A 3D printing website is a website where people buy, sell and share 3D printable files for use on 3D printers. Due to the fast growing sector of consumer 3D printers, the demand for these technologies has risen. Currently, the marketplaces for 3D printing are few and they are yet to post profits.
The consumer market for 3D printers has grown exponentially over the past couple of years. They can be used by households to produce some items at home. Because most people are not knowledgeable in CAD (Computer Aided Design), they must obtain third party designs. 3D websites are the greatest source of printable 3D designs and there is reason to believe they will dominate the market of printable 3D objects in the future.
How 3D Marketplaces Work
3D Printing Websites are an amalgamation of file sharing websites with or without e-commerce features. The appropriate files for 3D printing are uploaded by designers and other users buy or download freely the uploaded files for printing. The websites provides the account management, server resources, infrastructure, and a safe payment platform (e-commerce). Some of the websites offer other services such as on-demand 3D printing, model generation software, and dynamic viewing of items with packages such as sketchfab.
Types of 3D Printing websites
There are different types of 3D printing websites. Websites such as Thingyverse offer free sharing of 3D printable files. Others such as Shapeways provide a 3D printing service for items that have been made available for sale by designers. Another group is websites typified by 3DPrintWise and Threeding. These provide commercial and free exchange of 3D printable files to be used on 3D printers but without 3D printing services. These websites however, offer integration to databases of 3D printers provided by third parties. The two biggest personal 3D manufacturers Makerbot which is part of Stratasys Ltd, and Cubify, a subsidiary of 3D Systems provide their own repositories for purposes of sharing.
Popular 3D printing marketplaces
Shapeways which is New York based, is a 3D printing website and offers on-demand 3D printing services. Users can access uploaded files and buy to have Shapeways produce 3D printed items for them. Shapeways has a variety of materials on offer that includes plastics, metals, ceramics etc.
ThingiVerse is another one. It allows its users to share digital designs freely and paid 3D content. It is owned by Makerbot. Thingiverse is often used by many technical projects for innovation sharing and for spreading source materials to the public.
Threeding is a startup based in Eastern Europe that offers both free and paid 3D printable content. It has become popular among CAD designers and other users because of its simple interface and design.
The consumer market for 3D printers has grown exponentially over the past couple of years. They can be used by households to produce some items at home. Because most people are not knowledgeable in CAD (Computer Aided Design), they must obtain third party designs. 3D websites are the greatest source of printable 3D designs and there is reason to believe they will dominate the market of printable 3D objects in the future.
How 3D Marketplaces Work
3D Printing Websites are an amalgamation of file sharing websites with or without e-commerce features. The appropriate files for 3D printing are uploaded by designers and other users buy or download freely the uploaded files for printing. The websites provides the account management, server resources, infrastructure, and a safe payment platform (e-commerce). Some of the websites offer other services such as on-demand 3D printing, model generation software, and dynamic viewing of items with packages such as sketchfab.
Types of 3D Printing websites
There are different types of 3D printing websites. Websites such as Thingyverse offer free sharing of 3D printable files. Others such as Shapeways provide a 3D printing service for items that have been made available for sale by designers. Another group is websites typified by 3DPrintWise and Threeding. These provide commercial and free exchange of 3D printable files to be used on 3D printers but without 3D printing services. These websites however, offer integration to databases of 3D printers provided by third parties. The two biggest personal 3D manufacturers Makerbot which is part of Stratasys Ltd, and Cubify, a subsidiary of 3D Systems provide their own repositories for purposes of sharing.
Popular 3D printing marketplaces
Shapeways which is New York based, is a 3D printing website and offers on-demand 3D printing services. Users can access uploaded files and buy to have Shapeways produce 3D printed items for them. Shapeways has a variety of materials on offer that includes plastics, metals, ceramics etc.
ThingiVerse is another one. It allows its users to share digital designs freely and paid 3D content. It is owned by Makerbot. Thingiverse is often used by many technical projects for innovation sharing and for spreading source materials to the public.
Threeding is a startup based in Eastern Europe that offers both free and paid 3D printable content. It has become popular among CAD designers and other users because of its simple interface and design.
