Arburg to Leave 3D Printing Industry: Analysis

Arburg, a German injection molding leader, is exiting the 3D printing market by the end of the year. The company will continue to support its Freeformer systems but will focus on its core business of injection molding machine construction. Despite efforts to innovate with the APF process, the economic goals for the 3D printing segment were not realized. The company's printers faced challenges in finding ideal applications and struggled with high prices compared to competitors. The article reflects on the difficulties of finding market fit and compares the evolution of 3D printing to the history of injection molding in Hong Kong.