Materialise seems to be shutting down i.materialise.
If you’re not familiar with i.materialise, it is Materialise’s 3D print service, focused on consumers. Designers can list products, which are produced on Materialise 3D printers when ordered by online buyers.
The news is that i.materialise is set to stop accepting orders starting on October 31st. They are not saying much about what happens to i.materialise after that, but presumably it will eventually disappear.
Meanwhile, Materialise is encouraging i.materialise users to migrate to their other ordering platform, Materialise OnSite.
Materialise OnSite has been around for a while, but has been focused on the professional and industrial markets — mainly producing parts. The intent is to now open it up to a wider market, including that of i.materialise users.
Materialise writes:
“Starting October 31, 2025, you’ll no longer be able to place orders or use the shop feature on i.materialise, but you’ll still be able to log in to view your account information. You can continue to use the platform as usual until then, after which we hope you’ll continue to choose us as your 3D printing partner via Materialise OnSite.”
This is curious. Why don’t they migrate i.materialise users onto the new platform? It seems that designers will have to manually port their works over, if they want to continue with Materialise.
It may be that they hope users will notice some added benefits of using Materialise OnSite, which they list as:
- Performance-grade materials: Access specialist polymers suitable for demanding industrial applications.
- Fast Lane: Get your parts shipped within 48 hours when you work with select materials.
- Precious metals: Expect to see brass, bronze, copper, gold, and silver on OnSite in October.
For Materialise, this move will be beneficial as they would need to maintain only a single ordering platform.
For i.materialise designers, it means there are decisions to be made. Should they migrate to Materialise OnSite? Or move to another platform? Or place their designs on both Materialise OnSite and other platforms?
For i.materialise buyers, they will have to somehow follow their favourite designers if they move elsewhere. I’m not sure that will be easy to do in many cases. Even if the designers move to Materialise OnSite, they will still have to create a new account and re-locate their designers.
Somehow, I’m not surprised at this move. The i.materialise site was set up quite a long time ago, and it basically competed with Shapeways at the time for the consumer market. Then it was thought that most people would not have their own 3D printer, so 3D print services would fill the gap.
However, in the years since, the cost and accessibility of 3D printers have changed significantly, and now millions of them operate around the world. The market space has shrunk to 3D print services in specialized materials, which is what Materialise OnSite is doing.
Via Materialise
