Editor’s Note: This is a guest article from Hubs. As we come to the end of 2019, the technologies behind mass-scale digitization aren’t slowing down at all. Within the next five years, 85% of industrial companies are expected to have implemented Industry 4.0 technologies in all important business divisions. As a result, the consolidation of…
While they started as a simple peer-to-peer 3D printing network for locating desktop 3D printers in your area, Amsterdam-based 3D Hubs has since expanded into a full online custom part service. Now, the company offers industrial 3D printing, CNC machining, and injection molding. With the addition of sheet metal fabrication, announced at EMO Hannover last…
Having started with two founders, a single 3D printer and a bicycle in Amsterdam, 3D Hubs sure has come a long way. Thanks to their ability to interconnect a network of on-demand manufacturers and provide a near-seamless user experience, 3D Hubs has amassed a ton of data on the 3D printing market. Trends, transaction data,…
3D printing is as lucrative as it has ever been, with various industries harnessing the technology to further improve our lives. We can create furniture from recycled plastics, conceptualize roller coaster designs, and are very close to 3D printed motorcycles. The 3D printing landscape is ever-changing, and everyone is waiting to see what innovators using…
Since screaming on to the rapid prototyping scene in 2013, 3D Hubs has been relentless in making sure their message is heard. Billed as the “AirBnB of 3D Printing”, the company’s business model is based on experienced 3D printer technicians renting out their equipment to other users on a per-project-basis. Not surprisingly, the 3D Hubs…
Performing surgery isn’t a perfect science, and even doctors need to practice their skills, especially when it comes to children. To hone those skills, doctors practice various techniques using anatomical models or mannequins. However, these are typically limiting regarding complexity and feel, which limits the training. To overcome those limitations, Ph.D. grad student Mark Thielen…
I found it interesting to see some long term patterns appearing in the 3D Hubs monthly trends report. The company operates as a kind of “community 3D print service”, in which willing 3D printing operations, small or large, can participate and thus make up a powerful 3D printing option for those who don’t otherwise have…
With smartphones practically hanging off our faces, accessories for them are essential. Do you want to be the person without a custom case or a cracked screen? Of course not, which is why those cases and other accessories are as important as the phone itself. With a variety to choose from, it’s easy to customize…
Ever since we first saw how 3D Hubs sources local 3D printers, bringing the 3D printer to you, we’ve had a different perspective about the direction of 3D Printing. 1) You don’t have to own a 3D printer and 2) You can make money off of it if you do. Now they’re adding a third…
Since it was founded in Amsterdam in 2013 by co-founders Brian Garret and Bram de Zwart, 3D Hubs has grown into the largest network of 3D printers with over 15,000 locations in over 140 countries, providing over 1 billion people access to a 3D printer within 10 miles of their home. The company is often…
As interest in consumer-based 3D printing continues to grow, many new users are still finding themselves on the fence about actually purchasing a desktop 3D printer or using any number of 3D printing services including Shapeways, 3D Hubs or one of the many local Makerspaces that are continuing to pop up in communities worldwide -…
In the annals of getting-things-made, there have been two distinct approaches that have become apparent in the past two years. One is the classic Shapeways/Ponoko approach (or B2C), which depends on a company owning digital fabrication machines and putting all of the models on one build plate and shipping it to you and/or having a…
For those who aren’t cranking out 3D prints in full-rotation 24/7, there is another money-making opportunity on the block on par with MakeXYZ. As previously reported by SolidSmack, MakeXYZ is a sort of ‘AirBnB’ concept for your 3D printer. Similar to the concept of renting out a spare room in your house to travelers that…