After announcing, earlier in the week, that they would be selling colorFabb filaments, today, Aleph Objects has added that they are partnering with specialty materials reseller Filabits LLC, as a means of promoting high-performance 3D printing materials. With the news, Aleph Objects has also released its financial performance records regarding materials sales.
The deal will see the LulzBot line of software and hardware be the exclusive 3D printer of Filabits, which provides small-batch materials for such companies as NinjaTek, Taulman 3D, and Proto-pasta, selling samples of specialty and high-performance filament varieties at such low costs that it’s possible to buy a dozen or so samples at the price of one complete roll of material. This is perfect for experimenting with filaments before purchasing the kind you’re after.
Corey Schlichter, President of Filabits, said of the deal, “We are truly excited about our new partnership with Aleph Objects (LulzBot). Not only are their printers regarded as top-shelf, but their focus on Libre Innovation and Open Source Hardware meshes perfectly with Filabits’ desire to bring accessibility to printing materials. To have an adaptable machine suitable for any task will be crucial as we explore new flavors of filament that come along.”
Harris Kenny, Vice President of Marketing at Aleph Objects, contributes, “Thanks to years of trail blazing by RepRap developers and hackers, the filament market has achieved critical mass. There are now many companies pioneering new premium materials compatible with Open Source Hardware. Filabits is a valuable resource for anyone looking to enjoy this new era in the rapidly growing 3D printing industry and we are thrilled to be partnering with them.”
This news comes as Aleph Objects releases financial data indicating that their sale of 3mm filament has grown by 3.75 times year-over-year and, in that mix, their sale of HIPS and specialty filament has increased significantly from 0% in 2012 to 48% in 2015 (through Q3), as compared to traditional filaments. In other words, specialty filaments now represent almost half of the firm’s filament sales. This, they suggest, is in part due to the greater demand for unique materials in the desktop 3D printing industry.
So far, Aleph Objects has already partnered with such materials firms as ChromaStrand, Eastman Chemical Company, eSUN, NinjaTek, Taulman 3D, Proto-pasta, CC-Products, and colorFabb. Now that LulzBot has become the “official 3D printer of Filabits”, the 3D printer brand has further cemented itself as a go-to for printing unique materials and we’ll likely see more filament deals take place in the future.
