(Credit: Zain bin Awais/PCMag Composite; Deagreez/via Getty Images)
Twenty-five years ago, I was a young engineer at an automated sewing machinery company, sitting alongside the owner at the office. A version of our bread-and-butter machine—a heavy-duty overlock sewing system with a unique Power-Trac material puller—had just appeared in Chinese ads, sold across Europe and Asia for less than half the price of our American-built unit. The owner stared at side-by-side photos, pointing out the details the Chinese hadn’t yet mastered. "They’re about three years behind us," he said quietly. "But they’re catching up."
Decades later, I’d see China use this same playbook in the 3D printing industry, which had been led by American and European firms since 1990. In 2024, US-based Stratasys sued China-based Bambu Lab’s parent companies and affiliates, alleging infringement on patents covering purge towers, heated build platforms, and sensor-based bed mapping. The case names Bambu’s most popular models: the X1C, the P1P, and the A1.
Stratasys, the largest and most liquid company in the field, is not only seeking damages but also injunctions, which could block imports, and royalties that could amount to millions of dollars. If the suit is successful, Bambu’s margins could be gouged deeply enough to slow its advance—or entire product lines might vanish from US shelves. Meanwhile, Chinese competitors continue to move forward: iterating, refining, and presenting new innovations.
Where do I stand? I’m torn. Part of me is still that young engineer watching his boss mortgage his home to survive. I can catalog the feelings in that room: despair, anxiety, hopelessness. However, another part of me sees the power that affordable, Chinese-made FDM and SLA printers have unleashed onto the marketplace.
Consumers Don't Care Much Who Invented What
Recently, while reviewing the Formlabs Form 4 SLA printer for PCMag, I came across a resin system from a company called HeyGears, based in Guangzhou, China. The tech is uncannily similar: RFID-tagged bottles that track type and usage, whose embedded code changes feed rates and exposure settings automatically. The spill-proof valves on the bottoms of the HeyGears resin bottles, which only open when locked into place, are nearly identical to those on the Form 4.
The mimicry is beyond obvious. I wonder if the conversations at Formlabs today sound like the ones I sat through a quarter century ago. At the same time, I can’t help but think that people—American and European consumers in particular—couldn’t care less.
According to the FBI, IP theft costs the US economy between $225 billion and $600 billion annually. A 2015 patent litigation study found that infringement cases take an average of 2.4 years to reach trial, and only 13% result in damages being awarded. That window allows a competitor, in theory, to replicate a machine, sell it at half the cost, then refine it further. By the time a verdict arrives, the offender is already a generation ahead.
I’ve listened to online influencers bemoan the prices of American FDM and SLA printers, only to cheer when the significantly cheaper Chinese counterpart inevitably arrives. Buyers seem to be asking less and less who invented a device, rather asking how little they can pay.
Indeed, consumers’ mindsets seem to be shifting. A 2023 Michigan State University survey of 13,000 people across 17 countries found that 74% had purchased counterfeit goods online in the past year. More than half did so knowingly. Similarly, the key takeaway from a European Union Intellectual Property Office study titled “Appetite for Fakes: What drives consumers’ choice?” is that while the country of origin does influence consumer attitudes, it no longer dominates the way it used to. Price seems to be the most compelling factor.
Why the Future of 3D Printing Makes Me Anxious
Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers do deserve credit. In just a few short years, they’ve moved the ball downfield with affordable, reliable, feature-rich machines that have turned garages into startups. I met with people from one such company, the US-based SXTH Element, which launched in 2016 with two guys and a Bambu Lab X1C. Last year, the startup generated a $2.8 million gross profit by manufacturing cold air intakes for popular cars and trucks, leveraging the Chinese tech’s innovative features.
Chinese companies, such as Anycubic, Bambu Lab, Elegoo, and Qidi, aren’t just catching up anymore—in many ways, they’re setting the pace. Yes, there are alleged design infringements, but there are also unmistakable breakthroughs: clever auto-leveling systems, filament sensors, and quiet drive architecture that didn’t exist before. And they work—brilliantly. Their quality, speeds, and accuracies are legendary in manufacturing circles.
Still, I miss the days when everything was wide open. My first LulzBot TAZ5 was built almost entirely from open-source parts. My newest Prusa Core One has fewer such parts than I’ve ever seen—perhaps a response to IP theft, a shift toward more guarded ecosystems. Bambu Lab has been closed from the start. Every print file routes through their servers overseas before coming back to the machine—a stark contrast to the openness that birthed this industry.
This all makes me uneasy. Frankly, I’m caught between fear and admiration. Fear that the pioneers who built this industry may never reclaim the lead, but admiration for the undeniable brilliance of the machines reshaping it. If there’s hope, it’s that competition—wherever it comes from—will keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, even if it leaves us wondering who will own the future.