Feb. 9, 2015 | By Alec

Just about every 3D printing enthusiast will have heard of Shapeways, while many of us will have even bought something through it. Perhaps you even run a little 3D printing shop through them. While Shapeways has been a cornerstone of the 3D printing community for some time now Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO and co-founder of the New York-based enterprise, has recently revealed in an interview with Dutch e-commerce magazine EMERCE that business has been booming over the last year, and that the future is looking bright.

In a nutshell, Shapeways is the world’s number one 3D printing marketplace and community, that principally empowers designers and printers by offering them a venue for selling their own products. It means that whatever cool and original item you’re looking for, from jewelry, sci-fi-themed accessories to innovative decorative items, you can find a 3D printed version of it on Shapeways.

If you're looking for it, chances are you can find it on Shapeways.

Since the company was founded eight years ago – originally as a subdivision of Dutch electronic pioneers Phillips – they have been quite successful over the years. They’ve established an HQ in New York in 2012, have about 150 employees, and have gathered approximately 48.5 million dollars in investments over the last couple of years. But 2014 proved so successful, that Peter Weijmarshausen, said that they’ve reached a cross-roads, a breaking point with their start-up years.

And there’s good reason for that; over 2014, their monthly print volumes (of their own printing service and the community sales combined) have doubled to more than 181,000 objects, which are being shipped all over the planet. The number of Shapeways Shops, meanwhile, has grown to 23,000; "Everyone can open their own store with us, and in the long-term that number could grow to 100.000. In that sense, we’re an Amazon for 3D printing." Weijmarshausen says.

And for every one of those objects that is printed and sold through Shapeways, the company gets a nice commission, though that varies per product. "The price depends on the material, the size and the complexity of the objects. The margin we get from it, can be anywhere from a few to a few dozen percent." And though the market is projected to change, commissions will remain the main source of revenue for Shapeways, though other free services – such as design advice – could become premium features in the future.

But for now, all those margins are invested again. So while growth is huge on every front, the profits are still low, though that does little to decrease optimism. "We’re satisfied with where we are, though we wanted to be even further by now." Weijmarshausen says. "But building a new market category simply takes time, meaning we also run into issues that take a lot of time; not just on the software front, but also involving the supply chain. That isn’t so strange, as this sort of thing has never been built before. Despite those issues, I do believe we’re on the right track. It can clearly be see that we are – as the internet was years ago – at the eve of an explosive growth; the awareness surrounding 3D printing has grown tremendously, while the number of prints has also been expanding rapidly. All this suggests that an exponential growth is just a few years away."

Of course the mainstream consumer is still hesitant about 3D printing, which Weijmarshausen has also noticed. "The vast majority of our customers are designers, architects and early adaptors. The mainstream consumer doesn’t yet understand what 3D printing means and what it can mean for him, but that’s a matter of time. […] Once people find out what this technology can do for them, it will become very relevant. Like replacing something valuable like a lost ring, or purchasing something that is truly unique," Weijmarshausen explained. "And many people still think 3D printing is only about plastic, while we can work with more than fifty materials nowadays, including gold, silver, steel and ceramic. And we can add a variety of finishes to any product."

But aside from consumption, Weijmarshausen argues that a few other barriers need to be torn down to make way for mainstream 3D printing. "The industry needs to focus on the areas of quality, variety and price. The truth is that our products, aside from the jewellery, do not yet match the quality standard of a mass-produced object. And prices are still too high; when you have to choose between a 3D printed smartphone cover of $18, or a regular one for just $1, the result is obvious. We’ve already noticed that decreasing our commission fee does wonders for the levels of demand, so imagine what a structural price decrease could achieve."

This, Weijmarshausen argues, can be achieved by increased competition and better agreements with resource manufacturers. In that respect, Shapeways welcomes every new innovative 3D printer that is unveiled; not only will these decrease the overall prices of 3D printers, they will also gradually improve on various aspects of 3D printing technology, such as speed and quality. "Aside from that, we will also attempt to optimize our own productivity. If all these developments can be realized, prices of 3D printed objects can be halved over the coming years."

In that respect, alternative channels that sell 3D printed products, such as Etsy and eBay, only serve to make the 3D printing community healthier while complementing Shapeways services. "I see those platforms as alternative distribution channels for our users, and therefore a great way to promote what we do. And of course we 3D print a part of those products, thus indirectly providing us with more revenue."

Despite this optimism, Weijmarshausen doesn’t believe the future of desktop 3D printing will be as bright. While he believes its market share will increase, it’s too complex to catch on everywhere. "Right now, we already have more customers (more than 200.000) than there are desktop 3D printers. And those machines are either very basic and take ages to produce anything of a decent size, while users still need to do all the post-processing themselves."

In the coming years Shapeways will implement various initiatives to keep up with the market’s growth and expand it, though remarkably opening new factories and investing in new 3D printing techniques aren’t part of those plans for now. "The current 3D printing technologies we use satisfy our current community of about half a million people, or so feedback and studies have shown us. And of course we have to make choices ourselves. The twenty eight 3D printing machines that we currently have in operation aren’t exactly cheap," Weijmarshausen explains. "Our smallest printer has a print volume of a small microwave, 3D prints about a hundred objects per day and costs 80,000 euros. The largest one, in contrast, has a size of refrigerator, an output of thousands of objects and a price tag of 800,000 euros. You can’t simply compare these machines to a desktop 3D printer."

As for new factories (aside the ones in New York and Eindhoven), Weijmarshausen believes expansion will be unavoidable on the long term, but needs to be planned carefully. "Two locations might seem like too few when you keep our ambitions in mind, but don’t forget that every factory needs proper attention and investments. As for the former, I rather do one thing properly, than badly run several initiatives at the same time. But our factories also need to reach certain production levels to be worthwhile, and for now the demand for our products hasn’t been high enough to necessitate a third factory."

But to keep the most important news for last: Weijmarshausen also revealed that their deal with Hasbro has been successful for now. In exchange for a share of the revenue, Hasbro is allowing Shapways to 3D print fan creations for Star Wars, My Little Pony and Transformers. "While it’s too soon to make any conclusions, that part of our service has been gaining speed. The fact that one of the largest toy manufacturers out there is recognizing the advantages of opening the IP-rights of their brands, is great news for everyone. Provided our community keeps things civil and thinks about the children, everything is possible. It appeals to a large fanbase."

The original interview can be found here (in Dutch). 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Services

 

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