04-22-2019: 3ders.org published its final article, gradually fading into the depths of online obscurity...
Its title was “Campden BRI launches research project to evaluate how 3D printing could benefit food industry”
On April 22, 2019, the last article in the history of 3ders.org was published. Its title was “Campden BRI launches research project to evaluate how 3D printing could benefit food industry”, and it was authored by "Thomas". Since then, what was once the largest and most influential media outlet in the history of the additive manufacturing industry has slowly deteriorated — images and graphics have not loaded for years. The domain is currently active until September 1st of this year, so there is hope it will be renewed again, and the server bills paid.
This is especially important, as it remains one of the few active online archives covering historical events from the early years of AM — particularly 2011–2013 — before other platforms that still operate today came onto the scene.
The 3ders.org portal launched in late 2011 and, and since 2012, published daily news about 3D printing. According to its own data, it reached around 1.5 million unique users per month. The site was founded by Anja van West, a Dutch woman of Chinese descent. van West did not personally publish articles (at least not under her own name), but she assembled her own editorial team — one of them being Tess Boissonneault, who has long collaborated with VoxelMatters.
The portal was primarily funded through advertising and partnerships, which sustained daily publishing until April 2019, when the last article appeared. However, the end didn’t come suddenly or unexpectedly — by 2018, there were already significant gaps in publication, sometimes weeks at a time.
Still, between 2012 and 2017, 3ders.org was undeniably one of the top three most important media outlets in the 3D printing world. At its peak, it published 5–10 articles daily, effectively serving as an informal AM newswire — the CNN or Reuters of the industry. For many companies, being featured on 3ders.org opened the door to international recognition, as everyone in the space followed it.
Interestingly, despite her platform’s influence, founder Anja van West remained an enigmatic figure. Unlike other founders and owners of industry media, she stayed out of the public eye — not even active on social media (to this day, only one known photo of her exists online).
For those interested in learning more about the history of 3ders.org — including some of the controversies surrounding the platform — I recommend reading my article from last year on VoxelMatters.
Source: www.3ders.org
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