3D printing boom expected in 2014: patents for laser sintering technology expire



    In February 2014, patents for the key technology of selective laser sintering (SLS), which was invented in the 80s and is now used in industrial 3D printers , expire . The existence of these patents significantly limits competition in the market and does not make it possible to mass-produce cheap 3D printers of this type.

    After the patents expire, you can expect an influx of cheap Chinese 3D printers and a very serious drop in prices for these devices, says Duann Scott, an evangelist at Shapeways, a company that prints 3D models on orders from designers, architects and others. customers who cannot afford to buy a professional-level device.

    This opinion has good reason. When patents for a more primitive 3D printing technique by fused deposition modeling (FDM) expired, this led to the emergence of many Open Source printer models and a sharp drop in prices. Among them is the famous Makerbot.


    Makerbot Industries Desktop Replicator 2 Printer

    Recently, this company was bought by a giant in the Stratasys 3D printing market for $ 400 million. Curiously, the founder of Stratasys is Scott Crump, the inventor of FDM technology.

    Just a couple of years after the expiration of the FDM patents, the cost of such printers fell from a few thousand dollars to just $ 200, that is, ten times.


    Model A6 LT $ 200

    The market has witnessed a real revolution and the “democratization" of 3D printing. There are hundreds (!) Of different models. Everyone can now buy a desktop FDM printer.

    Roughly the same thing should happen after February 2014 with SLS technology, which is by far superior to FDM in all respects. SLS 3D laser printers are capable of producing very complex plastic and metal products. And if the cost of such devices drops to 200-300 dollars, then this will be an important step towards mass production of goods at home.

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