The moment you key in the word Stratasys on, you would find a multitude of blogs, reviews, and comprehensive reports on how it is one of the best and high-end 3D printing companies.
Upfront, this should already give you an idea as to why it is so expensive. Digging deeper, you will find out that there are more reasons as to its high-end status.
If you are wondering about the other reasons as to why Stratasys is so expensive, this post will give you a bigger picture by giving you seven reasons and more.
What is Stratasys?
Stratasys is a world-renowned, American-Israeli 3D printer manufacturer, additive manufacturing, and software developer of 3D production systems specifically for digitals manufacturing solutions and rapid prototyping. It was established in 1989 in Minnesota, USA, and now fully integrated in Israel.
As a company, it is the polymer additive manufacturing and 3D printing partner of various A-level companies. Stratasys is especially popular in the fields of consumer products, healthcare, automotive, and aerospace.
Some of the more prominent partners of Stratasys are Lenovo, Epson, Minolta, Blackfriars, University of California and Allison and Partners. In the automotive industry, it is a direct partner of Ford, Honda, Volvo, and Audi, among others.
Although a US mainstay, Stratasys is also influential in many countries in the world. As per distribution report, the main markets of Stratasys in terms of countries are the UK, Canada, France, India, Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, and Singapore.
Why is Stratasys So Expensive?
Being a frontrunner comes with a price, literally and figuratively. In this section, we shall square out the prime reasons as to why Stratasys is so expensive.
While this list is not exclusive and may be disputable, these are more than enough to give you the view on the high-end status of Stratasys in the 3D printing industry.
The World’s Most Comprehensive Online Manufacturing Platform:
Forbes, the New York Times, and leading data analytics Enlyft, would all agree that Stratasys is one of the world’s most comprehensive online manufacturing platforms of polymer additives, 3D prints, and other 3D products.
With 13 offices worldwide and a wide range of 3D printing technologies and solutions, they are indeed true to their tagline, printing the standard. More than this, they offer a covetable operations system for low lead times on quality products.
An Online Business Model:
Stratasys, as have been said, offers a commendable online business model. As a company, their end-to-end business approach is must emulated.
Aside from manufacturing 3D printers, materials, and other equipment, they also offer additive manufacturing, consultation, and software integration.
Most importantly, international grade customer service and high CSR are part of Stratasys’ online business model.
A Wide Selection of Products:
The products of Stratasys cuts across various fields and applications. Stratasys has almost complete 3D printing solutions from FDM to SAF.They also incorporate FDM, Polyjet and Stereolithography Technology in the production of their products.
Aside from 3D printers and software technologies, Stratasys also offer injection moldings, and a wide range of 3D printing materials such as thermoplastics, metals, and resins, among others.
Wide Selection of Material:
As have been mentioned, one of the strengths of Stratasys is the range of materials that they offer. As a competitive industry, you would be happy to know that Stratasys is equipped with the highest end materials such as FDM, Polyjet, Stereolithography, trademarked DLP, and trademarked Powder Bed Fusion.
You can find data sheets, analysis, and conformity certificates of their materials on their website.
Brand Reputation:
There is no question about the brand reputation of Stratasys. It is a very talked about brand, with major 3D printing news outlets and data analytics monitoring the rise and fall of price ranges of their products.
Stratasys has been a well-known collaborator of brands such as Lenovo, Volvo, Honda, think tanks, aerospace engineering, and other fields.
Outsourcing Products:
One of the major reasons why Stratasys is also expensive is because they outsource. Not only do they encourage reselling their products but they also outsource some parts of their products for assembly.
This two-way outsourcing keeps them on the 3D industry map and at the same time, up-ending other brands and products which outsource from them.
By Partnering With Hundreds of Specialized Manufacturers:
This is one of the major reasons why Stratasys products are expensive. Drawing from their outsourcing operations, they demand only the best parts and products from their hundreds of partners who are specialized manufacturers.
From one high-end manufacturer to another, operations and total costs are truly spiked up.
Pros & Cons: Are Stratasys Parts Worth It?
Indeed, Stratasys is a world-renowned brand for all the good reasons. Nonetheless, it is not a perfect brand. As such, even Stratasys has its own share of pros and cons. In this section, we answer the underlying question, are Stratasys parts worth it?
Pros:
If you want to check out the range of products and services from Stratasys, here is a heads-up of the pros that you can get from them.
- Online Quotes: When it comes to convenience, Stratasys is a dependable brand. They offer instant online quotation and consultation. From designs, materials, and machining inquiries, you can ask them anything about your desired transaction. Follow-through consultations and customer service are also part of their online quoting and inquiries.
- A Wide Selection of Products & Materials: If you check customer reviews and the main site of Stratasys, you would really find a wide selection of products and materials. Navigating through their page, you will find at least 200+ additive machines, and more than 100 types of materials.This alone gives you proper leverage in whatever product you are going for.
- No MOQ: The best thing about Stratasys is that they do not require a minimum order quantity. Thus, even start-up businesses and small time 3D products bulk can order from Stratasys. This is a major convenience and cost-saving benefit for anyone of you who would want to transact with Stratasys.
- Fast Delivery: Aside from the benefit of online quoting and no MOQ, you can also depend on Stratasys when it comes to fast delivery of your orders. You can monitor your transactions, the logistics for your orders, and wait at your doorstep with ease.
Cons:
To balance out and make you more objective in your choice, you must also know some of the cons of Stratasys. In this section, we narrow down some drawbacks for your reference.
- Outsourcing from different manufacturers: Knowing that Stratasys do not 100% manufacture their parts, you would expect that their product costs are high. Note that they do not only outsource from just any manufacturers, they only partner with equally high-end ones. Hence, if you are on a budget, Stratasys is definitely never on your range and one factor is their outsourcing partners.
- Difficult to do quality control because of outsourcing: Aside from the high cost of their products due to outsourcing, quality control is also a drawback. Of course, what is at negotiation here is Stratasys and their outsourced manufacturing partners. Whatever transpires between them, you cannot control. This is a drawback that you should be aware of when it comes to Stratasys.
- Trading and company price is higher than manufacturer: It all boils down to the fact that Stratasys distributes at a trading price higher than their outsourced manufacturer. While understandable due to the computation of the overall production cost, it is not entirely beneficial for the clients. As is the case, you should already know early on that the trading and company price of Stratasys is higher than most manufacturers.
Where is Stratasys Located, and Where Do Its Products Come From?
Stratasys, as have been aforementioned, is now integrated in Israel. Thus, best know that it was founded in Minnesota, USA but is now headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.
Mostly, the products of Stratasys come from Israel. But with their expansion, it has established subsidiaries which also contribute to the production flow of their products.
With their subsidiaries, the new product flow of Stratasys also comes from the US, Estonia, and Germany. Overall, most of their product flows come from Israel and the US, specifically in the states of Boston, New Hampshire, New York, and Minnesota.
Is Stratasys Good Quality?
The answer is a resounding YES. A lot of business news and analytics, and all reputable at that, would really commend the quality of Stratasys.
The only issue associated with Stratasys is its expensiveness. One of the main reasons why is their third-party manufacturing. However, in the last quarter of 2021, it has been laid down by data analytics and reviews that Stratasys itself has found a way to curb their high pricing.
Some of the best things that clients love about Stratasys and that business people rave over it is the durability, form and parts of their products, and the high-end features of their machines.
Who Are Stratasys Competitors?
The 3D printing industry is a very competitive field. As such, you would find that Stratasys has a lot of competitors.
In this section, we run down some of the basis of competition between Stratasys and other 3D printing brands. This provides for more objectiveness in your 3D printing choice.
Stratasys VS. Fictiv:
Fictiv is one of the top five main competitors of Stratasys. Fictiv was established in 1999. Nonetheless, it has roared up unceasingly through the years.
As to experience and length of time in the industry, Stratasys is the clear winner. As to annual revenue, Stratasys and Fictiv are both within the $5-50M mark.
When it comes to fields of application, Stratasys is more diverse compared to Fictiv. As to operations, Fictiv ranks first in diversity score, and net promoter score.
Stratasys VS. Hubs:
Hubs is listed as one of the best alternatives for Stratasys. Budget-wise, the 3D printers and filaments of Hubs are winners. In the height of the pandemic, 3D printing companies tried to recover.
Stratasys tied up with Origins while Protolabs tied with Hubs. Thus, when it comes to brand reputation, and business models, Stratasys and Hubs are highly at par with each other.
Stratasys VS. Xometry:
The main win of Xometry over Stratasys is that the former is entirely a manufacturing company. As have been laid down here, Stratasys outsources but Xometry does not.
Hence, there is no wonder as to why Xometry is now being courted by Stratasys itself to become one of its manufacturing partners in the third quarter of 2023, according to verified news.
Stratasys VS. Protolabs:
Protolabs is considered as one of the top five 3D printing companies in the world alongside Stratasys. Although relatively smaller than Stratasys, Protolabs’ strength is in its more focused 3D printing parts manufacturing and assembly.
Like Stratasys, Protolabs also outsources but to a lesser and more exclusive degree. As to product pricing, Protolabs are also less pricey. Nonetheless, Stratasys has a wider range of products and services.
Stratasys VS. Kemal:
Kemal manufacturing is a leading Chinese 3D printing company. Compared to Stratasys, they manufacture parts and 3D printing products that are outsourced by Western 3D printing companies like Stratasys.
With their controlled and exclusive facilities, they are at par with Stratasys when it comes to manufacturing capability, no MOQ policy, and quality control.
Should I Manufacture Parts With Stratasys?
All things considered, the answer to should you manufacture parts with Stratasys depends entirely on your budget. The only issue of Stratasys products at this point is their expensiveness.
While there is no yet clear-cut solution in terms of lessening their price, the 3D printing industry has come up with a list of viable Stratasys alternatives which you can consider.
Nonetheless, if you have the budget and would still want to go for Stratasys for any of the reasons we have cited here, then yes, manufacturing parts with Stratasys should not be a problem.
Conclusion
The ultimate objective in this post is for you to have greater understanding as to why Stratasys is so expensive. To answer such, there are various reasons.
One is that they are in-demand due to their high-end status. Second, they do not entirely manufacture, rather, they outsource from third-party partners.
Third, they have one of the widest selection of materials and products. And fourth, as a top performing global 3D printing manufacturing platform, they basically earned it.
FAQs
To cap it all off, here are some frequently asked questions about Stratasys and 3D printing which you should know of.
References:
https://enlyft.com/tech/products/stratasys
https://www.stratasys.com/en/about-us/history/
https://www.goengineer.com/blog/stratasys-reducing-cost-fdm-3d-printing
https://info.traceparts.com/testimonial/stratasys/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-15-3d-printing-companies-195614832.html
