We stand corrected: today officials from 3D Systems informed us that in fact, Village Plastics has been supplying them with a very significant portion of the filament plastic used on their Cubify 3D printers. Yesterday we speculated that VP sold plastic only to 3D Systems’ competitors. Who knew?
Now the acquisition makes complete sense. 3D Systems is simply solidifying their supply chain, continuing to build a 3D Systems ecosystem, as 3D Systems’ CEO Avi Reichental recently told us, the 3D “digital thread”.
We still find it fascinating that VP will continue to supply filament to non-3D Systems equipment, although perhaps their position is similar to MakerBot, who will gladly sell you filament regardless of whether you own one of their machines.
