Is Shapeways Dying?

[kiwi_al]

It may not be dead yet, if you read the statement by the Plant Manager:  "Confident about the sound operation and supported by a unified team we are gearing up to restart the business on our own account. Please reach out for any business opportunities if relevant!"

There may be a staff buy out but I would say it's a long shot. But whatever happens it did make a big impact.

[C855B]

...There may be a staff buy out but I would say it's a long shot. ...

Very long shot.

Chapter 7 bankruptcies are "Everybody OUT!", bolting the door behind them, and tossing the key into the nearby river. That the website is still up attests to that - the employee, employees or vendors formerly in charge of the site are prohibited from touching anything, it is all in the hands of the trustee and supervising judge at this point. Prospective saviors have to file with the trustee and get judge approval (i.e., a hearing), convincing them that the value of the liquidatable assets is materially diminished if [whatever] is not immediately supervised or otherwise tended to. Chapter 7s are not a means to resurrect the business, they are a "cash out everything we can and lick our wounds" situation.

I'm not an expert on this by any means, just a hapless vendor on a creditor list who went through this exercise, getting about 3¢ on the dollar by the time everything shook out... three years later... and that was after an "emergency" hearing to disburse the remaining cash assets before the entire pot was eaten by the bankruptcy attorneys. Nobody wins in US bankruptcies... 'cept the lawyers.

[Jim Starbuck]

I hope the many excellent .stl files will survive and get channeled to suppliers with access to state of the art printers.
I appreciate what Shapeways has done because I have several models that wouldn’t exist otherwise but the material they’re made from is a bitch to work with.

Jim

[RAIL N SCALE]

Shapeways ceases operations and files for bankruptcy
We have heard through the media that Shapeways has filed for bankruptcy. This means that from now on there will no longer be RAILNSCALE products available through Shapeways. Although it still seems possible to place orders, we therefore advise against placing orders with Shapeways. Thanks to Shapeways we were able to establish RAILNSCALE in 2013. We therefore regret the end of this company all the more.

These recent developments have no consequences for the supply of RAILNSCALE products via DM-Toys and Modellbahn Union. You can make full use of the services via DM-Toys and Modellbahn Union including our latest innovation the hand painted RAILNSCALE Collectibles!

Best regards,
Maurice | RAILNSCALE | https://railnscale.com/

[TLOC]

Agree with Mike on this. Having dealt with bankruptcies on a daily basis for the 21 years prior to retirement Chapter 7 means it’s closed up and done. If you are owed money by Shapeways or they have possession of your print files only a claim filed for them will get you a voice at the hearing.

Major creditors, like the lending bank will get 1st dibs on any sellable assets after the Bankrupcty Court does their due diligence. I am not sure how them being a public company plays into this Chapter 7 filing but I’m sure the board and management team saw this coming and cashed out before the filing. While that’s a crummy move it is legal

I stopped buying from Shapeways when 45 days after I made a purchase and tried to buy again the price went from $35 to $135+.

[Chris333]

It was 2018 when I stopped.

[jagged ben]

Frankly this sucks.  I just ordered some detail parts via Shapeways in the last couple weeks.  I don't have the time right now to get a printer and delve into that aspect of the hobby, and I may never get there. I don't have enough connections to people with printers or the knowledge (yet) to deal with the files.  My fear is that the many products available through Shapeways will disappear or get diffused to a hundred hard to find and unnavigable sites.  I sure do hope that a suitable  replacement pops up, and if there were a model train focused one that would be fine. 

[jagged ben]

Let me just add, a little more positively...
Thank goodness for TRW.  I'm sure this place will be invaluable in tracking down where stuff ends up (hopefully) becoming available.

[jwaldo]

Well this is another blow to my detail part supply. Sure Shapeways was getting stupidly expensive, but it's going to be a long time before I'm in a position to invest in a printer of my own.

[chessie system fan]

So what's another use for bestine?

[peteski]

So what's another use for bestine?

Cleaning grease and oil off N scale mechanisms. 

[MetroRedLine]

If ONLY they had a better search engine...  

In all seriousness, as basically a middle-man entity, Shapeways was going to go out of business eventually - best-case scenario, everyone would have their own 3-D printers and they would be rendered obsolete. We're not quite at that stage yet, but it's clear that their business model isn't sustainable.

I've only bought two products via Shapeways, both painting stencil tools. I haven't bought any train or vehicle models. I haven't gotten full-bore into 3-D printed train models because the whole paint preparation part for me is a big pain. I'm sure one day in the future, 3D-printed models won't need to do any of that, but we're obviously not there yet.

[garethashenden]

I haven't gotten full-bore into 3-D printed train models because the whole paint preparation part for me is a big pain. I'm sure one day in the future, 3D-printed models won't need to do any of that, but we're obviously not there yet.

Its mostly just Shapeways' process that needs extensive cleaning. The resin models I print are ready for paint once they're cured. No wax is involved in the process.

[wazzou]

Its mostly just Shapeways' process that needs extensive cleaning. The resin models I print are ready for paint once they're cured. No wax is involved in the process.

Yes, this.

[C855B]

So what's another use for bestine?

Burnishing artwork to remove stray rubber cement and paste-up wax before sending off to the pre-press camera for the printing plate negative.

Oh. Never mind. That was its original purpose. Printers haven't done it that way for... I dunno... a few decades?