end.

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Originally Posted by Riskerbus

Over the next 5 years we will see some consolidation and probably a few major companies emerge.

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Here's to hoping that Makerbot Industries stay ahead of the game!

As of right now, (and it might be just because it's related to what I do) most of the news I see about 3D printers is either in the medical field with super-advanced-super-expensive printers that will not be on the global market for years, or it's about Makerbot, Printrbot, and now the Peachy Printer. The Peachy Printer being in a class of it's own because of how different it is from the other printers.

If they can get it to work well, and keep it cheap, then they guy(s) over at Peachy are going to run the market for laser printing because they were the first to do it, and seemingly do it well.