Former open source champion Prusa now guards its designs with strict secrecy
State-backed rivals have made open source 3D printing nearly impossible
Chinese subsidies shift global competition in desktop 3D printer production
Cheap Chinese patents create obstacles far beyond Europe’s market borders
The open source movement in 3D printing once thrived on shared designs, community projects, and collaboration across borders.
However, Josef Prusa, head of Prusa Research, has announced, “open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead.”
The remark stands out because his company long championed open designs, sharing files and innovations with the wider community.Economic support and patent challenges
Prusa built his early business in a small basement in Prague, packing frames into pizza boxes while relying on contributions from others who shared his philosophy.
What has changed, he now argues, is not consumer demand but the imbalance created when the Chinese government labeled 3D printing a “strategic industry” in 2020.
In his blog post, Prusa cites a study from the Rhodium Group which describes how China backs its firms with grants, subsidies, and easier credit.
