Lately the tech world has focused its spotlight on industrial-scale 3D company Stratasys’ acquisition of consumer-oriented MakerBot, which is sensible: Marketbot, already compared to 80s-era Apple, is a tech darling for its drive to simplify and its commitment to open source via its blueprint website Thingiverse. Time will tell if Stratasys aims to renege on its hands-off vision of MakerBot’s future, but there’s plenty of other companies to shed light on - many of them outside America. Most of the 3D world can be found on the website of Wohlers Associates, a consulting firm that publishes an annual almanac listing the myriad service providers and machine dealers that sell printers from desktop models to Mammoth stereolithographers. Alternatively, the net community Additive 3D features a chart of comparative 3D printer models. Though the marriage of Stratasys’ production capabilities and MakerBot’s user-friendly design is a tangible threat, there are many companies (and even a few DIY options) already invested in the consumer 3D printer market: 3D Systems Created by Chuck Hull, 3D Systems is arguably the original 3D company and developer of stereolithography (carving a layer of liquid resin with a UV laser, re-coat with resin, carve another layer...). Likely to be Stratasys’ largest rival, 3D systems has over 1000 employees worldwide and began an acquisitions campaign in 2007 (including 16 in 2011 alone) in order to streamline the “scan to print” timeline. One of these, Cubify, released its Cube to favorable review.Read Full Story