Shapeways files in the US for bankruptcy (update: operations restarting)

[3Dsf]

Sad news indeed. From a hobbyist point of view they're less relevant today than in the past, simply because of the affordability of home printers. And their labour costs inevitably meant higher prices than a home-printed part, where all the time-consuming work is free!

But they were an important tool for many model makers, and the marketplace concept was very valuable for getting interesting projects out to a wider audience. For a number of years the marketplace model permitted a lot of people, including me, to develop obscure detail parts for others, and the small profits allowed me to break even on my costs. That's over now. A shame!

Shapeways ceases operations and files for bankruptcy

The publicly listed company published a Form 8-K on July 2nd, 2024, detailing that it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

www.tctmagazine.com

 

[StevenBills]

Interesting. I have bought a few things from Shapeways over the years, and the parts were always very nice. I wonder if there will be another company that steps in and fills this void. But as you said, it's pretty easy (and more affordable than ever) to just print things at home.

SB

 

[3Dsf]

I'd be really surprised if anyone builds up a model of any significance that compares to what Shapeways offered. Not only did they sell little things to hobbyists (the bit we know about), but they also sold metal parts for jewellery, commercial prototypes to companies, and so on. Between the marketplace and the ability to do things you can't do with a home printer (print with wax supports versus stick supports, for example) they offered a lot.

But the labour costs of production were obviously high. Plus they were doomed when they went public, as all these crappy investors slammed them for being insufficiently profitable, driving share prices into the ground.

 

[eethan]

I'd be really surprised if anyone builds up a model of any significance that compares to what Shapeways offered. Not only did they sell little things to hobbyists (the bit we know about), but they also sold metal parts for jewellery, commercial prototypes to companies, and so on. Between the marketplace and the ability to do things you can't do with a home printer (print with wax supports versus stick supports, for example) they offered a lot.

But the labour costs of production were obviously high. Plus they were doomed when they went public, as all these crappy investors slammed them for being insufficiently profitable, driving share prices into the ground.

Wow, very weird that shapeways is going bankrupt!
to answer that though, in the Netherlands (from where Shapeways originate), there is this other company i.materialise that has been offering exactly the same kind of prints for as long as shapeways, metal and all. I have used both for brass metal parts depending on the price for each part each time. Both website have an upload system that gives an instant price, so I was comparing and ordering from the best offer. I hope they won't go under as well because I really enjoy that possibility to have cast metal parts at the click of a mouse!

 

[edge10]

The site is still up, but liquidation? Yikes

 

[teecrooz]

Wow, I had $500 worth of stuff to order in my cart! I almost placed the order over the weekend. Glad I didn’t.

 

[Richard Baker]

I contacted TonyRR from whom I have several things before, he does fantastic work and I hope he finds another venue. He said he will be producing some on his own but it will take a much longer time.

 

[Dogsbody2]

Just trying to get into my Shapeways account at the moment.Its just hanging on the verification screen at moment...

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

I hate to be that guy, but GOOD! Good riddance, and rest in piss! I've been waiting for this day for a while now. Back in the day, it was expensive just for sloppy prints with huge print lines; then, it became ludicrously expensive for rough, powder-y prints when there were more "affordable" hobby printers available that gave better results. Shapeways was always overpriced for what they offered and got away with it for years because of the 'name' they built for themselves early on.

My early bucks for my Luke V2 foundry cast project were from Shapeways and there was always an issue with them, either too deformed and warped from printing, or just inconsistent print quality. Some would be cleaner than others, and some would turn out looking like something in Minecraft, and you never knew what it was. It was alway costly to reprint another prototype to go through the same thing again, and I'm sure it was a built in contrivance to "rush" orders just to nickel and dime the customer some more.

It took too long for it to get here but I'm glad for it all the same.

 

[edge10]

I contacted TonyRR from whom I have several things before, he does fantastic work and I hope he finds another venue. He said he will be producing some on his own but it will take a much longer time.

I got some nice stuff from Tony, on Shapeways, for my Galactica models. Wish I had bought more.

 

[13doctorwho]

PoopaPapaPalps I feel the same way. I'm so glad they're gone. Too many reasons to type out...

 

[TazMan2000]

Kind of shocking nowadays when technology is changing so quickly that stuff that used to be manufactured, now can be printed out in your own home.

TazMan2000

 

[Dogsbody2]

PoopaPapaPalps I feel the same way. I'm so glad they're gone. Too many reasons to type out...

Getting too expensive for the size of parts they made.As a shop owner the percentage they took out was way more than what you could earn. Plus they took a percentage of your monthly takings as well..Some amazing tech but other companies and Desktop resin printers can do the same now and a lot cheaper.

 

[ssdesigner]

Bummer. I was just starting to try and find someone to do a lost wax brass piece for me from an stl file.

 

[3Dsf]

I hate to be that guy, but GOOD! Good riddance, and rest in piss! I've been waiting for this day for a while now.

Wow. That's really hatey. You know, when I'm dissatisfied with a company's performance, I simply don't use them. I don't wish ill towards them or towards people who find their services adequate.

 

[Richard Baker]

I got some nice stuff from Tony, on Shapeways, for my Galactica models. Wish I had bought more.

Tony said he will be offering printed detail pieces still, but right now it looks like he will be printing them himself. I am going to give it some time, then start ordering a couple of things from him directly

 

[edge10]

Tony said he will be offering printed detail pieces still, but right now it looks like he will be printing them himself. I am going to give it some time, then start ordering a couple of things from him directly

Hopefully he will let us know how to order. Hopefully paypal won't be the only option, as I have dumped them.

 

[Richard Baker]

He said to check his Facebook 308 Bits page for updates.

Oddly enough Shapeways has yet to contact him about the new situation

 

[3Dsf]

Oddly enough Shapeways has yet to contact him about the new situation

Nobody has contacted me either. Don't expect anything for a while - by the sounds of it, staff were told just to go home. The servers are limping along unattended, and gradually different functions are failing one by one.

The US operation has filed chapter 7 (ie: shut it down and sell it off, not try to salvage things as per chapter 11). A guy from the Eindhoven facility in the Netherlands has posted to LinkedIn saying that they're trying to save the Dutch operation - which is, after all, where it started.

 

[RealDaveWinter]

Honestly I'm surprised they lasted this long. The cost of Shapeways orders was quite literally what drove me to set up my own print station. By the time you have ordered two or three things from Shapeways, you could purchase any number of resin printers and wash station packages and been printing your own stuff faster and less expensively. And obviously you have a lot more flexibility with trial and error prints if you have your own printers.

Even those working with metal, or other less common materials, have more options now.