First founded in 2012, the U.S. company Formlabs has been making powerful SLA 3D printers and winning awards. And Michael Sorkin is their General Manager for Formlabs Europe.

Before that, Michael Sorkin co-founded iGo3D in 2013. Together with Tobias Redlin, he build it into a 50-person strong company. In his time there, Sorkin helped grow the company to an international team of 50, expanding outside of Germany to the Netherlands, Poland and Russia. He also currently sits on the advisory board of the highly important, global 3D Printing Association.

These are Michael Sorkin’s Predictions for 3D Printing in 2016

“2015 represented the end of the hype for consumer 3D printing. Users realized that 3D printing is cool and amazing but not (yet) applicable in every aspect of personal life. Of course, you can have a 3D printer in your home, but what are you going to do with it?

We believe that 2016 will bring a major focus on reliability for desktop 3D printers. Now people know what a printer can do, but they need to see that it can actually do it – and do it reliably every time. This will represent the biggest empowerment for small and medium size companies, entrepreneurs and businesses who need to prototype their parts every day, all day.”

If you want more of Michael Sorkin’s insights on the 3D printing industry , please read All3DP’s in-depth interview with him right here.