3D Hubs Releases Worldwide 3D Printing Trends Report for October 2015

As the cool air of autumn rolls into October, so do some crisp new numbers and facts from 3D Hubs in their Worldwide 3D Printing Trends Report. This month, there are, as always, some interesting items of notes regarding the who, what, and where in 3D printing trends.

First of all, the number of 3D printing hubs just keeps on growing. To me, that’s always the most fun in perusing the 3D Hubs report. I like to see how many new 3D printers have been added to their number of service locations in just 30 days–and in the last month that number has soared from 21,000 to more than 23,000.

To add a spritz of glamor to the industry as a whole, the folks at 3D Hubs also let us know that Paris is currently the fastest-growing city this month with a staggering 13.4% month-over-month (MoM) growth. This would certainly all add up to attractive growth so far, but read on, enthusiasts.

3D Hubs is also adding on further to their services, with numerous locations adding 3D Hubs HD to their services. The HD feature is an industrial grade 3D printing service.

“The line-up at launch includes 37 HD Hubs around the globe, including well-known service providers like i.materialise, Sculpteo and NRI,” says the 3D Hubs team. “Over the next few months, we’ll be expanding our HD material library and ramping up HD locations worldwide towards our goal of distributed manufacturing.”

Over the past month, desktop 3D printers have held strong, showing user dedication to the Prusa Steel and the Rapide Lite 200. What did change, however, was that the CEL Robox rose up in the ranks to the third spot for the top 20 out of 500. This is a 3D printing manufacturer that we cover quite often, enjoying their projects as well as their innovation and sense of humor.

“The 3D printing market continues to develop and the range of great printers available to buy is making competition even fiercer, so we’re obviously thrilled to see the CEL Robox climb the rankings again this month,” said Chris Elsworthy, CEO of CEL and the creator of the Robox 3D printer. “We’ve seen all 3D printing companies upping their game both in terms of hardware and software as people across the world use their printers to create increasingly amazing designs using new materials and techniques, and the sector continues to be one of the most exciting and innovative industries to be in. Robox is releasing its own new hardware, software, and material innovations in the coming months and we can’t wait to see what else the industry will come up with to continue driving 3D printing adoption across the world.”

Other changes of note were that the Form 1 climbed four spots, and the Zortrax M200 moved to the sixth spot.

“There are two new printers on our list in October,” states 3D Hubs. “At number nine, the Rigidbot might seem familiar from Kickstarter where it raised more than $1 million in 2013. Debuting at number thirteen, the PowerSpec 3D Pro is a Replicator 2 based FDM printer from China.”

In the area of industrial 3D printers, there was more news going on this month. While the Objet Eden 260 still holds on to the number one spot with ‘a near perfect 4.98 star rating,’ 3D Systems climbed up to the second spot with their ProJet 460Plus plaster printer, putting the 3500 HDMax in third for now. Other small shakeups occurred in this generally quiet group with the The Projet 660 and Zcorp both ascending two positions into the top five.

3D Hubs points out that there are some new manufacturers on the horizon to keep an eye on, regarding some interesting breakouts at Euromold last week, from South Korea’s Carima and their DLP printer to numerous other 3D printers being released.

“Another apparent trend is the imminent release of desktop SLS printers, such as Sinterit, Sintratec and Sharebot’s Snowwhite, entering the market previously reserved for $500,000 plus machines,” states 3D Hubs.

Trending printers showed us that Prusa’s i3 design continues to attract users, as the Duplicator I3, which is trending, not surprisingly, with a price tag of $399, to include steel frame and a heated bed.

The Formlabs Form 1+, however, made an enormous leap, climbing 30 spots into the top ten.

“With more than 600 printers on 3D Hubs, the Form 1+ is already by far the most popular SLA/DLP printer on our platform. After the release of the new Form 2 and a price reduction for its predecessor, they’re likely rent out a couple of spots among the trending printers in the coming months,” states the 3D Hubs team.

Lulzbot also climbed up two spots, and the Taz 5 moved up eight rungs, jostling the compact Mini. Discuss this latest report in the October 3D Hubs Trends forum thread on 3DPB.com.

Not much has changed on the actual charts regarding the where of 3D printing, but what’s going on within each city has changed enough to look at the numbers.

“With 362 3D printers in New York, it’s fair to say that you can find always find one around the block. Los Angeles takes the crown on the West Coast, edging closer to the 300 mark. London is rounding out the top 3, with a healthy 7.3% over the last month,” states 3D Hubs. “Milan takes the 4th spot with Paris hot on its tail. The French capital is the fastest growing city this month with a staggering 13.4% month-over-month growth.”

Printer model distribution did not show any exciting changes this month, with the top five remaining the same, from the Ultimaker to the Replicator. This bears watching next month, however, as some changes may soon occur. In Printer Manufacturer Distribution, Ultimaker may soon make its way into the second spot, but not quite yet. This is also the first time Formlabs has been among the top manufacturers.

Popular printers by region is always fun to check out, but it hasn’t changed too much in the past month.  In North America the top five remains the same. The Zortrax M200 entered Europe’s top five, and in Asia both the FlashForge Creator Pro and the Zortrax M200 overtook the MakerBot Replicator 2X. The RepRap and MakerBot Replicator switched positions for South America.

While there were only slight variances for the average value per model, as well as print category selections, preferences for color were interesting as while black and white continue to rule, transparent overtook green for the number five spot.

All of these facts come together to show a very impressive map of the world for 3D printing. The industry continues to go–and so does 3D Hubs, showing off an impressive amount of new 3D printing venues each month.