WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales Hey everyone, just wanted to share a cool project we launched today at The Wall Street Journal (where I work). To accompany a review of the new MakerBot Replicator Mini, we designed a 3D chart about 3D printer sales that you can download from Thingiverse. Here's our page with a fun animated video explainer of how 3D printing works (aimed at the general news audience): [graphics.wsj.com] And here's the Thing on Thingiverse: [www.thingiverse.com] Review of the Makerbot Mini: [online.wsj.com] Oh, and by the way, I just finished building my Prusa Mendel IT2 RepRap. B) https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371112#msg-371112 Fri, 15 May 2026 10:36:15 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371737#msg-371737 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371737#msg-371737 vegasloki General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:57:01 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371722#msg-371722 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371722#msg-371722
With time and with growing material selection (glass, ceramics, metals, ... ) they will gain more and more of interest, so the future distribution could be similar to the development/distribution of desktop-printers ;)]]> VDX General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:24:27 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371716#msg-371716 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371716#msg-371716 The only way I see 3D printing becoming widespread anywhere near printers is when the PolyJet is the common means of printing. That would be the most practical single-button-printing, make-no-thought I can see right now. Seems like it could shrink to the relative size, ease, and price range just above standard 2D printers in the distant, distant future.
I don't think any one of these printers that claim to be "the one that will put the 3D printer in every home" are what they claim. You still have to put creativity and mechanical tinkering into printing. The maintainance won't be like 2D printers where you buy and print. Things go through a lot more motion, a lot more grease and wear, and will require actually getting your hands in the printer during its life span unless you have that much money to waste buying another.
Just my thoughts and rants on "printer in every home."]]> MrDoctorDIV General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:17:04 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371684#msg-371684 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371684#msg-371684
Quote
A2
A paradigm shift will be realized when the individual thinks in terms of how do I create some thing to solve a problem, from where do I purchase a solution to my problem, that's a paradigm shift of perspective. An expertise is required to be able to judge a cost benefit between the choice of a purchased solution or to make your solution. Without this expertise of value judgement, and a paradigm shift of perspective a 3d printer is just a toy.

It is evident in Mr. Geoffrey A. Fowler article that he has not "yet" made a transformative change to his perspective, if he had he would have provided an example of the value that a 3d printer affords him. To Mr. Geoffrey A. Fowler, a 3d printer is just another middle class thing, and he's not quite sure what this thing is good for in his life right now.

That's the point. There is nothing to suggest that shift is going to happen. It's not happening with any other tools and if anything the trend is toward doing less rather than more. For example changing oil in a vehicle or even basic needs like cooking and clothing. The utility of printing something out rather than going and buying it has yet to be proven. That said, there are still great uses for the machines but it is more of a tool or hobby rather than something that will print random general items at will. There is already a solution for distributed printing in that some in the auto parts manufacturing sector (IIRC Ford has one) are launching pilot programs to print parts locally on demand rather than storing and shipping parts. It's that sort of app that will bring this technology to the consumer rather than selling everyone a machine.]]> vegasloki General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:13:35 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371552#msg-371552 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371552#msg-371552 Anonymous User General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 11:02:28 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371519#msg-371519 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371519#msg-371519
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goldenmongoose
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jonkeegan
Wow, I'm really surprised by the tone of this all. Really misjudged the nature of this community.

Ya, they really love their koolaid. God forbid people who want a good user experience and don't care about open source get an affordable 3d printer made in America.

Good user experience, I'll let A2 post it but maybe you should read about the extruders on the latest generation and all the people who dropped $8k on a printer that still has no delivery time and support emails are unanswered.]]> tjb1 General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 09:44:09 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371458#msg-371458 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371458#msg-371458
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jonkeegan
Wow, I'm really surprised by the tone of this all. Really misjudged the nature of this community.

Ya, they really love their koolaid. God forbid people who want a good user experience and don't care about open source get an affordable 3d printer made in America.]]> Anonymous User General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 07:55:09 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371376#msg-371376 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371376#msg-371376
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Geoffrey A. Fowler
I've been using two models from MakerBot, including the new entry-level Replicator Mini, on a quest to figure out why anyone might need one.

I haven't yet found a killer practical application that makes a 3-D printer a must-have household appliance.

It isn't yet as useful as the 2-D Print Shop from the '80s


A paradigm shift will be realized when the individual thinks in terms of how do I create some thing to solve a problem, from where do I purchase a solution to my problem, that's a paradigm shift of perspective. An expertise is required to be able to judge a cost benefit between the choice of a purchased solution or to make your solution. Without this expertise of value judgement, and a paradigm shift of perspective a 3d printer is just a toy.

It is evident in Mr. Geoffrey A. Fowler article that he has not "yet" made a transformative change to his perspective, if he had he would have provided an example of the value that a 3d printer affords him. To Mr. Geoffrey A. Fowler, a 3d printer is just another middle class thing, and he's not quite sure what this thing is good for in his life right now.]]> A2 General Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:09:31 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371285#msg-371285 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371285#msg-371285
Anyway, you can't really expect people to want to sit down learn how to model parts and mess with a printer. It literally needs to be as simple as clicking print on the file you want to print (like a 2D printer).

The printers also need to be EXTREMELY reliable. Like 1 in 1,000,000 breaks. If a consumer is paying $1000+ for an appliance, it should work properly right out of the box.]]> gmh39 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 22:12:18 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371276#msg-371276 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371276#msg-371276
I think the printed chart is a nice touch and is something to which the public could relate.

@A2 What is this killer app to will lead everyone to have a printer? Saying printing household items is far too general. The reports thus far are based in theory and are pretty optimistic. They also don't consider other factors that are necessary to change in society before wide scale home printing take hold. One of the biggest factors is people willing to a) take the time to learn and b ) actually do it. That will need to be a fundamental shift in society. It's more about changing behavior more than any sort of technology.

The killer app for the computer was the Internet. While there was use in business apps and gaming, the real traction didn't start until online service then the Internet. I'd also argue that $1000 over a few year life cycle isn't that expensive. Big ticket appliances are a prevalent purchase with many if not most bought on credit in the US and amortized for use over at least a few years. I see these as more of a tool than an appliance. The real traction is for hobbyists and manufacturing at this point. Until the machines are more user friendly like a kitchen appliance it will be hard pressed to get non technical types to use them. I'm really bullish on 3D printing but I don't see a scenario yet where they will be as ubiquitous at televisions, or computers in a household setting.]]> vegasloki General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:46:29 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371261#msg-371261 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371261#msg-371261 jzatopa General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:59:24 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371248#msg-371248 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371248#msg-371248
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing
State of the Industry
Annual Worldwide Progress Report
ISBN 0-9754429-9-6]]> A2 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:18:37 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371246#msg-371246 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371246#msg-371246 jonkeegan General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:15:30 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371244#msg-371244 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371244#msg-371244
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GEOFFREY A. FOWLER
Yet I haven't yet found a killer practical application that makes a 3-D printer a must-have household appliance. You'll be disappointed if you're hoping to justify the price of a MakerBot Mini with fewer trips to Target.

Mr. Geoffrey A. Fowler didn't do his home work, and missed out on valuable academic research that would of helped him compose a more meaningful "review".


Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printers
Michigan Tech.

This study reports on the life-cycle economic analysis (LCEA) of RepRap technology for an average US household.

The results show that even making the extremely conservative assumption that the household would only use the printer to make the selected 20 products a year the avoided purchase cost savings would range from about $300 to $2000/year.

As both upgrades and the components that are most likely to wear out in the RepRap can be printed and thus the lifetime of the distributing manufacturing can be substantially increased the unavoidable conclusion from this study is that the RepRap is an economically attractive investment for the average US household already

• Life-cycle economic analysis of RepRap technology for US household provided.
• Open-source 3-D printers recover material costs in less than 1 year, >200% ROI.
[www.sciencedirect.com]


3D printing for children: What to build next?
Department of Computer Science and Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

One of the prominent areas of increased interest in 3D printing is in the realm of education:

This paper discusses a number of technological challenges to be overcome in making 3D printing truly available to children over the next decade.
[www.sciencedirect.com]


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GEOFFREY A. FOWLER
A number of other upstart companies are starting to sell inexpensive 3-D printers, including 3D Systems

By what metric is WSJ defining 3D Systems as a startup? WSJ thinks ~2% of your yearly income an "inexpensive" purchase?

($1,000 Cube-3 / $52,000 median income) * 100 = 1.9% of your yearly income.

Median US household income.
[en.wikipedia.org]


The Myth of the Liberal Media: The Propaganda Model of News
You only need to watch the first 60 seconds.
[www.youtube.com]

That article is an advertisement by taking advantage of publicizing a product (all news is good news) in a massively popular paper.]]> A2 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:12:36 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371235#msg-371235 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371235#msg-371235 jonkeegan General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 17:46:41 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371234#msg-371234 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371234#msg-371234 jzatopa General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 17:45:33 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371208#msg-371208 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371208#msg-371208 Ralph.Hilton General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 16:47:30 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371177#msg-371177 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371177#msg-371177 jonkeegan General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 16:08:43 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371153#msg-371153 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371153#msg-371153
FYI, printers are still near that size. The 1980 - 2013 or whatever graphic you are using looks just like a powder printer, likely a Z-Corp. You are comparing it to a little Makerbot that is no where near industrial use or the same printing technology (Powder vs FDM), why not show a Stratasys Dimension or something by uPrint which are massive because of the heated chambers, dual extruders and have quite a large build area? That wouldn't make for deceptive marketing or allow you to promote Makerbot even further?]]> tjb1 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:18:18 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371127#msg-371127 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371127#msg-371127
Okay, bad comparison, as I would be happy to swear in church, if I'd ever go to one, which by itself could be called a miracle, but you get the point. Right?]]> Ohmarinus General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:29:20 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371119#msg-371119 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371119#msg-371119
Makerbot is having a lot of quality issues, the arms are warping, the bearings are too loose, the hot end is failing, and their customer support is lacking.

Read this chat forum for lots of examples of current Makerbot issues:

MakerBot Operators (Postings of what is not working with Makerbot printers)
[groups.google.com]

Makerbot: Worst user experience and customer care ever
After paying a few grand you expect the company that sold to you to give a damn.
Not so with Makerbot.
It was a huge struggle but we eventually got our money back following purchase of MBR2x
I'm a product designer and as I explained to the customer service agent, this product needed to go back to the drawing board, not be released to the public.
[groups.google.com]]]> A2 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:58:55 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371116#msg-371116 Re: WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371116#msg-371116
I think you really can take ideas from the internet, and be the first to patent it without fear of losing a lawsuit.
[forums.reprap.org]]]> A2 General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:54:18 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371112#msg-371112 WSJ: 3D printed chart of 3D printer sales https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,371112,371112#msg-371112
Here's our page with a fun animated video explainer of how 3D printing works (aimed at the general news audience): [graphics.wsj.com]

And here's the Thing on Thingiverse: [www.thingiverse.com]

Review of the Makerbot Mini: [online.wsj.com]

Oh, and by the way, I just finished building my Prusa Mendel IT2 RepRap. B)]]> jonkeegan General Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:48:05 -0400