3D Printing’s Audience on Track for Growth

3D Printing’s Audience on Track for Growth

3D printers have already broken through in education, helping students bring their ideas 

to life or put their hands on concepts that previously lived only in textbooks. But 2016

could prove to be a transformative year for the technology as the devices become more

affordable and the barrier to entry continues to drop.
EdTech spoke with Jordan Brehove, MakerBot’s vice president of solutions, who explains

that the power of 3D printing in education isn’t merely replicating ideas but creating new

ones.
“There is an inflection point that people get when they start to print because people go 

out onto Thingiverse, a repository of 3D files, and they print and they print and they

print, but there is a certain moment when they realize, ‘I don’t need something that exists,

I want something that doesn’t yet exist.’ It’s just a complete paradigm shift,” he says.
The support is certainly there. A community of tinkerers, programmers and students are

fosteringmakerspaces — local labs armed with 3D printers and fabrication tools 
 — across 

the country. Spaces like these are urging learners to develop new engineering skills that

3D Printing Trends Q1-2017

This Trend Report provides a comprehensive overview on the state of the 3D printing industry. The report is based on real data from the 3D Hubs platform with over 6,900 online 3D printing services in 150+ countries. The report details trending 3D printers as well as regions with the most 3D printing activity.

To learn more about 3D printing applications, materials and technologies, head over to our definitive guide on What is 3D Printing.

Looking for which 3D printer to buy? Check out the 2017 3D Printer Guide, a complete overview based on 8,624 reviews from verified 3D printer owners.


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