When we first heard about 3D printing, we couldn't believe our ears and eyes. The technology was that of a dream, and almost out of reach. Then, before we knew it, crowdfunding campaigns for 3D printers were almost a dime a dozen. One successfully funded campaign after another. Ever since the M3D launched its own campaign a few months back for the $299 Micro 3D Printer, bringing in over $3 million in funds, manufacturers thought to one-up this idea. This created a recent trend in crowdfunded 3D printers, affordability. Each day, a cheaper one. But something is happening in the market. It's in a quasi-limbo state, where living up to the expectations of a consumer 3D printer is harder than having a gigantic number of backers. Making sure the product runs the way it should (and isn't junk) isn't always followed through, especially when one is focused on forcing the prices down to levels required to pull the masses in.

The Mota 3D Printer, a $99 high performance 3D printer that started off very successfully on Kickstarter, has now been pulled due to inability to match productivity with cost efficiency. The Mota company was presumably banking on pulling in a multi-million dollar raise in order to make their units workable. Only a few days after launching the campaign on Kickstarter, the company pulled the project with a disappointing note stating:

“I wish there was a way to offer truly high quality, highly precise 3D printers at incredibly low prices. That would bring about the mass market adoption that this technology so needs. The reality is, like any technology, it is expensive to develop and manufacture.”

The Mota campaign raised nearly $65,000 in a few days. But after listening and reading comments from backers saying “go back, work harder, and find a way to reduce the price even more as well as make the technology more open”, they realized how unrealistic such expectations were. So what happens when we find out that we promised something that cannot be delivered? Something whose quality is outside outstanding? To realize that delivering a product with such a high standard of quality would cost premium, not $99, is quite the wake up call. The company also received complaints from customers regarding a proprietary cartridge design that would have required buyers to be locked into buying expensive filament from the company- something backers weren't aware of right away. Some things are truly too good to be true.

Looks like a case of running without the fuel. But Mota, in finding the “harsh realities and tough economics of building in an emerging space like 3D printing”, did right by choosing not to take the backers money and under-deliver. What a lesson to learn, and it looks like 'Mota-type' failures could also be a dime a dozen in the coming years. Just days after Mota's unraveling came bad news from another campaign, the Teckma3D printer, who canceled their Kickstarter campaign after realizing its poor price-to-performance ratio. Consumers want it all, but perhaps we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves, especially when getting that many customers' hopes up.