What is your unpopular 3D printing opinion?

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At Formnext 2023, the TCT content team asked 3D printing vendors, users and enthusiasts, "What is your unpopular 3D printing opinion?" The question garnered some interesting answers, from thoughts on industry consolidation to prohibitive costs. Here's what they had to say.

Cora Leibig – Founder and CEO, Chromatic 3D Materials

“I don’t think consolidation is good for the industry.”

David Moodie – Founder and CEO, Foundry Lab

“My unpopular 3D printing opinion is that you should stop 3D printing. We think that if you are casting your parts in production, then you shouldn’t be printing your parts in prototyping you should be casting your prototypes.”

Joel Telling – Host, 3D Printing Nerd

“I don’t know if I really have any, because I typically follow along with the general consensus that 3D printing is awesome, I think one opinion I might have, that might be unpopular is using brims and adhesives on the bed for consumer-level FFF 3D printing. Some people think it’s a waste, I just like a good insurance policy.”

Norbert Gall – Head of Marketing and PR, Lithoz

My unpopular 3D printing opinion is probably that we often see just more of the same, talking about innovation but not real innovation.”

Monica Smith – Product Line Manager Metal Systems, EOS

“Bigger is not always better.”

Kartik Rao – Strategic Marketing Director, Additive Industries

“It’s too expensive.”

Francesco Pantaleone – Executive Vice President of Business Development, Roboze

“Well, I think 3D printing has always been looked at as a means of prototyping. This has absolutely created value over the years, but I think now manufacturing is already happening. A lot of companies that we see say ‘print the future’, it’s actually time to print the present, this is already viable with a lot of use cases and applications that we develop for regulated industries and extreme environments.”

Frederic Larouche – General Manager, GE Additive

“3D printing can be very complex and difficult, but it gives a lot of good outcomes when you’re patient.”

Alain Dupont – Chief Commercial Officer, GE Additive

“I think there’s nothing, it’s a great future, so love it.”