Like other tech companies and startups, additive manufacturing – aka 3D printing – benefited greatly from an influx of capital in 2020-2021. Over the past two years, several 3D printing companies have gone public, raised large funding rounds, been acquired, or merged with other companies in an effort to further scale their businesses. However, the recent decline in valuations of public 3D printing companies is raising some questions about the market potential of the technology.

Anyone who is creating a physical product should be familiar with the difference between Proof of Concept, Prototype, and Minimum Viable Product. One of the most cost-effective and time-saving ways to create and iterate hardware products is through 3D printing.

Before you can “press print” on a 3D printer, you must first have a digital 3D model of your part(s). 3D models can come in a variety of CAD file types that can be opened and edited in 3D modeling software. One of the most common discussions we have with clients is what types of 3D model files we need for quoting and 3D printing parts.