3D Hubs, which changed its name to just Hubs in 2021, began in 2013 as a peer-to-peer network of 3D printing services that enabled anyone to quickly and cheaply order a print, usually from a maker nearby. It was a “hub” of printer services. But, just as 3D printing has evolved and grown into a multibillion-dollar business, Hubs too now focuses on professionals.
Today, there are hundreds of manufacturers in its global network of 3D printers, and Hubs is still a hub, taking in orders from customers and assigning them out to various manufacturers. Through this model, the service can offer a broad range of materials, finishes, technologies, and production locations.
Although Hubs is great, there are other printing services out there. In fact, there are so many, it can be hard to narrow down the options. In this article, we’ll introduce you to the best alternatives to Hubs. Before getting started, we’ll go over what we looked at to narrow down the list of options.
Comparing 3D Printing Services
There are a LOT of 3D printing services out there, so who should you go to?
Craftcloud, All3DP’s 3D printing service marketplace, answers that question for you. With real-time quotes drawn from a global network of providers, you can easily find the right service and price for your needs. In fact, setting Craftcloud apart from the rest is the variety of quotes and offers you can select from. You can pick the lowest price or the fastest delivery, choose the location and the manufacturer, or select the Craftcloud recommended option, which is a combination of best price and fastest delivery.
If you know that 3D printing is what you need, Craftcloud’s wide range of partners, international delivery, and attentive customer service can help you make your final decision.
But perhaps you’d still like to know which options exist out there. In that case, let’s get started with our list of the top Hubs alternatives!
What Makes a Good Service?
Many factors go into making a good 3D printing service or network. We took the following factors into considerations to help us narrow down our list of alternatives:
- Price: Prices should be competitive and accessible on the service’s website.
- Speed: Likewise, the service has competitive and reliable delivery times, so you’re not waiting too long for your 3D printed parts to arrive.
- Materials: The service offers a wide range of different material options, including different colors and finishes.
- Technologies: Customers can choose from a variety of 3D printing technologies, and find the right one for their specific project.
- Customer service: Customer experience can also distinguish manufacturing services. The services on our list all have a customer service team that can help simplify the process.
- Easy-to-use interface: Each service has an intuitive, easy-to-use website.
But, most importantly, you want quality prints. There’s no definitive answer to the best platform since every customer has specific priorities. However, the more you know about materials and technologies, the easier it will be to select the best fit.
Perhaps you need a quick plastic prototype, and price and speed is your priority. In that case, FDM 3D printing using an economical PLA material is a wise choice. If your part needs to impress with injection molding-like quality, fine detail, and smooth services, you’ll want a resin 3D printing technology, such as SLA, LCD, or DLP. If your part is going to be used as a tool or take impact, you’ll want it made out of something sturdy, such as carbon fiber nylon, which is usually printed on an SLS 3D printer.
If you’re not 100% sure which technology is the right fit, look for a service that offers a range of technologies. The best option for your part may not actually be 3D printing at all. Perhaps it’s cheaper to injection mold or CNC machine your part. A good service will know the alternatives.
The material range offered by a service is the next important consideration. The material you choose is vital because it defines the properties of your printed component and often significantly affects the part’s strength, durability, and other aspects. There are actually hundreds of different types of filament alone, not to mention 3D printing polymer powders and metals. A good service will make their material offerings easy to understand.
Next, you’ll have to find the services that can produce parts to the quality that you need. Almost anybody can attempt to make a part from a provided model. What matters is how accurate, durable, and well-finished the part is, especially in the context of your specific application.
With the more popular, industry-oriented services, quality is usually top-notch. But for that, you’ll also have to pay a premium. For other services, online reviews and company websites can be very helpful in judging relative quality. The services we’ve picked are prized for their professional standards and dedication to accurate manufacturing.
Location is also an important factor to consider. The most sustainable option is to have a part printed close to where you need it. Perhaps you need to send 10 parts to 10 locations, some services can print each of them in a location closer to your customer so your shipping charges are low.
In addition to looking for a range of technologies and materials, we’ve considered the platform or service’s other key features in our list. This could be a forgiving return policy, humans for customer support, and direct contact with the local manufacturer responsible for producing your print.
These are all factors to consider carefully. Having extensive resources, dedicated support services, and an intuitive website can make the difference between a suboptimal experience and a smooth one.
With that, let’s jump in!
Materialise OnSite and i.Materialise
Materialise is a company that offers worldwide, industrial-grade 3D printing on demand. Its services come in two flavors: Materialise OnSite, targeted to industrial clients, and i.Materialise, oriented toward consumers.
Materialise OnSite has the largest fleet of 3D printers in Europe, enabling it to produce parts within 48 hours with their Fast Lane service. With its industrial orientation, OnSite has a higher minimum order quantity, but in turn opens up a world of extra materials and finishes. The service is also designed with customer support in mind, featuring direct contact with in-house engineers and offering eight languages.
i.Materialise, on the other hand, is a more consumer-oriented service. With a lower minimum order, you’re losing material choices and finishes, along with the elevated level of customer support seen in OnSite. While you won’t have engineers on the phone for assistance, you still will have access to the i.Materialise Forum and Help Center. i.Materialise still, however, does make use of Materialise’s industrial 3D printers, so printing quality is by no means lacking.
One feature that i.Materialise does boast over Materialise Onsite is its online marketplace. Designers can sell designs that are printed and delivered by i.Materialise.
For both industrial clients and consumers alike, these services offered by Materialise are excellent options for quick turnaround times, especially for European orders.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials:
- Materialise Onsite: ABS, Polycarbonate PC, PC-ABS, Ultem, Nylon (SLS/MJF), Polypropylene (PP), TPU, PA 12-GF, PA 12-FR, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Inconel, and more
- i.Materialise: ABS, TPU, Alumide, Polypropylene (PP), Resin, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Silver
- Technologies:
- Materialise Onsite: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLA, SLS, MJF, FDM, Metal, PolyJet, Vacuum Casting)
- i.Materialise: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLA, SLS, MJF, FDM, Metal, PolyJet, Wax Casting)
Sculpteo
Second on our list we have Sculpteo, another 3D printing service. Like Materialise above, Sculpteo delivers prints from industrial-grade machines to a worldwide market.
In keeping with its competitors, Scuplteo offers a wide range of materials and a number of tools to analyze, repair, and optimize models for the best possible experience. It also offers an online marketplace for individuals to sell designs to consumers. Sculpteo accepts numerous file formats.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: Nylon (SLS/MJF), PA12-GB, PA12, TPU, Resin, PLA, Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Titanium, Brass, Bronze, Silver, Plated Metal, and more
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLS, SLA, DLP/LCD, MJF, PolyJet, FDM, DLS, Metal, Binder Jetting, Wax Casting, SLM)
Shapeways
Next up, we have Shapeways with a clean, user-friendly interface that accepts the most common file formats. Shapeways brings industrial 3D printers directly to consumers. User experience is backed by access to a help center and direct sales team contact.
Shapeways also offers more than just a 3D printing service; it also features an online marketplace, where consumers can buy models that are uploaded and sold by designers. Shapeways then prints the parts and delivers them to your door.
For consumer audiences interested in 3D printing, Shapeways is an attractive option for its user-oriented website and industrial machinery.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: Nylon (SLS/MJF), PA 11, PA 12-GB (SLS/MJF), Polypropylene, Resin, TPU, TPE, Aluminum, Accura 60, Steel, Plated Metal, Plastic, Brass, Copper, Platinum, Silver, Gold, Bronze, Sandstone
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLS, Binder Jetting, MJF, SLA, SLM, Material Jetting, Wax Casting)
Xometry
US-based Xometry is another well-established player in the manufacturing service space, offering services including 3D printing (in plastic and metal, of course), CNC machining, and injection molding, among many others. Their list of clients includes the likes of General Electric, BMW, and NASA. Given that, you’re likely in good hands.
Xometry’s network of over 10,000 manufacturers means that, even if you throw a massive order at it, you can still expect quick turnaround and quality parts.
One interesting nice feature is Xometry’s finishing services network, where clients can be connected to multiple different world-class finishing suppliers to find the most competitive price.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: ABS, ASA, Polycarbonate (PC), Nylon 12, Resin, Ultem, Aluminum, Copper, Stainless Steel, Brass, Inconel, Acrylic, PEEK, Polypropylene (PP), PTFE, Titanium, Zinc, Urethane (Rigid and Flexible), PLA, PVC, PET, TPE, TPV
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (FDM, MJF, SLA, SLS, PolyJet, DLS, metal, metal binder jetting), CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, urethane casting, injection molding
Quickparts
Quickparts, as the name implies, is a global contract manufacturer with a focus on speed. The company’s promises to have your parts delivered in as fast as two days. This speed comes from the company’s 20 years of experience in the industry.
Quickparts offers complete on-demand manufacturing services, from 3D printing to traditional manufacturing processes. They offer a variety of 3D printing technologies on a wide range of printer brands to cover everything from prototypes to low-volume production. The service is a combination of in-house production and global manufacturing partners.
The Quickparts staff can help you select materials and even determine if additive or traditional methods are best for your project. Quickparts’ U.S. facilities are ISO 9001:2015 certified and ITAR registered.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: ABS, Nylon, PA 11 (SLS/MJP), Polypropylene (PP) (SLA/MJF/SLS), Resin, Titanium, Stainless Steel, Maraging Steel, Cobalt-Chrome, Aluminum, Nickel, Castable Wax
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLA, SLS), CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, urethane casting, injection molding, rapid molding, die casting, and investment casting
Stratasys Direct
Stratasys is a leading manufacturer of industrial 3D printers and has created its own Stratasys Direct manufacturing service, where they use Stratasys 3D printers and others. This service is backed by a wealth of 3D printing experience and a dazzling range of materials, all of which are clearly explained on its website.
Alongside 3D printing, Stratasys Direct offers urethane casting and injection molding. To help you make the most appropriate design choices for each of these technologies, Stratasys offers a thorough Design Services program and direct contact with engineers. Online quoting is greatly simplified with the ability to create and edit custom styles (specific configurations for manufacturing parameters) that can be saved and applied to future projects.
Stratasys Direct offers impressive material selection, production quality, and customer service for professional applications.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: ABS, ASA, Nylon (MJF/SLS), PA 12-GF (MJF/SLS), PLA, PC, PEKK, PPSF/PPSU, TPE, ULTEM, Resin, Aluminum, Cobalt Chrome, Copper, Inconel, Monel, Steel, Titanium, and more
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (FDM, PolyJet, SLA, SAF), urethane casting, and injection molding
Protolabs
UK-based Protolabs began in 1999 as a quick-turn injection molding service, but it has since expanded its repertoire to include plastic and metal 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding. This is all accessible through a simple and intuitive web interface.
Like Hubs, Protolabs has an extensive Resources page, with detailed design tips for all of the manufacturing technologies, and even for specific machines, that it provides. Design analysis tools also help ensure success. Customer support is available should you need additional assistance.
Since it ventured beyond its original specialization of injection molding, Protolabs has become a solid and versatile choice for industrial on-demand manufacturing.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: ABS, Nylon (SLS/MJF), Polycarbonate (PC) (SLA), Polypropylene (PP) (SLA), Digital Photopolymer, Aluminum, Copper, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Inconel, and more
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (SLA, MJF, PolyJet, Metal, SLS, Carbon DLS), CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, urethane casting, injection molding, and insert molding
FacFox
Offering a wide variety of manufacturing services, FacFox is one of China’s leading on-demand print services. The company tailors its services to several industries, including architecture, medical, retail, and design.
A simple online interface lets you quickly upload models, which will then be checked for printability (and automatically repaired if not) before payment. Live tracking of the print’s progress is a nice touch, and competitive international delivery often makes it a cost-effective alternative to some of the perhaps better-known services on this list.
FacFox’s 3D printing service can be accessed via Craftcloud.
- Reach: Worldwide
- Materials: PLA, ABS, TPU (SLS), ASA, Ultem, Nylon (FDM/SLS/MJF), PA 12-GF (SLS), Resin, Photopolymer PP, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Aluminum, Titanium, Maraging Steel, Cobalt Chrome, Sandstone, and more
- Technologies: Plastic and metal 3D printing (FDM, SLA/DLP, MJF, DMLS, PolyJet), CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, urethane casting, injection molding
License: The text of "The Best Protolabs Network / (3D) Hubs Alternatives" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.