Each day it seems another 3D printer manufacturing company has opened its doors and is busy advertising its wares.

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I’m not naming names, but many of these are FFF (fused filament fabrication) printers, machines that are relatively easy to construct and, given the wide array of filaments now available, provide a relatively easy point of entry for an entrepreneur aiming to become the next Stratasys or Ultimaker.

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The question is, how many of these startups will still be around in 10 years? Or even five?

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As a young machinist, I would leave work on Friday afternoons and visit the used machinery dealer in downtown Hopkins, a Minneapolis suburb near where I lived. I wandered the dimly lit aisles, inhaling the oily, dusty smells while searching for an engine lathe and a knee mill with which I could start my own machine shop. There were Cincinnatis and Bridgeports, of course, as well as endless Brown & Sharpes, Bullards and Bridgeports, Dakes and LeBlonds, Kingstons, Clausings, and Lansings. I ended up with a Logan lathe and Gorton fixed-head jig mill. Though good machines in their day, both were tired. They did, however, fit within my meager budget. My visits […]

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