A 3D model of a building made by Mastergraphics in Madison, Wisconsin.
3D Printing: Big Business or Big Hype?
By Ed Avis
Mastergraphics in Madison, Wisconsin, has been in the 3D printing business for the past seven years, mostly as an equipment dealer but also as a 3D service bureau. The company uses a Z650 printer from 3D Systems to make architectural models.
Printing AEC models is one of many markets touted for 3D printing; others include models for electronics companies, medical device firms, and other businesses that commonly need models of new products, and actual short-run manufacturing of many products. The list of potential products created with 3D printing is truly limitless.
But how substantial will the 3D printing business be for reprographics firms that undertake it? The jury is still out, but on the surface it looks like it could be a giant market for firms that tackle the file preparation issues and market the service well, but insignificant for firms that struggle with the technology and/or can’t persuade their clients to try it.
“It’s been marginally profitable, but only because of the other services we have often packaged in the overall solution,” says Kevin Carr, general manager of Mastergraphics. “[It’s] not enough to be a standalone business and definitely at this point viewed as a complementary offering.”
The Opportunities
There’s no question that 3D printing offers a tremendous new market potential. The technology has advanced enough in the past two decades to be dependable enough and inexpensive enough to make it feasible as a model-making or short-run manufacturing tool for countless businesses.
“The bulk of our customers are in the manufacturing industry, ranging from product manufacturers to electronics companies to medical device organizations,” says Chris Fay, general manager of TPM, Inc. in Greenville, South Carolina, which has been in the 3D printing business for the past 10 years.
It’s not hard to imagine the potential. 3D printers can create a limitless array of parts, models, demos, and other products. Need a precise one-off tool for a special project? Design it and print it. Need an artificial bone to replace one lost to cancer? Image the original and print a perfect replacement. Want to test-market a new toy before ordering a million copies? Print a few hundred and see how they sell. For a 90-second taste of the potential markets, check out this video on the website of 3D Systems, one of the major vendors in the field.
A growing list of materials is available for printing, ranging from plastic to nylon to metal. And the equipment available – primarily from two major players, 3D Systems and Stratasys – ranges from under $2,000 for a simple model maker to nearly $1 million for a top end production machine.
But is it Right for Repro?
While the possible market is huge – read this article from Marketwatch for some observations on the size of the market – that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for reprographics.
The first challenge to consider is this: does a typical reprographics firm have the background and knowledge to enter this market?
“The learning curve is steep – not to run the printer but to educate not only our staff but the customers on how to prepare files and what type of model they can expect,” Carr says.
Indeed, file preparation is a giant issue that has vexed the 3D industry from its infancy. What looks good on a computer screen does not necessarily convert to an effective 3D printed model, for a variety of reasons.
“We have a licensed architect on staff but have also used resources such as www.3DMTP.com which does take Revit files directly and convert them to a printable format,” Carr says. “Models need to be ‘water tight’ in order to print and often models need to be fixed in order to meet that need. In addition, due to the scaling down factor, you may need to adjust features for proper printing. Think of door handles, windows, etc… that scaled down the features may not print or need to be removed for aesthetic reasons.”
As Carr mentioned, 3DMTP offers one solution for file prep issues. Phil Magenheim, a long-time IRgA member who was an executive with Ideal Scanners & Systems and Contex, is today involved with 3DMPT.
“3DMTP automates much of the file fixing process,” Magenheim says. “It repairs geometric issues and adds thickness to models where needed, allowing them to be self-supporting and printable on 3D printers.”
Can Repro Find the Market?
Technical issues aside, the key to success in this market for a reprographics firm will be finding and marketing to the people who want the service. Right now few reprographics shops do work for medical technology companies, for example, but they may become prime customers for 3D printing. Just like reprographics shops had to find new customers when they entered large-format color printing – signs, banners, etc. – repro shops that get into 3D printing will have to find and reach a whole new set of customers.
Naturally, the AEC market will come to mind first for shops getting into 3D. A 3D-printed model of a new building can be done much more quickly and accurately than a hand-built model of that same building. But that doesn’t mean every architect is jumping on the 3D bandwagon.
“Surprisingly, even though many buildings are designed in 3D, users still like to hand build or to see hand built models,” Carr says. “The AEC community has been slow in adopting 3D printing. The interesting part is by ‘printing’ models there is no interpretation by the model builder – your print is true to the design intent. When you hand build a model the builder has some input on how the model is made – thus affecting the actual design.”
Nevertheless, some repro firms have found success building 3D models for the AEC community. Read this article about Hobs Reprographics' success in that field.
And, as Carr noted at the top of this article, a 3D model by itself may not be profitable, but selling other complementary products – such as animations, renderings, and marketing collateral – could make the overall package a success.
Some repro firms may find that selling equipment is more profitable than selling output. Fay reports that TPM’s core business in the 3D market is selling and servicing the printers.
“The cost of parts, consumables, and machines is high, so inherently there is profit to be made,” Fay says. “Contract printing for customers can also be profitable, but we use these prints to help sell machines and pay for demo equipment.”
Even equipment sales, though, is not without challenge. “The technology is still developing so there is a service concern with the units,” he says. “These machines are not like a refrigerator that will run for years. They require service, maintenance, etc. Setting our customers’ expectations on the printers is the most important part of the sales process.”
Is it Becoming Too Popular?
One issue that may affect the size of the 3D printing market is the current popularization of 3D printers. Staples, UPS Stores, and other consumer-oriented businesses have been installing low-end 3D printers to capture part of the market. Will that hurt reprographics firms’ efforts in 3D? Or will it just whet the appetite of companies that try to print a model at Staples and then turn to a professional for assistance?
The key to success for a repro firm in that regard will be its ability to create quality output at an affordable price. Let the UPS store make the model solar system for Johnny’s school project, as long as Johnny’s engineer father goes to your repro firm to make the engine parts he needs to demonstrate his latest design.
In the end, will 3D printing become a major success for the reprographics field? The potential is there, no doubt, but so are the hurdles.