Months after announcing a bundling partnership, 3D Systems and Alibre have made it official: The pair have combined forces as one company to deliver a one-stop-shop for 3D printing and content creation resources.
3D Systems, which acquired the 3D CAD vendor for an undisclosed amount, positioned the acquisition as a way to further its strategy to democratize access and accelerate adoption of affordable 3D content-to-print solutions. The Alibre deal comes on the heels of several other acquisitions of small software firms, including Sycode, a maker of plug-ins for CAD tools, and The3dStudio.com, an online market exchange of 2D and 3D digital media libraries.
3D Systems president Abe Reichental says talks were going on prior to the announced bundling deal because the pair saw synergies in the markets they were trying to serve. "It was obvious to us and Alibre that we're on to something pretty magical with our ability to provide a seamless experience for designers and makers in a one-stop-shop, where they can find everything they need," Reichental told me.
While 3D Systems has an expansive line of professional and production 3D printers, the Alibre low-cost CAD tool (priced at $99 for the entry-level version) is a natural complement to its personal 3D printer line, Reichental says. It makes the technology far more accessible than an individual having to purchase components separately and figure out what works well together. "We don't view these tools as a replacement for professional tools, but as a way to give more designers and manufacturing engineers access to this technology."
I think 3D Systems is really on to something. Several CAD vendors are either teaming up with 3D printer companies, including 3D Systems, or expanding their product lines with tools aimed at the "Maker" market to capitalize on what many are saying will become a bright spot of American innovation and manufacturing.
The "Wohlers Report 2011," a global study of the additive manufacturing and 3D printer market released recently by Wohlers Associates, showed the market rebounding substantially in 2010 with a compound annual growth rate of revenues from products and services of 24.1 percent, up from an industry decline of 9.7 percent in 2009. The report specifically cites "the explosive growth of low-cost, personal systems aimed at the do-it-yourselfer maker movement" as a key contributor to the growth.
That's exactly the market 3D Systems is eyeballing with the Alibre acquisition. Reichental says the 3D CAD company will remain intact, and the products will be marketed under the Alibre brand as a 3D Systems company. Pricing on both software and 3D printers will come down even further over time, and some type of cloud solution is definitely in the 3D Systems future, says Reichental.
My bet: It wouldn't surprise me to see versions of Alibre (and potentially other software design tools and utilities) thrown in for free or perhaps available as cheap, cloud-based subscription services. After all, the next moves, according to Reichental, are all about simplicity.
3D Systems certainly has been on an acquisition binge in the past two years. This looks like a natural and a god fit with another recent acquisitiion, Bits From Bytes, as the company takes the leadership in moving 3D printing to a larger market than design engineering.
How do you see the content-to-print prototype model evolving in practice at most firms designing products. Will they buy the equipment and software and do it in-house, or will a service-bureau industry evolve to serve smaller companies which need, say, somewhat complex prototypes and don't want to be spending every year to keep up with the lasted 3D-tools revs (i.e., they'd rather put their money into end-product design).
I think there will be a variety of models. I think that 3D Systems sees the content-to-print model (i.e., the bundled hardware/software approach) most appealing to the hobbyist, engineer/entreprenue, SMB company and the do-it-yourself "maker" community, which seems to be growing in size. Larger companies are going to invest in the professional and production 3D printers and have their own software libraries of professional CAD and design tools--they're not going to care about the simplicity of a one-stop bundle.
The 3D printing service bureau model has also gained traction these last few years, and 3D Systems has a stake in that area as well, including 3D proparts and Quickparts, and there are a variety of other 3D prototyping services aimed at professional engineers. Other servcies rising in popularity for enthusiasts include Shapeways, i.materialise.com, and countless others I know I'm not naming (my apologies in advance!).
Any one have any thoughts on how this whole landscape will shake out?
There has been a large service bureau industry for several years featuring companies such as RedEye and QuickParts. As companies make greater use of 3D printing technology they often move at least part of their requirements in house to save time and money. This has accelerated as prices have dropped and capabilities have grown.
I guess the question is what value does this add to users of software or 3D printing other than a closed loop? Will 3D Systems make it easier to 3D print from Alibre to a 3D Systems owned printer but harder to send to ZCorp or EOS?
As far as the '3D printing service bureau model' I can tell you we have seen massive growth in the number of models being uploaded and fabricated by Shapeways. In recent months we have printed over 20,000 items per month for DIY, makers, artists, professional designers, engineers and regular people buying 3D printed products, not just prototypes..
The prototyping that happens behind the scenes on Shapeways for engineering firms is still very interesting, but it is the vibrant community of individuals creating really unique items that makes the marketplace of 3D printed products so exciting.
Key point made was this is of interest to small businesses, hobbyists and the like. This really open doors for many people & businesses who otherwise wouldn't be able to bring his/her idea to reality. I could see this being used to create 3D prototypes or models for demos to potential investors, fixing bugs or trying improvement before mass-producing.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
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