So what have we been prepped for
already?
In the run up to CES opening tomorrow,
quite a few companies went early with their announcements. Just yesterday
Stratasys’ MakerBot announced it will be introducing a new smart extruder at
the show, with, I suspect, more revelations to come when the doors open. Similarly,
3D Systems announced a new metal industrial 3D printing platform, which will be
on view at CES this week — it’s certainly not a consumer machine, so quite why
it will be launched in Vegas is a bit of a mystery to me. However, the company
provided some details of the ProX DMP 320 ahead of the show, namely that it is
a platform utilizing the laser sintering process with high precision and high
throughput capabilities for a range of powdered metals, including titanium,
stainless steel and nickel super alloy, which, thanks to innovative
exchangeable manufacturing modules, allows for quick material changes.
Ultimaker will also be introducing two new
upgrades to its desktop 3D printer range at CES, according to Make
Parts Fast and both will be on show.
At yesterday’s CES Unveiled pre-show press
event, Taiwanese company XYZprinting demonstrated eight different 3D printer
models that will be at the show, including some new ones, as well as new
wearable devices and robotic innovations.
There is also a newbie taking to the CES
floor — a Korean company called Formers Farm — that will be exhibiting two new desktop
3D printer platforms. Mark Lee, reporting for 3DPI seems particularly
impressed with them.
There will also be a host of other 3D
printing companies there, not least Carbon3D, Autodesk and Mcor Technologies.
From my experience of these companies, their press announcements are released
on the opening day, and some may have information out under embargo already ;-)
But back to CES being the place of new 3D
printing revelations! After a year that saw many 3D printing companies visibly
pull back from targeting “the consumer” why does this consumer show draw in so
many companies that choose to announce new products there? I don’t actually
have a definitive answer, by the way, I am genuinely baffled. More so when you
consider that just six years ago the only 3D printer company at CES was
MakerBot, with a few more additions the following year, all dotted around the
place with no cohesion whatsoever. It was only in year three that 3D printing
companies were brought together in a dedicated pavilion at the show with a
conference running along side it. Also, it’s Vegas — dizzyingly chaotic at any time of year,
but in the first week of a new year when most people are in a state of recovery
after a week or more of festive over-indulgence — it certainly wouldn’t be my first
choice!
Some of the favourable attributes will
certainly be the press coverage that the show gets, along with the very high
visitor numbers and celebrity attendees, but that said, I am still baffled by
this phenomenon on the 3D printing calendar, and will be intrigued to see how
long it lasts.