3D Hubs has released its February Trends Report and, for a quick round-up, it looks like rapid prototyping (RP) is still the most common 3D printing application, followed closely by the Hobby/DIY category. Stratasys continues to dominate on the 3D printer user front, thanks to its acquisition of Makerbot, and white is still the most common printing colour. While 3D Hubs’ data is not representative of the entire industry, it is the largest network of 3D printers in the world, so the usage data that they collect is pretty valuable.
In three of the four major 3D printing markets, North America, Asia and South America, Makerbots continue to be the most used printers. The US company’s 3D printer is not only the number 1 printer used in the US, but it is also number 2 and 3 with only Europe preferring the Ultimaker and RepRap variations over the Replicator 2. However if we look back at previous trend reports, that may be changing — back in November 2013 Ultimaker accounted for 17.9% of machines in the network, but now that’s shrunk down to 11.8%. The Replicator 2 has inched up from 9.3% to 10.7%.
While the Ultimaker 2 is still the most popular printer within the network the Replicator 2 and the Replicator 2X are rapidly increasing their presence and could soon overtake it. Most notably on the list is the lack of representation of 3D Systems Cube printers, as none of them have managed to crack the list yet.
Prototyping remained the number 1 reason that people use 3D Hubs’ network of 3D printers, accounting for 36.5% of prints followed closely by the Hobby/DIY category at 22.8%. That isn’t especially shocking considering how popular rapid prototyping has become, it remains the only practical use for 3D printing that has been fully embraced by the mainstream business community at this point. As more and more less expensive printer options enter the market I would expect those numbers to drop as offices are able to afford bringing printers in-house and wouldn’t need to outsource any longer, but so far the numbers seem to be holding steady.
PLA and ABS continue to dominate the list of available print materials, however Nylon, Wood, FlexPLA and Resin have all doubled the amount of locations that offer them. White remains the most popular print colour, accounting for 27.3% of printed jobs followed closely by black at 22%. Interestingly, even as more and more colours become available, a smaller percentage of people are using them. Both white and black have increased their representation by double digits.
The amount of 3D printers on 3D Hubs has also impressively jumped again this month, growing from 2500 to 3100 in just the past month. With a sample size that large these are some pretty valuable numbers at this point. Head on over to 3D Hubs to check out the full trend report.
