Formlabs acquisition of Micronics: Difference between revisions
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|Description=Formlabs acquired Micronics mid-Kickstarter, canceled the $2,999 Micron SLS printer, eliminating the cheapest turnkey SLS option from the market | |Description=Formlabs acquired Micronics mid-Kickstarter, canceled the $2,999 Micron SLS printer, eliminating the cheapest turnkey SLS option from the market | ||
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The cheapest turnkey desktop [[Selective laser sintering|SLS]] 3D printer on the market was canceled when [[Formlabs]] acquired its maker, Micronics, on July 11, 2024.<ref name="formlabs-press">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs Acquires Micronics to Further Advance Accessible SLS 3D Printing |url=https://formlabs.com/company/press/formlabs-acquires-micronics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/deaUD |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=Formlabs}}</ref> The Micron printer had raised $1,357,939 from 431 backers on Kickstarter at a starting price of $2,999;<ref name="3dnatives">{{Cite web |author=Madeleine Prior |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs Make Major Move With Micronics Acquisition |url=https://www.3dnatives.com/en/formlabs-announces-major-move-with-micronics-acquisition-110720246/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/r9qq1 |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=3Dnatives}}</ref><ref name="kickstarter">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/micronics3d/micron-a-desktop-sls-3d-printer | | The cheapest turnkey desktop [[Selective laser sintering|SLS]] 3D printer on the market was canceled when [[Formlabs]] acquired its maker, Micronics, on July 11, 2024.<ref name="formlabs-press">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs Acquires Micronics to Further Advance Accessible SLS 3D Printing |url=https://formlabs.com/company/press/formlabs-acquires-micronics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/deaUD |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=Formlabs}}</ref> The Micron printer had raised $1,357,939 from 431 backers on Kickstarter at a starting price of $2,999;<ref name="3dnatives">{{Cite web |author=Madeleine Prior |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs Make Major Move With Micronics Acquisition |url=https://www.3dnatives.com/en/formlabs-announces-major-move-with-micronics-acquisition-110720246/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/r9qq1 |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=3Dnatives}}</ref><ref name="kickstarter">{{Cite web |title=Micron: A Desktop SLS 3D Printer (Canceled) |url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/micronics3d/micron-a-desktop-sls-3d-printer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623142727/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/micronics3d/micron-a-desktop-sls-3d-printer |archive-date=23 Jun 2024 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=Kickstarter}}</ref> Formlabs' cheapest SLS printer, the Fuse 1+ 30W, starts at $24,999.<ref name="fuse-pricing">{{Cite web |title=Your Entryway to Industrial SLS 3D Printing With an All-in-One System at $24,999 |url=https://formlabs.com/blog/fuse-depowdering-kit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/Qj47v |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=Formlabs}}</ref> Backers received full refunds & a $1,000 credit toward Formlabs printers, a discount of roughly 4% on the cheapest available SLS system.<ref name="3dnatives" /><ref name="fuse-pricing" /> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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''VoxelMatters'' drew an explicit competitive parallel: "This sure does look like Formlabs crushing a small competitor, in a way that is very similar to the way Microsoft rose to market dominance."<ref name="voxelmatters">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs acquires Micronics |url=https://www.voxelmatters.com/formlabs-acquires-micronics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/SkmZ5 |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=VoxelMatters}}</ref> | ''VoxelMatters'' drew an explicit competitive parallel: "This sure does look like Formlabs crushing a small competitor, in a way that is very similar to the way Microsoft rose to market dominance."<ref name="voxelmatters">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs acquires Micronics |url=https://www.voxelmatters.com/formlabs-acquires-micronics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/SkmZ5 |archive-date=7 Apr 2026 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=VoxelMatters}}</ref> | ||
Joris Peels of ''3DPrint.com'' was more skeptical of the Micron itself, describing the $2,999 price point as "improbably low" & questioning whether a two-person team could scale a powder bed fusion system to production. He praised the team's engineering, particularly the removable build chambers & depowdering solution, but suggested the acquisition may have prevented a "Kickstarter fracas" if the product could not be delivered at the promised price.<ref name="3dprint">{{Cite web |url=https://3dprint.com/311327/formlabs-buys-nascent-sls-3d-printer-competitor-micronics/ | | Joris Peels of ''3DPrint.com'' was more skeptical of the Micron itself, describing the $2,999 price point as "improbably low" & questioning whether a two-person team could scale a powder bed fusion system to production. He praised the team's engineering, particularly the removable build chambers & depowdering solution, but suggested the acquisition may have prevented a "Kickstarter fracas" if the product could not be delivered at the promised price.<ref name="3dprint">{{Cite web |author=Joris Peels |date=2024-07-11 |title=Formlabs Buys Nascent SLS 3D Printer Competitor Micronics |url=https://3dprint.com/311327/formlabs-buys-nascent-sls-3d-printer-competitor-micronics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713190253/https://3dprint.com/311327/formlabs-buys-nascent-sls-3d-printer-competitor-micronics/ |archive-date=13 Jul 2024 |access-date=2026-04-04 |website=3DPrint.com}}</ref> | ||
==Killer acquisition pattern== | ==Killer acquisition pattern== | ||