• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech3d printing

Big 3D Printing Firm Plans Major Retreat

By
Andrew Zaleski
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrew Zaleski
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 29, 2015, 3:57 PM ET
Photo courtesy of 3D Systems

Printing company 3D Systems plans to discontinue its desktop 3D printer, effectively exiting the consumer 3D printing market just three years.

The company’s shares fell 9% after the announcement on Monday, and another 4% to below $10 a share by Tuesday afternoon.

3D Systems’ decision to stop producing the printer, known as the Cube, “reflects management’s plans to focus its resources and strategic initiatives on near-term opportunities and profitability,” the company said in a statement. During its November earnings call, the South Carolina-based company hinted at big changes when chief financial officer David Styka said, “We are taking decisive steps to further reduce our cost structure and better prioritize our resources around near-term opportunities.”

In other words, 3D Systems is cutting the fat after a difficult year. The company has weathered the departure of longtime CEO Avi Reichental, an $11 million loss in arbitration, declining revenue, and, most recently, planned layoffs at one of the company’s satellite offices in Massachusetts.

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

By discontinuing sales of the Cube and shifting away from the consumer market, 3D Systems (“DDD”) said it expects to increase profitability. In the third quarter, it lost $32.2 million.

The retrenchment by 3D Systems comes amid a broader realization that consumer 3D printing—desktop 3D printers that people buy for home use—is not a lucrative market. The technology is still too complicated for mainstream adoption, if it ever happens at all.

Following 3D Systems’ announcement, rival 3D-printing company Stratasys also saw its stock price fall by 6% to below $25 a share. Stratasys (“SSYS”) entered the consumer 3D printing market in 2013 by acquiring Brooklyn-based MakerBot. Since then, MakerBot has struggled. Revenues declined sharply in 2015, and the company has gone through two rounds of layoffs.

WATCH: For more Fortune coverage of 3D printing, watch this video:

Research firm Gartner has concluded that widespread consumer adoption of 3D printing is still five years away. That predication is reflected in the makeup of worldwide sales of 3D printers and related technology. Sales for industrial-scale 3D printers reached $1.12 billion globally in 2014, while the desktop market lagged behind at only $173.3 million, according to consulting firm Wohlers Associates.

“In connection with our ongoing review of our business and industry, we believe that the most meaningful opportunities today are in professional and industrial settings, from the product design shop to the operating room to the factory floor,” Andy Johnson, 3D Systems’ interim CEO, said in a statement.

The company plans to sell off its remaining inventory of Cube printers, which originally cost $999. A related consumer-facing website, Cubify.com, will be shut down by the end of January.

But 3D Systems plans to continue to sell its CubePro desktop 3D printer, which is aimed at engineers, educators, and other professionals.

About the Author
By Andrew Zaleski
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Europe
George Clooney moves to France and sends a strong message about the American Dream
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 30, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z could wave goodbye to résumés because most companies have turned to skills-based recruitment—and find it more effective, research shows
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 29, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Environment
'I opened her door and the wind caught me, and I went flying': The U.S. Arctic air surge is sweeping northerners off their feet
By Holly Ramer and The Associated PressDecember 30, 2025
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Exiting CEO left each employee at his family-owned company a $443,000 gift—but they have to stay 5 more years to get all of it
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 30, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
African millennials and Gen Z are quitting their big-city dreams to go make more money back on the farm
By Mark Banchereau and The Associated PressDecember 29, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Arts & Entertainment
Gen Zers and millennials flock to so-called analog islands 'because so little of their life feels tangible'
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated PressDecember 28, 2025
3 days ago

Latest in Tech

C-SuiteLeadership Next
For CEOs in 2025, the year was all about wellness, AI adoption, and changing consumer habits
By Fortune EditorsDecember 31, 2025
2 hours ago
xi
EconomyChina
Xi touts China’s AI, chip wins in triumphant New Year’s speech
By BloombergDecember 31, 2025
2 hours ago
Donald Trump on the phone in front of a Christmas tree
Startups & VentureDonald Trump
Trump Mobile says its first-ever smartphone is delayed, and the government shutdown is to blame
By Dave SmithDecember 31, 2025
7 hours ago
MGI
CommentaryProductivity
The world is awash in wealth but starved for productivity—and that imbalance is distorting growth, debt, and opportunity. We need AI to come through
By Jan Mischke, Olivia White and Rebecca J. AndersonDecember 31, 2025
8 hours ago
Melinda French Gates
SuccessMelinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates got her start at Microsoft because an IBM hiring manager told her to turn down its job offer—’It dumbfounded me’
By Emma BurleighDecember 31, 2025
9 hours ago
Nobuo Hayasaka, president of Kioxia Holdings Corp., stands for photographs during the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
AIJapan
A Japanese company you’ve never heard of walloped every major US company to become the best-performing stock of 2025
By Eva RoytburgDecember 31, 2025
12 hours ago