Is "over 30" orders for a 3D printer in a year a lot or a little?
Is "over 30" orders for a 3D printer in a year a lot or a little?
The Atomic Layers: S2E14 (00040)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Stratasys announced that it has already received over 30 orders for its industrial FDM 3D printer – the F3300, which premiered at last year’s Formnext trade show. The machine is a true marvel of additive manufacturing technology, capable of 3D printing parts with maximum dimensions of 600 x 600 x 800 mm using demanding materials like ASA, PC, ULTEM 9085, and Nylon 12CF.
What’s more, not only does it perform phenomenally, but it also looks stunning. Even though it's the size of a truck and designed for heavy, continuous industrial work, its silhouette resembles a high-end limousine.
Stratasys also claims that among the customers for the F3300 are BAE, Sikorsky, the US Department of Defense, and the US Department of Energy.
If you haven’t had the chance to work with Stratasys machines and your idea of an "industrial 3D printer" is based on experience with the Ultimaker S5 or Bambu Lab Carbon, then you may not realize that in the real world of FDM, there’s no such thing as "warped prints" or weak, broken supports. Stratasys – the inventor of FDM technology – builds its machines so that everything always works out perfectly.
Okay, now that we’ve established all of that, let’s go back to the main question: is 30 orders for 3D printers in 10-11 months really such a big number to boast about in an official press release?
The F3300 isn’t cheap, but it doesn’t cost $10 million either. I don’t think the revenue from sales of this machine will be a game-changer in the company’s annual revenue figures. Let’s remember, Stratasys is bragging about "orders," not "deliveries."
Sigh… I’ve been covering this industry for over 11 years now (exactly 141 months!), and news about 10-20-30 sold 3D printers is still the subject of press releases…
Atomic Layer from the Past:
09-14-2015: Dr. Hans J. Langer – the founder of EOS, took on a partnership with DyeMansion.
Atomic News & Gossips:
What if I told you that chemical post-processing of plastic parts could turn out to be a huge problem for the AM industry? For now everyone is playing: I saw nothing, I heard nothing, I said nothing.
I hear that a certain jolly gentleman from Europe who makes 3D printers really hates Bambu Lab. I wonder if he'll do anything?
According to European steel producers, the old continent is facing "deindustrialization". Does the AM industry have anything to worry about? More on this in Monday's newsletter on my LinkedIn.