Formlabs: A Kickstarter Success Story

Mashable reported a few days ago on the huge amount of money raised by Formlabs, another 3D Printing company:

Formlabs shattered its $100,000 goal on Kickstarter, and raised $2,945,885 — making the Form 1 3D printer the highest-funded tech campaign in Kickstarter history. The Form 1 can be pre-ordered at the discounted price of $3,299 through its website. Your products will be delivered in May; all pre-orders for April delivery are already sold out. Most 3D printers cost tens of thousands of dollars, so $3,299 is extremely low-cost, to put that price in perspective.

3D printing is all the rage, but this story is one of true fusion between the social media and greater tech industries. As we’re learning, perhaps surprisingly, this isn’t as natural a marriage as we might expect. Mashable notes in their interview with Formlabs co-founder Maxim Lobovsky that “tech campaigns are the second least likely category to reach their funding goals on Kickstarter, only above dance.”

Dance? Tech startups on Kickstarter are the second worst-performing category ahead of only…dance? Does anyone else find that fascinating in and of itself?

But while the nearly $3 Million clams raised by Formlabs via Kickstarter is definitely something to marvel at, we couldn’t help but notice that Mashable makes some pretty bold claims regarding the Form 1’s accessibility to the masses:

Most 3D printers cost tens of thousands of dollars, so $3,299 is extremely low-cost, to put that price in perspective.

Well, sure when you compare it to industrial-sized 3D printers the Form 1 can be considered “extremely low-cost”, but compared even to the Replicator 2X we talked about a few weeks ago it’s a few hundred dollars more expensive. We’re not sure if Mashable just didn’t do their homework, or whether they believe the Form 1’s stereolithography process is sufficiently better to warrant their claim.

Either way though, we’re thrilled again to see 3D printing taking huge steps towards true affordability and at such a quick pace. Between the merger of Objet and Stratasys and now Formlabs having raised almost $3 million from Kickstarter to introduce another option to the market, the prospects are better for the rest of us to be able to afford a 3D printer sooner than later.

Raises the question though…at what price would you buy a 3D printer?