Competition

[Hayek66]

The big guys (DDD and SSYS) get most of the attention in the media, partially because they are publicly traded. Have heard that patent Expiry this month will lead to a flood of new printers from abroad. Is this true? What are the implications for the overall market and these big guys?

[intohim]

I'm not too sure we will see a bunch of new companies come in due to the patent expiration. I think the big dogs like DDD and SSYS will perhaps try and exploit the expired patents. We always see new companies coming in, but I don't think the rate of new companies coming in will change much.

[MysteryAlabaster]

The big guys (DDD and SSYS) get most of the attention in the media, partially because they are publicly traded. Have heard that patent Expiry this month will lead to a flood of new printers from abroad. Is this true? What are the implications for the overall market and these big guys?

I'm not sure what you expect to happen, the big guys like Stratsys and DDD are already at the head of the market. They have renown and people like them.
I don't think this will change anything for the market, maybe we'll get some bots that do things a bit differently and if their ideas are any good they'll get bought by one of the bigger companies and their ideas assimilated.

[3DPrintWise]

The market will change rapidly when Asia starts to offer 3D printers for consumers, presumers and small businesses. It will not be long before this happens and we all know they have a history of taking a strategy where a market is creed first of all and then they move in with better quality and lower priced hardware. It will also change when the media stop promoting freeware (propagated by the very same manufacturers) and start actively seeking out great designers who rightfully wish to be paid for their models.