The LinkedIn post OP was referencing in the video. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7214228916142534656/
TCT article on the situation.
https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/latest-additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/shapeways-ceases-operations-and-files-for-bankruptcy/
3D Printing Industry article that goes more into the financial side of the issue. https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/shapeways-bankrupt-5m-rescue-bid-rejected-231387/
I remember ordering some samples from them when they were a newer company, and how cool it was when they added metal as a material option. Sad to see them go. Seems like much more of another company ruined by going public than a failure of their business model. I guess the silver lining is that they simply went under rather than morphing into a worst possible version of what they were trying to squeeze every penny in the pursuit of infinite growth (or maybe they tried that for a while and it failed too, I’ll admit I haven’t been paying attention to the scene for the last several years).
They probably lost a ton of business to the Chinese PCB companies that branched into hobby-focused 3D printing and CNC milling. (That is speculation, of course.)
Running a business like that primarily out of the US must have been super expensive. It seems that Shapeways had locations in Europe, which probably had its own set of issues.
I am confused? The site is still up and running and you can still order though?
…from what i’ve read, shapeways and all their subsidiaries have ceased operation entirely and have no corporate officers; i’m guessing that if the site’s still up there’s noone behind the wheel…
Might be a restructuring:
, the Company may need to file for bankruptcy protection in order to implement a plan of reorganization, or court-supervised sale and/or liquidation of the Company.