The false start revolution

The forgotten story of Desktop Factory — the startup that was supposed to be the biggest star of 3D printing

Avi Reichental, one of the leading figures in the additive manufacturing industry, might have had a shopping addiction during his tenure as CEO of 3D Systems.

The number of acquisitions made under his leadership at 3D Systems was truly staggering. Between 2001 and 2015, the company acquired as many as 54 companies (with Reichental responsible for the transactions from 2003 onwards).

For many years, 3D Systems was the only company in the world that offered 3D printing machines in all the major additive manufacturing technologies.

Although the company initially specialized in SLA (Stereolithography), it gradually expanded its portfolio through numerous acquisitions.

Some of the most important acquisitions were:

• the acquisition of DTM Corp., the creator of SLS technology, in April 2001

• the acquisition of Z Corporation, the creator of Binder Jetting/CJP technology, in January 2012

• the acquisition of Phenix Systems, a French manufacturer of metal 3D printers, in June 2013.

The company also acquired many smaller startups, some of which turned out to be failures:

• in 2010, Bits from Bytes — one of the first two companies producing amateur 3D printers using FDM technology; it served as the basis for creating the Cube and Cubify brands

• in 2013, The Sugar Lab, the creator of 3D sugar printing technology

• in 2014, the infamous botObjects, which claimed to have created a full-color FDM 3D printer.

3D Systems also became a major player in the 3D software market for reverse engineering. Over the years, it acquired key companies producing such software: Geomagic, Alibre, RapidForm, Simbionix, and Viztu Technologies.

However, I would like to return to a completely forgotten story that was supposed to be a major event in the world of 3D printing but ended in total failure.

And where 3D Systems, under Avi Reichental, played a significant role at the very end. A role that didn’t change much but closed the story in an interesting way.

Here is the story of Desktop Factory — the 3D printer that was supposed to be bigger than MakerBot (before MakerBot was even born).

Desktop Factory — a revolution that never came