For the September 3D Hubs Trend Report, there are a few little shuffles in the lineup as well as a couple of surprises, which are the best part. 3D Hubs also reports that they are up another 1,000 3D printers this month for their community, totaling 21,000 now. The community has 3D printers whirring away in over 450 countries, and this month, some new countries join the list:
- Barbados
- Mauritius
- Iceland
- Bosnia
- Herzegovina
- Liberia
First, we like to check out the central focus, and that’s in the main hardware. Who’s using what at the desktop, and which do they rate with highest quality? 3D Hubs gives us the top 20 out of 450 users. For now, it’s still the Prusa Steel and the Rapide Lite 200 3D printers for highest quality. The top four are neck in neck–and the CEL Robox at the fifth spot just climbed there, coming up several rungs. Others in the news: The Afinia H480 climbed up to #7 from #11.
“Makergear’s M2 also made a return, making it not only a top choice for printer owners, but customers of 3D printed products as well,” points out the 3D Hubs team.
On the industrial side, the Objet Eden 260 held up in first place, still, and nothing changed on the list except that the Object Eden’s five star rating was chipped away at slightly, taking it down to 4.98.
One of the areas we find most significant of course, is what’s going on in the trending printers.
The Prusa i3 is following closely in its footsteps, rapidly closing the gap between the two. The Zortrax M200 is also coming up at #8, and if it keeps up this speed it will soon overtake the Form 1+. For 3D printer manufacturer distribution, RepRap remains to be beat.
And for the fun part: what are people 3D printing? Topping the list would be 3D printed prototypes, no surprise, with hobbyist and DIY priorities coming in next. There aren’t any surprises in this area, although the top two categories grew a bit, while the others diminished slightly. In terms of what 3D printing enthusiasts are spending on their orders, it’s reported that scale models, hobby/DIY, household and art/fashion 3D prints increased, while the average amount spent for prototypes went down just slightly.
If you are interested in participating in some local 3D printing events within your general area–or a city you might be visiting in September–check out the calendar from 3D Hubs.
What are your thoughts on these charts? Does anything surprise you in particular about what types of 3D printers are being used, and where? Discuss in the September 3D Hubs Printing Trends Report forum thread over at 3DPB.