Mainstream 3D Printer Ownership To Build Slowly

Despite the on-going hype attached to 3D printing, and the advent of more consumer-friendly, affordable machines designed with a mainstream user in mind, consumer adoption of 3D printers is set for relatively slow growth in the near term, according to analyst Juniper Research.

Writing in a new report, Consumer 3D Printing & Scanning: Service Models, Devices & Opportunities 2014-2018, the analyst predicts sales of consumer 3D printers will exceed one million units by 2018, rising from the circa 44,000 estimated to be sold this year.

After what it describes as this “limited” medium term opportunity, Juniper said it does expect a significant increase in shipments beyond the five-year period — driven by widening scope of applicability for 3D printers and the arrival of more established printing vendors into the space, namechecking the likes of HP, along with lower price-tags for the machines.

Educating consumers about what 3D printers can be used to make, as well as creating the ‘killer apps’ and content to drive interest in the notion of print-it-yourself-at-home, are going to be critical factors in establishing a mainstream market, the analyst added.

It noted that “niche and novelty” applications for 3D printers are on the rise, such as the consumer experiences being developed by Hasbro and Hersheys in partnership with 3D printer makers — for print it yourself toys and chocolates, respectively.

“Educating and motivating the public on the idea of 3D printing, to create everyday objects is critical for the long-term success of this segment. Killer applications and content will be the key drivers – something unique and personalised, which is not available in stores already,” said report author Nitin Bhas in a statement.

One consumer-focused 3D printer in the making is the $299 Micro, currently raising funds on Kickstarter to move from prototype to shipping product. The low cost device is now within touching distance of $3 million in crowd pledges — having blasted past its original $50,000 funding goal in 11 minutes — although The Micro’s Kickstarter traction still sums down to a relatively small pool of backers (10,360+ at the time of writing).

The Micro’s measured success (passing $2M raised in just three days is impressive, but again it’s getting that traction by selling to a relatively small group of early adopters) underlines the nascent state of the 3D printing market, as these first few waves of consumer-focused prototype machines seek to prove out the potential they are sketching.

The Micro’s low price-tag is certainly helping to drive interest — but lower prices still will be required to drive greater mainstream adoption, along with improved capabilities and a lot more structured content so that the average 3D printer owner won’t have to come up with all the creative ideas for what to print themselves.

Updated: Micro $299 3D Printer Passes $2M On Kickstarter In 3 Days

Update: The consumer-focused, low-cost Micro 3D printer that’s currently raising money on Kickstarter to get its prototype to market, has pushed passed the $2 million mark in pledged crowdfunds — just three days after the campaign kicked off.

At the time of writing, the Micro is pushing north of $2.2M, with more than 7,850 backers pledging money to the project. In an update on the crowdfunding site, M3D said having so many backers means “the opportunity to make many more Micros”.

They also discuss the specter of delays — a common occurrence for crowdfunding projects seeking to turn a prototype into a consumer-grade, shipping product and deliver on backers’ expectations — but they add that they will be focused on ensuring the original schedule they set out for shipping the Micro does not slip.

“We planned for multiple levels of production and are ready to deliver your rewards on schedule. We know that some of you wonder if having more backers can affect your delivery dates, and rest assured more backers actually helps us hire more staff and get more Micros produced quickly and efficiently. As many of you have said, it is important to stick as close to the original design as possible to achieve this goal, and by doing this we can make sure there are no unnecessary delays,” M3D notes.

M3D’s timeframe for shipping the Micro is August 2014 for those paying top dollar for the device ($899+), or February 2015 for the cheapest pledge levels ($199+). The two least expensive pledge tiers for the Micro have all been snapped up, with the minimum spend to get a printer now $299.

The Micro passed $1 million raised on Kickstarter just 25 hours after kicking off its crowdfunding campaign.

Original story on M3D passing that crowdfunding milestone follows below.

The Micro, a low-cost 3D printer that’s targeting a mainstream consumer user, has blasted past $1 million in crowdfunding pledges on Kickstarter a day after launching its campaign.

The Micro maker’s original fundraising target — of $50,000 — was pledged in just 11 minutes.

According to Statista, the Micro is the fifth fastest Kickstarter project to-date to reach $1 million, managing it in 25 hours, just ahead of Pebble’s 27 hours but lagging Ouya’s 8.22 hours.

The small 7.3 in³ cube is being built by M3D, a team in Bethesda, MD. The printer has a print layer resolution of between 50 and 350 microns, and a print area of 4.6 x 4.2 x 4.4″.

M3D priced the first 250 pledges at $199, helping to drive early momentum to the campaign. The price has since risen to $299 but the pledges are still rolling in — and have taken the committed funds past the $1 million mark in the past few minutes.

The Micro does not offer sophisticated functionality. Which is exactly the point. It’s cheap and cheerful, comprising a bare-bones box that can hide the spool of filament in use in its base.

Calibration and leveling is built into the printer head so the user doesn’t have to bother themselves with such details.

The companion software being developed for the Micro likewise focuses on hiding complexity, with a drag and drop interface that’s being designed for touchscreen use.

But clearly the sweet-spot here is the price. At $199 the printer was a steal — and at that price point, as my TC colleague John Biggs noted, it was likely a loss leader.

At $299 the Micro’s makers should be getting a margin — and consumers are clearly getting a 3D printer at a price they like.

Or they will be, if M3D can deliver. But with $1M and counting in their Kickstarter coffers — and a full 28 days left on their campaign to run — they’re looking well placed to make good on their own pledges (which, since passing the original Kickstarter funding goal, include expanding their own team to get the Micro out to backers as soon as possible).

“We’ll… be growing the M3D team and operations base to deliver The Micro to you as early as possible,” they note.