MyMiniFactory: 3D Printing Trends for July 2017

The 3D printing industry has bloomed into one that generates billions of dollars, and that is only expected to grow–with fierce competition continuing to mount across the globe. Today, you have your choice of affordable hardware, software, accessories, and a range of materials that will leave you awestruck. And while we enjoy learning what types of supplies users around the world are using, it’s even more eye-opening to get down to the nitty gritty of what’s actually being downloaded and then made on 3D printers everywhere.

MyMiniFactory should certainly be in the know. In the month of July alone, they were the host of 31,273 published objects, with a staggering 287,842 downloads. In July, the 3D Printing Content Trends Report #8 showed growth of 211 percent in comparison to June.

In examining the Most Popular Categories, the MyMiniFactory team saw ‘Fan Art’ in the number one spot in July. This was largely due to a design by Martin Moore of Forge 3D, called Bullet Bill/Banzai Bill, inspired by the Mario video game franchise. Even Joel the 3D Printing Nerd made one, on an enormous scale, in a video that is definitely worth checking out (see below). Aside from all that hubbub, MyMiniFactory pointed out that the other categories were the same as reported in June, but they did all increase in downloads by ten percent for July.

A study by Professor Joshua Pearce was also released based on data from MyMiniFactory in regards to the DIY industry for toys and games. There, he states that users can save from 40 to 90 percent in creating their own products.

“In apples-to-apples comparisons, when a product available at retail had an exact analog on MyMiniFactory, factoring in things like the cost of electricity, the mass of the object printed and the cost of a given filament, when compared against prices available at Walmart.com, all filament types saved consumers on average 75% off retail,” stated Quartz in response to the study.

My favorite category from the monthly MyMiniFactory trends is always that of the top designers. These are the actual people and teams behind the objects that are being downloaded so heavily. For July, the same three reside at the top in terms of popularity:

• Scan the World
• Devin Montes
• Kirby Downey

“We see many designers on this list from the MyMiniFactory Studios Program – the fact that they share their work exclusively to MyMiniFactory means an increase in download numbers,” states the MyMiniFactory team. “These numbers then translate into revenue for these designers.”

The three top countries downloading in July from MyMiniFactory are as follows:

• USA (30.12%)
• United Kingdom (5.57%)
• Germany (5.35%)

The MyMiniFactory report offers a monthly snapshot regarding 3D printing ‘object consumption.’ It is meant to give detailed information for those with interests in the industry, from manufacturers to analysts. You can find previous monthly reports for 2017 here. If you have feedback or information regarding details for their report, contact MyMiniFactory. Discuss in the MyMiniFactory forum at 3DPB.com.

MyMiniFactory, headquartered in London, was founded in 2013 and is the world’s leading curated social platform for 3D printable objects.