Just saw Stratasys unveiled 11 new printers in response to HP.

Just saw Stratasys unveiled 11 new printers in response to HP. This would indicate Statasys are growing massively, and it would seem that this is very much due to the rapid growth in 3D printing over the last few years. vs the previous 20 they held patents in the technology. My conclusion is that the open source movement and adoption of the technology has brought the whole industry forward allowing the growth they are experiencing and thus their increased profits. would it then not stand to reason that while a company should protect its IP it could be in their best interest to release the technology and designs for non commercial applications if there is a chance it will improve the industry as a whole.

True, but I have a feeling that Stratasys management doesn’t see it quite like that.

No doubt they’re in it for the ROI but that’s not a bad thing, it motivates then to improve their products. My train of thought is that this is the best example of open source elevating a related industry and they have to consider that sharing some ideas are not a bad thing. Imagine if they released just the projects they didn’t implement for non commercial use. Say a print head design that didn’t quite make the cut, however in a community environment it would be tinkered on and redesigned to where it may become a part they could use in say a cheaper brand that seems to be having issues with print heads.