3D Printing Content Trends: MyMiniFactory Releases New Monthly Report

It’s no surprise that we love to check out the latest in reports and trends regarding 3D printing, but usually the concern is with what fancy hardware, software, and mindblowing new materials are being used. Just taking time to soak in all that information can keep you infinitely busy in itself, but now we’re also interested in taking a closer look at what’s actually being downloaded and brought into physical form at the desktop.

MyMiniFactory did the work for us, examining content trends in 3D Printing Content Trends Report #1, which they intend to build on monthly. The new report will serve as a source of information regarding ‘3D printable object consumption’ for each previous month, allowing us to learn about the:

• Verticals
• Categories
• Top designers
• Geographical markets

With all the data at their fingertips already, they were able to report 133,450 designs downloaded in December 2016 alone, with MMF also serving as the source of 19,901 published objects.

In the corresponding chart, you can see that December shows makers heavily engaged in the Christmas spirit, with toys and games accounting for just over 23 percent. This is a popular category at any time, so it will be interesting to see if there is a decline in next month’s report as the holiday season has ended.

Scan the World downloads were next in line for popularity in 3D printed downloads from MMF, with 17.1 percent. If you haven’t heard about this initiative through MyMiniFactory already, it’s only a matter of time as this is known as the world’s largest 3D printable museum. With around 5,000 objects available for download, the purpose of Scan the World is to offer a free digital collection of art and cultural heritage, to include items such as famous sculptures and even landmarks.

Other popular categories for downloads include:

• Props and Cosplay
• Home and Garden
• Fan Art
• Gadgets
• Electronics

What makes the new MMF monthly report even more unique is that they offer a list of top designers whose downloads were most popular each month. While Scan the World comes in first, we also see designers Kirby Downey, Ricardo Alves, Jill Cope, and Daniel Lilygreen joining Scan the World in the top five for December.

“Scan the World tops the list due once again to the popularity 3D printable artwork and objects of cultural significance – as well as the massive scale of the Scan the World collection,” states the MyMiniFactory team in their new monthly report. “Many designers on this list form part of the MyMiniFactory Studios Program and contribute content exclusively to MyMiniFactory which is a contributing factor regarding the overall popularity.”

And as for where content is being downloaded and 3D printed, the US came in tops at 30.7 percent, with the UK and France users downloading the most items next—and a total of 32.8 percent for all of Europe.

MMF points out that the real purpose of their report is to allow manufacturers, software publishers, 3D designers, industry analysts and more to understand what users are looking for and, ultimately, downloading. They are also actively seeking feedback regarding this new initiative. See more about this month’s results from MMF here. Discuss in the MyMiniFactory forum at 3DPB.com.