A foreign news ignited the enthusiasm of many domestic car-loving youth. Owning a Lamborghini must be a dream of many people, but for this level of overrunning, the price is really expensive. American physicist Sterling Backus also cherishes such a dream, but he did it in his own way. Backus and his son built the world's cheapest Lamborghini superrun with the help of 3D printing, which cost only 130,000 RMB.

They use 3D printers from Shenzhen, China, on the other side of the ocean.

Although the prototype of 3D printing technology has appeared in nineteenth Century, it has not been long since it was truly popularized. But as a representative of "Internet + Advanced Manufacturing", this technology has been widely used in industry, education and personal fields. In recent years, a number of domestic research and development and manufacturers of 3D printing equipment with both strength and market acceptance have emerged.

Creality3d Technology Co., Ltd. is one of them.

Picture: Lamborghini typed using an imaginary three-dimensional printer (Picture Source: ins)

Get together in Shenzhen and sail out to sea

To create a creality3d story, we need to start with the four founders gathered in Shenzhen.

Chen Chun, co-founder and general manager of Creative 3D, told Yiou that after graduation, he went to Shenzhen to work hard, and has been engaged in the related work of 3D printer technology.

At an industry exhibition related to 3D printing, Chen Chun met Liu Huilin, Tang Jingke and Ao Dan Jun. Clever. Four strangers were born in 89. After exchanging their views on the 3D printing industry, the four people who chatted and speculated deeply hated each other. Then four people will be in touch, and each has its own strengths in R&D, supply chain, marketing and operation. In 2014, the four co-founded Creative Three-dimensional.

At that time, although 3D printing technology was still in its infancy, the global market for 3D printers was rapidly rising. According to Wohlers, the global 3D printing market was about $4 billion in 2013, almost doubling from 2012. Among them, the market size of the United States is about $1.5 billion, that of Europe is about $1 billion, and that of China is about $300 million.

Although China's market share is small, it is full of enthusiasm for the development of 3D printing industry. In terms of industry and scientific research, at the end of 2012, China 3D printing technology industry alliance was established, which is the first 3D printing industry alliance in the world. In terms of policy, the National Progressive Plan for the Development of Additional Materials Manufacturing (2014-2020) was promulgated in 2014. The document points out that by 2017, a technological innovation system for Additional Materials Manufacturing (3D printing) will be initially established, and 5-10 enterprises with annual output value exceeding 500 million yuan will be cultivated, which have strong R&D and application capabilities.

On the other hand, compared with foreign countries, China's 3D printers still have a certain gap. Firstly, China's 3D printers started late, and technology is not mature in Europe and the United States. Although equipment, materials, software and other aspects can achieve varying degrees of self-sufficiency, laser and other core technologies are still heavily dependent on imports.

Secondly, in terms of industry, the application of 3D printers in China at that time was still mainly in the stage of scientific research, but not in the field of industry and personal consumption. The annual sales of 3D printer enterprises in Europe and the United States are generally about 1 billion yuan, while few enterprises in China can exceed 50 million yuan, which reflects the situation of the domestic 3D printer market.

The creation of Creative 3D is in this context: from a global perspective, the 3D printer market is booming, and the domestic market has unlimited potential, but the domestic 3D printer technology and large-scale application are still in the initial stage, the European and American markets are relatively mature, and the demand is greater.

In 2014, OnePoll, an American Market Research institute, randomly surveyed 1,000 American consumers. A third of the respondents considered buying a 3D printer, and 65% of them wanted to use a 3D printer to create or print something for their families.

Looking at the vast overseas market, Chen Chun and several other co-founders decided to develop the foreign market first, and also the consumer-grade 3D printing market abroad.

Eighty percent of the products are sold overseas to create a three-dimensional winning secret“

According to Euro 100 million, 80% of all products sold by Creative 3D have been sold to overseas markets such as Europe and the United States.

Success in the European and American markets is related to the high cost performance of the original three-dimensional products, on the other hand, it benefits from the huge demand for 3D printers in overseas markets, especially in the European and American markets.

According to reports, Creative 3D products mainly focus on consumer and industrial grade 3D printers. They are divided into two series: FDM and light curing. There are more than 20 fully independent intellectual property rights 3D printers. They have passed CE, FCC, ROHS and other major international quality and environmental certification, which can fully meet the needs of different fields and regions. During the interview, Chen Chun also showed several representative products of Creative 3D to Euro.

In 2015, Creative 3D created a small portable 3D printer, CR-7, which was gradually recognized. Since then, from CR-8 multi-function 3D printer in 2016, CR-10 large-size suite 3D printer in 2017, until CR-X and Ender-3 in 2018, Creative 3D has been launched with new explosive products every year.

Picture: Create a three-dimensional classic, explosive CR-10 V2 3D printer

These products have one thing in common. They adopt the first patented linear bearing system in China. Unlike other 3-D printer motion systems, this structure has the characteristics of stable motion, reliable structure and precise positioning. Therefore, these products have the common features of low price, high accuracy, easy assembly, convenient transportation, and are favored by individual customer enthusiasts.

At present, there are two main technologies used to create three-dimensional printer products. CR series models mainly adopt FDM technology, which is the main technology used in consumer-grade 3D printer products on the market. It has the characteristics of safe operation, low maintenance cost, high utilization of raw materials and long service life of materials, and its printing materials are relatively easy to obtain.

Another type of light-curing machine is DLP technology. This technology is mainly based on digital image processing and projection of light. It is based on digital micro-mirror elements to complete visual and digital information display technology. It is more suitable for use in products with higher accuracy requirements.

In 2018, 3D Hubs, a well-known community platform in the world's 3D printing industry, released a trend report on 3D printing in the second quarter of 2018. With its excellent performance, sales and reputation, the three-dimensional CR-10 model stands out among many products in the world, ranking in the two rankings of desktop-level 3D printer rating and print volume, and becoming the leader of the mainstream desktop computers in the world.

In addition to the excellent products, Chen Chun said to Euro, "I have to say that because of the early development of 3D printing in foreign countries, the acceptance level will be much higher than that in domestic countries. Many foreign consumers who buy creative three-dimensional products still have strong hands-on ability. It is common to make a model or print an accessory for household appliances. And there are relatively few after-sales problems.

In addition, Chen Chun also emphasized that because of the relatively developed domestic basic manufacturing industry and the high level of e-commerce and logistics development, if we encounter the lack of spare parts in the process of production and life, direct online shopping can solve the problem. However, there are still some deficiencies in this aspect in foreign markets, especially in the European and American markets. Especially the basic manufacturing products with low cost, such as door handles, drawer handles and other furniture accessories, are very expensive in foreign countries. Household 3D printers can solve this problem.

From going to sea to returning home, persist in preaching in 3D printing industry

At present, Creative Three-dimensional has been in the forefront of global sales of 3D printers for a long time. After the success abroad, Creative 3D is not satisfied with this, but often with the "heart of a child" want to return to China as a "preacher" to let 3D printing into millions of households in China.

At present, the domestic 3D printing industry has a very strong momentum of development, but most of them are still used in aerospace, biological health and other high-end industries, and the use of civil 3D printers is very limited. Chen Chun hopes to apply the three-dimensional mature printing technology to consumer-grade scenes.

Creative three-dimensional development in the domestic market has chosen a different route from foreign countries, mainly in the domestic education, families and enterprises. This is due to the different level of consumption and cultural system, foreign DIY enthusiasts prefer 3D printers and are good at creating various kinds of creations.

It is understood that at present, the creation of three-dimensional special-purpose 3D printer for education has reached cooperation with many domestic universities, primary and secondary schools, become the preferred brand of teaching aids, and has established a teaching practice base of production, teaching and research with many colleges and universities. At the end of 2017, Ji Guoliang, an expert in Creative Education, joined Creative 3D as a research and development consultant to build product and curriculum systems.

In addition to education and family scenarios, helping traditional manufacturing industries reduce costs and increase efficiency is also one of the goals of creating three-dimensional. With the further increase of material source cost and the high transparency of industry profits, many enterprises need to continuously reduce costs to maintain the survival of enterprises. Chen Chun said that 3D printing can undoubtedly contribute to reducing costs and improving efficiency for enterprises.

Taking the mould manufacturing industry as an example, as the main manufacturing technology in the world, the mould industry has been the main manufacturing technology in the past decade. However, in the past, the production of moulds needed to go through the process of opening, repeated modification and final confirmation. It took a lot of time, not to mention, if the moulds project failed, the time and money spent before were in vain.

But now the birth and popularization of 3D printer has brought innovation to die manufacturing industry. Because the sample can be obtained and confirmed in advance by 3D printing, the process of repeated modification after opening the mould is reduced. In addition, 3D printing can also achieve small batch production of industrial parts, more flexible.

According to the "Research Report on Market Prospects and Investment of 3D Printing Industry in 2019", China's 3D printing market reached 2.36 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of nearly 42% over the same period last year. With the corresponding maturity of China's 3D printing technology, the demand will continue to increase. It is estimated that China's 3D printing market will be nearly 3 billion yuan in 2019.

On the whole, there is still a huge space for the development of China's 3D printer market, especially the consumer market, which is currently in the stage of rapid growth. With the continuous promotion and popularization of 3D printer technology in our country, the domestic 3D printer technology has developed very fast in recent years, ranging from popular science education to the actual add-on manufacturing center, from campus, research room to military aerospace technology.

Chen Chun said: "Compared with the United States, our country's outbreak may be delayed by two to three years, but the domestic 3D printing industry is no worse than foreign countries. The consumer-grade 3D printer market is also developing rapidly at home. I believe that the domestic market will soon usher in explosive growth."