What happened to Shapeways?

[jpolacchi]

Has Shapeways gone the way of the the Dodo bird?

[Richard Baker]

It's a bit of a mess- Shapeways has essentially shut down but while some heard about it, many people with extensive catalogs of products being sold there were told nothing.
I got in contact with TonyRR and he is going to be printing his stuff himself so his offerings are still available but turn around time will be longer for orders.
I think many will be trying to do the same, if you have any contact information send them a note and see

[jpolacchi]

Tony...you mean 308 bits? The only way I know ow to contact him is through the Shapeways web site. So...they didn't close their doors, just the web site is screwed up?

[southwestforests]

So...they didn't close their doors, just the web site is screwed up?

Shapeways ceases operations and files for bankruptcy

by Sam Davies

3 July 2024

11:41

Shapeways has ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy ‘after considering all strategic alternatives.’

The publicly listed company published a Form 8-K on July 2nd, 2024, detailing that it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Filing for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Shapeways has confirmed each of its subsidiaries have also ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy.

https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-ma ... ankruptcy/

Shapeways Executives Resign as 3D Printing Service Files for Bankruptcy
July 3, 2024 by Michael Molitch-Hou 3D Printing3D Printing ServicesBusinessStocks

Another notable element to the story is the sale of Shapeways’ software division, excluding Shapeways’ proprietary InShape software, to OTTO dms, Inc., an entity wholly-owned by Shapeways’ CEO Greg Kress and software unit executive Greg Rothman. This could mean that the executives were able to squirrel away some assets that could be valuable in their own right and which they did not want impacted by the debt to 3DP Custom Manufacture.

Given the technological value and market reach of Shapeways’ assets, there is still potential that it could be picked up by a company that sees the business at being worth more than its debt.

https://3dprint.com/311136/shapeways-ex ... ankruptcy/

Shapeways lives again as Manuevo in Europe
Former Shapeways BV staff acquired the company's assets following bankruptcy in July 2024
Photo of Tess Boissonneault Tess BoissonneaultAugust 6, 2024

Earlier this summer, we were sorry but not altogether shocked to report that Shapeways had filed for bankruptcy. The company, which was founded in 2007 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, was one of the AM industry’s first B2C and B2B 3D printing services. Now, barely a month later, from the “ashes” of Shapeways, a new company has risen: Manuevo BV.

Manuevo is founded by the former Shapeways BV team based out of the Dutch city, who were successful in acquiring the defunct company’s assets. Specifically, Manuevo has acquired the assets of Shapeways BV, a subsidiary of US-based Shapeways Holding Inc, which went public in 2021 and experienced falling shares on the market. According to Manuevo, “Although Shapeways BV was a profitable company and delivered 16 million products to customers worldwide, it was unfortunately dragged into the bankruptcy of the American parent organization in early July.”

Now, the former Shapeways BV team is bringing the successful 3D printing service back to continue to serve clients in Europe, the UK and US. (In a LinkedIn post, it specifies that while it is operating from its Dutch base today, customers in the US, UK and Europe “will receive their orders without incurring import duties.”) The new 3D printing service will however mainly be focusing on B2B customers ordering small and medium series 3D print jobs from industries like automotive, aerospace, architecture, medical technology and semiconductor.

https://www.voxelmatters.com/shapeways- ... in-europe/

[jpolacchi]

[southwestforests]

Email from Shapeways this morning:

Shapeways
From:newsletter@shapeways.com
To:
Tue, Dec 3 at 5:20 AM

Shapeways is Coming Home

Dear ,

I am delighted to announce that Shapeways is coming home.

Two original co-founders along with the highly-skilled leadership team from our Eindhoven factory have stepped in to steward the company into its next chapter. After Shapeways Inc. filed for bankruptcy in July, we knew we had to resurrect the company and preserve the digital manufacturing engine we all helped to build - a combination of dedicated, skilled people, cutting-edge machinery and sophisticated software. Moving forward, our focus is on rebuilding Shapeways and leveraging our digital manufacturing engine for our customers’ success.

We regret to inform you that our marketplace cannot be revived as it previously existed, as all marketplace accounts and accompanying data were deleted in the bankruptcy. We still believe in the Shapeways Shops concept and are actively pursuing new ways to replace this service for the Shapeways community. This exploration will take time and we ask for your patience on this journey. We hope to find a solution that allows you to access a similarly eclectic array of unique objects as you came to expect from the Shapeways marketplace. Stay tuned for details.

If you are a creator yourself you can upload and order your models here - we’d love to have you back.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the new Shapeways in our press release, here. We have compiled a FAQ around the bankruptcy and loss of the marketplace here. And you can learn a bit more about me, the new leadership team, and our vision for Shapeways here.

Warmly,

Marleen Vogelaar, CEO

Hmm, interesting.

Was link to Shapeways blog post,

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/shapeway ... ace-update

Scale Models
Jewelry
Tabletop Gaming
Home Decor
Art
Tech
Education

Shapeways, The Community
Shapeways Marketplace Update

We wish the circumstances were different, but unfortunately the marketplace won’t be available in the way it existed before July 2024. We understand this has had a considerable impact on some of our marketplace shop owners and their customers, which we lament. Below we explain what led to this change, and provide links for additional information.

In July of 2024, after experiencing mounting financial difficulty, Shapeways Inc. filed for bankruptcy. In November of 2024 the management team of the Eindhoven factory along with two of the original Shapeways founders – both of whom have been out of the business for over a decade – joined together to resurrect the company. The new management team has completed the purchase of all available Shapeways IP assets. Unfortunately, all marketplace data was lost in the bankruptcy – we could not acquire it, nor was it available to be acquired. Additionally, the technology that the marketplace ran on was outdated and not scalable. Due to this combination of factors beyond our control, the marketplace cannot be revived as it previously existed. We still believe in the Shapeways Shops concept and are actively pursuing new ways to replace this service for the Shapeways community. This exploration will take time and we humbly ask for your patience on this journey.

We are building a small group of former shopowners to be advisors and a sounding board during this exploration. If you would like to be an active contributor on our journey to define the best solution, please contact us at shopcouncil@shapeways.com.

To learn more about the recent changes at Shapeways and what to expect in this new chapter, see our most recent Press Release. To get to know our new CEO, Marleen Vogelaar, and her vision for Shapeways moving forward, see her letter to our customers and community. If you have specific questions about the marketplace including account data and the status of orders placed before the bankruptcy, refer to our FAQ. For any questions that are not answered in the above documents, please contact us.

Finally, to receive Shapeways announcements via email, please join our mailing list.

I'm not sure what all that adds up to for us hobbyists given previous material which stated Shapeways was going to be doing only Business to Business, B2B.

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/a-letter ... n-vogelaar

In this new chapter, Shapeways will enhance and expand our digital manufacturing engine to deliver B2B solutions tailored to custom products, spare parts management, machinery lifespan optimization, and supply chain efficiency.

[jpolacchi]

I was going to comment on this as well, seems repetitive if I do so I'll refrain. Sounds like you can't get kit print upgrades. I think you need to have the STL file already and you send it to them and they print what you want for you. 308 bits made a great many upgraded parts for the Falcon be it the old MPC kit, Fine Molds, or Bandai as did a few others. How do you contact these guys to get prints made now? Whether they make them for you or if they are willing to sell their files to have prints made?