How Can Stratasys and 3D Systems Turn it all Around

[curious aardvark]

yeah there are only so many £300,000 pound machines you can sell before the market is saturated.
And for everyone who buys a brand new objet 300, there's a second hand objet 200 on the market for someone with slightly less money to buy.

The consumer market and drm protected files are where the big longterm money will be at.

Interesting bit about print bureaus. I guess 3d hubs and similiar companies is partly responsible, as is the fact that for under $300 you can get a kit and buils your own machine. Getting things printed by 3rd parties is still very expensive. If you use such services regularly - then it's a no brainer to get your own machine.

The other thing to bear in mind is how fast the technology is progressing. There are no doubt a lot of fence sitters who are waiting to see what the next gen will do, and with rapid prototyping they'll be out next year, not in 5 years.