Business
The business of printing for profit — pricing, margins, print farms, and the equipment economics that make or break a shop.
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Business
How Bambu Lab Disrupted 3D Printing: Speed, Ecosystem, and Prusa's Response
Bambu Lab arrived in 2022 and changed 3D printing faster than any company since MakerBot. Here is the full story of how they did it, what it cost the market, and how Prusa Research responded.
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Business
Who Actually Makes Filament: The Supply Chain Behind Your Spools
The filament market is less diverse than it appears. A small number of polymer manufacturers supply most brands. This guide traces the supply chain from raw resin to finished spool and explains what quality differences actually matter.
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Business
Open-Source vs Proprietary 3D Printers: The 2026 Trade-Off Guide
Voron and Prusa represent open-source printing; Bambu Lab and Ultimaker S-series represent the proprietary end. Both camps offer real advantages — this guide breaks down the honest trade-offs for 2026.
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Business
How Patent Expiration Unlocked 3D Printing: FDM, SLS, SLA, and What Comes Next
Key patent expirations in 2009, 2014, and the 2020s triggered waves of desktop 3D printer innovation. This article traces how each technology became accessible and which patents are expiring now.
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Business
Can You Actually Make Money with a 3D Printer in 2026? A Realistic Guide
The side-hustle promise of desktop 3D printing is real but often misunderstood. Here's an honest look at what sells, what margins actually look like, and which business models work.
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Business
MakerWorld's Creator Economy: Designers Are Now Getting Paid to Share Models
Bambu's MakerWorld has turned free model-sharing into real income: a new commission program pays designers 3–15% cash on the filament and parts their models sell, on top of contests and filament-credit boosts. Some creators are clearing four figures a month.
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Business
Tariffs Are Reshaping US 3D Printing — and the Cheap-Printer Era Is Stalling
New US tariffs on Chinese goods have pushed desktop 3D-printer prices up sharply: Bambu Lab's H2D jumped from $1,899 to $2,699, and entry-level machines are getting scarce. With Chinese brands making 95% of budget printers, American makers are feeling it.
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Business
Stratasys to Buy Markforged for $42.5 Million, Consolidating Industrial Composite Printing
Stratasys has agreed to acquire Markforged — the continuous-carbon-fiber printing pioneer — for $42.5 million in an all-cash deal that folds a former Nano Dimension subsidiary into the additive giant. It is the clearest sign yet of consolidation in industrial 3D printing.
