Once upon a time, there was a company called Shapeways, where you could buy and sell physical 3D prints. This doesn’t sound very noteworthy in an age where 8-year-olds are getting ToyBox 3D printers for Christmas. But Shapeways started in 2007, five years before Josef Prusa sold his first 3D printer in an empty pizza box.
Shapeways is an industrial print farm that began in the Netherlands, rapidly grew, moved its headquarters to New York, and by 2012 had a manufacturing plant in Long Island. In 2014, Marleen Vogelaar, one of the original founders, left to pursue other ventures. She said Shapeways lost its way. In 2024, buried in bloat, Shapeways went bankrupt.
Vogelaar and Robert Schouwenburg, another Shapeways co-founder, gathered a group of investors to save what they could of their old company. “It’s your baby. It was sad to see,” she said. Vogelaar said they tried to save as many jobs as possible, but Shapeways fell into two legal jurisdictions: the US and the Netherlands. Their team was able to scoop up the European factory, plus all the intellectual property and naming rights in both countries. They could not recover the American manufacturing side of the business, which was sold off in parts to clear the debt.
Vogelaar said the core 3D printing business was still profitable, and that’s where the new Shapeways has started over. Proud of their efforts to save jobs in her homeland, she still regrets the loss of the Shapeways Shops marketplace. She knows many creators earn a living by selling their designs through Shapeways.
The marketplace – and all its digital data – was lost during the bankruptcy. That data belonged to individuals who used the Shapeways platform, and it could not be sold, even to well-meaning investors like Vogelaar.
This is where Thangs enters the chat. Vogelaar told me rebuilding the consumer marketplace is high on her list to restore Shapeways to its former glory. She said the old management team had let the consumer side diminish and limp on outdated software.
Thangs are nothing less than cutting-edge.
Thangs’ parent company is Physna, a software business from Ohio that created a geometric search engine sold to large business and government enterprises to manage internal 3D filing systems. Thangs is a project created to show off what that search engine could do in a public space.
It rapidly evolved into its own entity, with a growing community of designers and makers looking to feed hungry 3D printers. Thangs expanded its platform by giving designers a way to earn a full-time income through selling memberships and individual models in the Thangs marketplace. The site also hosts weekly contests to keep the community engaged.
Vogelaar recognized a kindred spirit in Thangs, and a deal was struck. “Thangs 3D Inc.” is now a subsidiary of Shapeways, and will be the consumer facing side of the company. Physna retains a minor share and will continue to offer support. Shapeways itself continues to offer advanced 3D printing and prototyping services to business clients.
Nothing obvious will change for ordinary makers seeking 3D files at Thangs, other than a new “print to Shapeways” button, allowing users to purchase a physical print directly from the designer. “We want to retain the spirit of Thangs and add to its ability,” Vogelaar said. Like the old Shapeways Shops, designers will receive some profit from models sold as prints. She added that Shapeways is reaching out to its former shop owners to invite them to rejoin through Thangs and help guide new improvements to the system.
Designers will set parameters for how their files are printed so customers will get perfect prints using the materials designers had envisioned. Vogelaar also said that designers are welcome to continue offering digital files for home printing, and Shapeways will not discourage free downloads. Her company wishes to nurture the creative community and provide 3D printing services to expand Thangs’ offerings.
I asked Vogelaar if she really believed there was still a place for Shapeways printing services from ordinary consumers, especially after companies like Bambu Lab have made printing at home so much easier. “Of course! We make parts that don’t look like they were 3D printed. We can print in metal and full color, we offer vapor smoothing, painting and finishing.” She also noted that her company could add heat-set inserts and a certain amount of assembly. They also provide services for fine jewelry, starting with a 3D-printed wax mold that can be filled with anything from copper and bronze to platinum or electroplated with rhodium.
She said combining Thangs and Shapeways fills in the gaps the two companies had while standing independently. Designers can run an Etsy-style shop without the hassle of printing and shipping their goods, and consumers can purchase prints of unique files without owning expensive equipment.
You can now print your files in gold plating if you have the cash.
