I’m reading a piece in Newsweek describing how the 3D printing bubble has “burst”, and wonder how such a thing could be true.
The story describes the story familiar to Fabbaloo readers in which, after the initial 3D printing patents expired, several companies raced to produce and capitalize on low-cost 3D printers, largely through a massive publicity campaign to gain the public’s attention. Of course, the whole thing eventually collapsed when everyone learned that 3D printers weren’t the magic machines they were led to believe.
That said, there are still huge opportunities to apply 3D printing in ways that make sense for 3D printing and for business.
Back to the Newsweek story. It describes how the 3D printing buzz peaked in January of 2014, when, by the way, I attended the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show where many 3D print products were announced – but few ever saw their way to actual sales.
The story continues to list a series of mis-steps by various industry players justifying the headline, “The 3-D Printing Bubble May Have Burst”.
