Dec 2, 2015 | By Kira
Amsterdam-based 3D printing resource 3DHubs today released its December 2015 3D Printing Trend Report. Around this time last year, 3DHubs had access to roughly 9,000 3D printers. Now, that number has grown to over 24,500 3D printers spread out over more than 150 countries, giving them a comprehensive and unmatched perspective on the who, what, where, and how much of the 3D printing world.
Read on for a few highlights from this month’s 3D printing trend report, which includes the most wanted 3D printers, which manufacturer has the most loyal consumer following, the highest rated desktop and industrial 3D printers, a 3D printing map of the world, and much more.
First and foremost is the Highest Rated 3D Printers category. When it comes to buying a new 3D printer, there is almost nothing more valuable than vetted reviews from hundreds of 3D printing peers. In terms of desktop 3D printers, the Prusa Steel is on a winning streak, garnering the top spot for the second month in a row with a 4.83-star rating. The Kossel XL and Zortrax M200 each jumped up several spots to round off the top three.
Over on the Highest Rated Industrial 3D Printers, not much has changed from last month. The top three remains intact, with the Object Eden 260 ahead of the ProJet 460Plus and the Project 3500 HDMax. The EOSINT P 395 is the first SLS 3D printer to make the list and number four, while in 18th place, the Dimension 1200 is the only industrial FDM 3D printer that made rank.
Despite being a prestigious title on its own, ‘Highest Rated’ doesn’t automatically equal ‘I Want it Now’ for today’s finicky, brand-loyal customers. That’s where this next bit of data comes in, and proves to be particularly interesting. For the first time this month, 3DHubs has included a new category to their trend report: Most Wanted 3D Printers. What this new category reveals is the up-and-coming 3D printer that consumers are most likely to buy next.
This month, the 3D printer model that stood out from the crowd is without a doubt the Form 2, Formlabs’ shiny new SLA 3D printing option, which was just released in September. Coming up in second place, 131 votes behind, is the Ultimaker 2, and following closely in third is the Ultimaker 2 Extended.
Formlabs proved to be quite a big winner in another new category—Manufacturer Loyalty. Calculated by asking how likely current owners are to buy their next printer from the same manufacturer, 3DHubs found that 54.3% of current Form 1 or 1+ owners would stick with the company, and buy a Form 2 as their next 3D printer.
In keeping with the Most Wanted rankings, the Zortrax M200, a popular choice for Plug’n’Play 3D printer, came in at fourth, while the Lulzbot TAZ 5, which received excellent recognition earlier this year in MAKE: Magazine’s Buyer’s guide, rounds out the top five ‘most wanted.’ These are all high-quality, reliable 3D printers, so in case you’re still not sure what to get your maker-loved-one for Christmas, either one of them would be a great option.
Stepping away from 3D printers and towards the 3D printing market, 3DHubs’ geographical ranking for Top 3D Print Cities revealed the usual suspects: New York, Los Angeles, and London. However, the fastest growing city, with 6.7% growth, went to underdog Toronto. Though that still leaves the Canadian city in 9th place, 3DHubs predicts that if it can continue with its current growth rate, it’s sure to climb a few more spots on the list by the next time we check in.
Surprisingly (or perhaps, not so much), you may have noticed that MakerBot has yet to be mentioned. While the MakerBot 5th Gen barely made the ‘Most Wanted 3D Printers’ list, MakerBot still has the second highest percentage in terms of Manufacturer distribution, and the MakerBot Replicator 2 making the list of Top Five Most Popular 3D Printers in each of the four participating regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.
As mentioned above, the 3D printer market is experiencing widespread international growth, with the number of 3DHubs’ printing locations surpassing 24,500 over the course of November 2015. African country Tanzania was also welcomed as the newest arrival to this growing, global community.
December is going to a big month for 3DHubs, as they have named December 3rd Global 3D Printing Day at over 400+ locations. On top of that, we’re keen as ever to see what new trends 2016 will bring to the 3D printing industry. So, the takeaway for this month? Ultimaker, Lulzbot, Prusa i3, and Zortrax are all big winners across various categories, with Formlabs and its Form 2 standing out from the crowd in a very big way. But numbers aside, at the end of the day, the 3D printing community is the biggest winner of all.
Posted in 3D Printer
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