DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Lifestyle
Dutch news & articles
Amsterdam company to make 3D printing available to everyone
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

Amsterdam company to make 3D printing available to everyone

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

Bitlock: (Un)lock your bicycle with the click of a button!Bitlock: (Un)lock your bicycle with the click of a button!
The 'Concept 1865': old-fashioned cycling with a modern twistThe 'Concept 1865': old-fashioned cycling with a modern twist
Interpol to use programme developed by Nijmegen scientistsInterpol to use programme developed by Nijmegen scientists
Turn your bike into a super bike!Turn your bike into a super bike!
Victory for TU Delft's solar car!Victory for TU Delft's solar car!
Coming soon: the first black box for bicyclesComing soon: the first black box for bicycles
Indestructible & Theft-proof bicycle lights launching soonIndestructible & Theft-proof bicycle lights launching soon
Delft students break world record with their electric carDelft students break world record with their electric car
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairsWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Aug 31, 2013
Elzi Lewis
Elzi swapped rainy Manchester for (rainier) Amsterdam a year ago, and has never looked back. Having just finished an MA at the University of Amsterdam, she is both excited and terrified by the prospect of joining the real world. Canals, tulips, Jenever and stroopwafels are easing the transition.Read more

A scheme by an Amsterdam company has just received funding to open up unused 3D printers for use by the public.

The big idea

3D printing allows individuals and businesses to construct solid objects in various materials, chiefly wood, metal or plastic.

Studies show that most 3D printer owners ("hubs") use their technology for 10 hours or less per week. However, 3D Hubs seeks to change this by creating a "collaborative production platform."

This platform harnesses the printers' remaining capacity, about 90 per cent of the week, and lets other people ("makers") purchase usage on the machines.

In this way, 3D Hubs seeks to effectively unlock the potential of otherwise idle technology.

The company

This scheme makes 3D printers readily available to a limitless number of people.

Furthermore, by allowing printer owners to lease out their devices (and decide their own price for the time and materials involved), 3D Hubs is a mutually beneficial arrangement. It also forges connections between members of the "3D maker community."

3D Hubs already has over 500 printing locations in its database.

The company's expansion, which would increase this portfolio considerably, has just been funded by the London-based venture capital firm, Balderton Capital.

Mark Evans, a partner at Balderton, announced that the firm decided to make the investment because 3D Hubs "is run by an exceptional team operating in a space with huge potential."

As Evans observes, this could really revolutionise the technology market, by making 3D printing "a viable option for everyone for the first time."

For more information, see the 3D Hubs website

Source: Balderton Capital

By Elzi Lewis