A brief reminiscence of CES
The Atomic Layers: S6E9 (00156)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Tomorrow marks the end of the 58th edition of CES in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronics Show is one of the most important events in the world of technology, first held in 1967 in New York City. Over the years, CES quickly gained international recognition as the premiere stage for groundbreaking technology debuts.
It was at CES that the world first encountered inventions like VCRs (1970), CD players (1981), and HDTVs (1998). In 1998, CES permanently moved to Las Vegas, annually attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees and thousands of exhibitors, serving as a barometer for technological innovation.
In the early 2010s, CES also became the second-most important event for the 3D printing industry, alongside Germany's Euromold (later Formnext). It was here that the world first experienced "consumer 3D printing," with companies like 3D Systems, MakerBot, and XYZPrinting celebrating their biggest triumphs. But those days are long gone—and they’re not coming back.
I browsed the list of exhibitors at this year's CES. Under the "3D Printing" category (sorry, purists—CES doesn’t have an "Additive Manufacturing" category), 81 companies are listed. However, only 12 of them are truly involved in 3D printing as part of their core operations, and most of you have probably heard of only three (or maybe four?) of them.
The three are Creality, Formlabs, and HP (which, of course, wasn’t showcasing any 3D printers). The fourth might be ATO (a Polish manufacturer of metal powder atomizers), 3Deus Dynamics, 3Dnextech, or MetalPrinting Inc. Unfortunately, the rest (like Xiamen Goofoo Technology Co., Ltd., or Simply Tec) don’t ring any bells.
As for the first two mentioned—Creality and Formlabs—there’s little in the way of spectacular new offerings. Creality showcased a new sub-brand of eco-friendly filaments called Soleyin and the Creality Hi, a multi-color 3D printer aimed at hobbyists. And that’s about it.
Meanwhile, if we rewind to 2012, 3D printing was one of the hottest trends at CES!
The following debuts happened there:
Cube – 3D Systems’ first consumer 3D printers
ChefJet and CocoJet – sugar and chocolate 3D printers by 3D Systems
MakerBot Replicator 1 (the wooden one), followed by MakerBot 5th Gen, Mini, and Z18
Ultimaker GO, Ultimaker 2 Extended, and later their upgraded "+" versions
XYZPrinting, which showcased nearly 20 models of 3D printers (with eight revealed in 2016 alone)
Formlabs Form 3+ and Form 3B+
Polaroid – the iconic camera brand attempted a comeback in 2016 with its own line of consumer 3D printers
SprintRay, TierTime, Voxel8 and many, many more…
Additionally, at CES 2014, will.i.am made his debut with 3D Systems which I desribed yesterday.
Well, those were the days. CES lost its relevance for 3D printing when the consumer 3D printer market collapsed in 2016–2017. And for industrial 3D printers, CES was never a meaningful venue.
So “the old wolves” can nostalgically recall the times when, in early January each year, they could either watch live the premieres of the latest 3D printers in Las Vegas or follow the reports of their presentation on AM industry portals.
For young 3D printing adepts, the idea of showing 3D printers at CES may seem ridiculous...
Atomic Layer from the Past:
01-09-2012: 3D Systems debuted Cube, its first consumer 3D printer.
News & Gossip:
Aspect Biosystems secured $115M in Series B funding led by Dimension, with Novo Nordisk and others. Funds will advance bioprinted tissue therapeutics for metabolic and endocrine diseases and expand their AI-driven platform.
Protolabs expanded into full-service production, enhancing support across product life cycles. New offerings include large-scale manufacturing, quality control, industry certifications, and advanced customer engagement with production experts.
Freemelt partnered with NC State University’s CAMAL to establish a U.S.-based Application Center for R&D using E-PBF technology. The collaboration supports feasibility studies and alloy development for high-temperature industries like aerospace and energy, advancing Freemelt’s U.S. market expansion and industrial scalability, particularly in sectors like defense, energy, and medical technology.