Appendix A: Kickstarter

Methodology

In order to get a sense of how 3D printing is used and envisioned, I ran a search for Kickstarter projects involving “3d printing.” I did so with the intent to use Kickstarter as a tool of cultural history.

This approach has obvious limitations, beginning with the chosen keyword search. I know of at least one open 3D printing project that did not appear among the search results, and there were also a few false positives.¹ There is no public API, and rather than scraping the site in an attempt to compile a more complete data set, I opted to continue with the modest sample of a few dozen projects. Nor did I attempt to identify similar projects on other crowdfunding platforms. My data is not the basis for a rigorous statistical analysis, but instead a qualitative and somewhat speculative examination of public opinion and aspirations. Though not an exhaustive analysis, suggestive trends and outliers emerge.

Basic Campaign Data

One project (Michael Kintner’s) appeared twice in the search; I have simply treated it as a single project. I ignored five projects which were actually unrelated to 3D printing—they involved game pieces and printable rules, or 3D modeling or effects in prints of two dimensional artwork. 67 individual projects remained for analysis.

The projects’ closing dates range from October 31, 2009 to August 4, 2013. 29 projects succeeded in reaching their funding goals, and 29 projects failed to meet them. 9 projects were still open, with between 11 and 34 days remaining. One project, Terence Tam’s OpenBeam Kossel Pro, had three hours remaining at the time I performed the search; it had already exceeded its funding goal, so I counted it among the successful projects. One team, 3DThinkTank, ran two projects (one successful, one not) for the same product with different funding goals; I have dealt with each campaign as an independent project.

The majority of projects used U.S. dollars; six used British pounds sterling. I normalized units with Google’s online currency converter, based on Citibank N.A.’s July 1, 2013 exchange rates (£1 = $1.52), and rounded to the nearest dollar.

Most of the projects were based in the United States: Arizona (1), California (13), Colorado (6), Connecticut (1), Florida (2), Illinois (2), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (2), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (2), Nevada (1), New York (4), Ohio (2), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (2), Utah (3), Virginia (1), Vermont (2), Washington (1), and the District of Columbia (1). Of the projects based in Europe, 3 were in the United Kingdom, 2 in the Netherlands, and 1 each in Germany, Norway, and Spain. One project did not list a location.

See Table 1 for data.

Table 1. Basic campaign data

Project name	Creator	Result	Closed on	State or Country
“Torc” – Celtic Boar: Sculpt, 3D(Scan & Print) Project	Paul J. Hershey	Open	11-Jul-13	CA
3D Printed windsurf, kite, surf, and paddle SmartBoards™	MADE BOARDS	Open	4-Aug-13	IL
3D-REX: A 3D-Printed Tyrannosaurus Rex Sculpture	namisu	Open	3-Aug-13	Spain
Hangar 18 Pinups: Modern Pinup Miniatures, Bawidamann Style!	Hangar 18 Miniatures	Open	16-Jul-13	CO
Inherently Useful: A 3D Printed Collection	Lance Atkins	Open	14-Jul-13	CO
Lovecrafted Games: Customizable 3D printed miniatures	Lovecrafted Games	Open	23-Jul-13	UT
ModiBot Mo: DIY action Figures with 3d Printed accessories	Go Go Dynamo	Open	12-Jul-13	RI
The Cartel Studio – Art for All!	Abbey Charles	Open	14-Jul-13	CO
The Maker Girls & the 3D Printing Revolution	Deb Chase, Principal at Moxie3D, LLC	Open	17-Jul-13	DC
3D print shops in Vermont, and soon near YOU!	Daniel Alder Riley	Success	5-Oct-12	VT
3D printed kits of the Ffestiniog Englands from laser scans	Chris Thorpe from The Flexiscale Company	Success	6-Mar-13	United Kingdom
3D Printed Robotic Hand	Christopher Chappell	Success	10-Apr-13	CO
3D Printing and Porcelain. Discovering a new process	Brock DeBoer	Success	30-May-11	MO
3D Printing Electronics for Makerbot, RepRap, Cubely, Others	makerbench	Success	4-Mar-11	AZ
3D Printing for Everyone – Making the RepRap Easier to Build	RV Mendoza	Success	2-Jul-11	MI
3D Refiner by 3Dprintsexpress.com	Ross Yeager	Success	1-May-13	CA
3Doodler: The World’s First 3D Printing Pen	WobbleWorks LLC	Success	25-Mar-13	MA
Artifaekt: Soul	Claire Elaine	Success	26-Apr-13	PA
B9Creator – A High Resolution 3D Printer	Michael Joyce	Success	12-Jun-12	SD
Doodle3D	Doodle3D	Success	22-May-13	Netherlands
Filabot: Plastic Filament Maker	Tyler McNaney	Success	23-Jan-12	VT
File2Part: Software that Makes 3D printing easy	File2Part	Success	19-Sep-12	MA
Gigabot 3D Printing: This is Huge!	re:3D	Success	9-May-13	TX
MakerBot – 3D Printing in a Baltimore HS Engineering Class	Weston Shreiber	Success	2-Oct-11	MD
Maxifab 3D Printing Framework	Ryan Robinson	Success	15-Apr-12	FL
MeshUp: Mashup for meshes	Uformia	Success	18-Nov-12	Norway
OpenBeam Kossel Pro	Terence Tam	Success	30-Jun-13	WA
Pebble Watch Covers	Drew Beller	Success	18-May-13	NY
Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer	Brook Drumm	Success	17-Dec-11	CA
RepRap 3D printer Therminator 5 Hot End	tony may	Success	18-May-13	OH
RigidBot 3D Printer	Michael Lundwall	Success	10-May-13	UT
SIMPLY AMPLIFIED 3d Printed SYMPHONY SHELLS	3DThinkTank	Success	24-Jan-13	CA
Tapigami presents Hacker Glasses	Tapigami	Success	9-Mar-13	CA
The Buccaneer	Pirate 3D Inc.	Success	29-Jun-13	CA
The NEXT 3D Printer: A Full-Scale Exploration of Design	Eric	Success	1-May-11	MI
The Stelliform Owl	Grant Miller	Success	22-Mar-12	CA
The Vision: Not Just a 3D Printer… A DREAM	Matt Underwood	Success	28-Jun-12	IL
Zortrax M200 – professional desktop 3D printer	Zortrax	Success	21-Jun-13	NJ
360Heros: 360° Video/Photo Gear – 3D Printed for GoPro®	Michael Kintner	Unsuccessful	28-Jun-13	NY
3D Printed Bummpies…set your iPhone and iPAD FREE…now!	Alexander Karp	Unsuccessful	2-Mar-13	CA
3D Printer – Bayou Mendel RepRap	The Bayou Mendel Team	Unsuccessful	14-Jun-11	TX
3D Printing of a Nano Vertical Axis Wind Turbine	Robert Reive	Unsuccessful	14-Jan-11	NJ
3d Tattoo Body Art Scanner	Lee Wagstaff	Unsuccessful	22-Apr-13	Germany
3-Dice… The first entirely 3D printed dice game!	Warren Bischoff	Unsuccessful	10-Apr-13	CT
Bring your children’s artwork to life as a 3D toy-heirloom	Dan Garr	Unsuccessful	7-Feb-13	CA
Cello Girl	Bob Steiner	Unsuccessful	13-Feb-12	NY
Create over 250 functional and tested 3d printable files	3Dagogo	Unsuccessful	4-May-13	CA
Custom 3D printed iPad Cases	Fresh Fiber	Unsuccessful	27-Feb-11	Netherlands
Customize & 3D Print Your Favorite Game Characters	Sandboxr	Unsuccessful	11-Apr-13	UT
Fabroot – Making 3D Fabrication Available to Everyone!	fabroot	Unsuccessful	31-Oct-09	Unknown
Full Color 3D Printer with Website for artists to Upload	FrigidFox	Unsuccessful	26-Apr-12	OH
JB Figures	Jonathan Bowen	Unsuccessful	29-Nov-11	CA
Large Stephen Colbert Head-Bre Pettis Interview-3D Printing	Alexander Dick	Unsuccessful	24-Jul-11	OR
Old Man 3D print	Matt Lambert	Unsuccessful	20-Feb-13	United Kingdom
One-to-One : Large Scale 3D Printer	Robert Cervellione	Unsuccessful	10-Mar-12	NY
Open Source Jewelry	lab760	Unsuccessful	26-Mar-13	NH
PotteryPrint: Imagine, Create, Fabricate	PotteryPrint	Unsuccessful	4-Apr-12	NV
Rapcraft: Rapid Prototyping opensource 3D Printer	Rapcraft Team	Unsuccessful	13-Jun-12	VA
RepRap: DIY Self-Replicating Rapid Prototyping 3D Printer	Caleb	Unsuccessful	18-Jul-12	CO
SAIR and DAIR Robots	Walt Perko	Unsuccessful	18-Sep-11	CA
Student Built Lunar Rover Prototype for Google Lunar X PRIZE	Earthrise Space Inc.	Unsuccessful	26-Jul-12	FL
Sustainable 3D Printing for Blind Students	Matt Jadud	Unsuccessful	8-Jan-11	PA
SYMPHONY SHELLS – iPhone Amplification for Your Lifestyle	3DThinkTank	Unsuccessful	26-Aug-12	CA
The Daily Print. One 3D Print a Day	Brad Ruprecht	Unsuccessful	26-Nov-11	MD
The EZ3D Desktop Printer	Jake Wood	Unsuccessful	21-Apr-13	CO
thrint – inspiring the 3D printing home revolution	Simon Donn/Tina Brunner	Unsuccessful	24-Apr-13	United Kingdom
Unique 3D Printed jewelry	Krish Brothers	Unsuccessful	12-Nov-12	MA

Categories

The creators classified their projects using Kickstarter’s taxonomy: Art (3 projects), Conceptual Art (1), Crafts (1), Design (2), Fashion (1), Graphic Design (1), Hardware (21), Open Software (1), Product Design (10), Sculpture (7), Tabletop Games (4), Technology (13), Video Games (1), and Webseries (1). I have also added a Prownian classification.² Using this scheme, the projects break down into five categories: Art (13), Diversions (9), Adornment (4), Modification of the Landscape (1), Applied Arts (8), and Devices (32).

It should be noted that some projects fit uneasily within a given category. Is a project dedicated to the artistic rendering of a tattooed human form more properly considered Art or Adornment?³ (I have called it Art, based upon the proposed finished pieces rather than the subject matter.) How can—and should?—a project whose goal is software- and service-oriented be classified for material culture purposes?⁴ (I have simply lumped it into Devices, since the tutoring centers on using hardware and software.) In general, I have categorized projects based upon the nature of the deliverable: printed wind turbine components are a Modification of the Landscape and lighting fixtures are Applied Arts.⁵ The exercise demonstrates the flexibility of Prown’s categories, and also the temptation to spend excessive time deciding which one(s) apply to a given object. I have sacrificed some nuance in favor of simplicity, and assigned only one category to each project.

See Table 2 for data.

Table 2. Prownian categories

Prownian category	Kickstarter category	Project name	Description
Adornment	Conceptual art	Artifaekt: Soul	A second try at funding! Now focussing on jewelry representing the weight of the soul (and other 3D printing adventures)
Adornment	Fashion	Open Source Jewelry	Accessories with source code! All designs to be released under a Free license for 3D printing or laser-cutting at home.
Adornment	Product design	Tapigami presents Hacker Glasses	The world’s first glasses that use Tapigami lenses and 3d-printed frames to create custom, wearable art pieces!
Adornment	Product design	Unique 3D Printed jewelry	3D printing is revolutionizing the making of jewelry. We are taking one more step. Making everything unique.
Applied Arts	Product design	Custom 3D printed iPad Cases	Your chance to put your name, logo, text or icon on a 3D printed iPad case. This is the start of mass-customization in design products.
Applied Arts	Product design	Inherently Useful: A 3D Printed Collection	Mixing 3D printing, craftsmanship, & honest design. Writing, lighting, & more. Bringing useful, 3D printed goods into your home.
Applied Arts	Product design	Pebble Watch Covers	3D printed interchangeable Pebble watch covers to give it a fresh, new look.
Applied Arts	Product design	SIMPLY AMPLIFIED 3d Printed SYMPHONY SHELLS	Custom 3D printed smartphone amplifiers to be made from fully recyclable, ecofriendly material and developed with your wallet in mind.
Applied Arts	Product design	SYMPHONY SHELLS – iPhone Amplification for Your Lifestyle	3D Printed iPhone Amplifiers: NEW OPTIONS FOR iPhone 5!! Boost your phone’s volume by up to 400%!
Applied Arts	Technology	Create over 250 functional and tested 3d printable files	We will create, print, photograph, and catalog over 250 3D printable items and send you the files on a flashdrive.
Applied Arts	Technology	The Daily Print. One 3D Print a Day	I want to promote 3D Printing. I plan to do so by printing one thing from Thingiverse everyday then share it with the world on my blog.
Applied Arts	Technology	thrint – inspiring the 3D printing home revolution	Creating a shared collection of 1,000 3D print files, to inspire and encourage the 3D printing home revolution.
Art	Art	3d Tattoo Body Art Scanner	Using 3d technology to capture tattoos & body art to create a 360 degree digital models for 3d printing and an online archive .
Art	Art	Bring your children’s artwork to life as a 3D toy-heirloom	Create a 3D toy of your children’s favorite artwork. We model, 3D print, and mount in a collectible 3D frame to inspire them for years.
Art	Art	The Cartel Studio – Art for All!	The Cartel Studio is a publicly available open studio space specializing in 3D printing, screen printing, and studio photography.
Art	Sculpture	“Torc” – Celtic Boar: Sculpt, 3D(Scan & Print) Project	Goal: To finish the Sculpt, then 3D (Scan & Print) a Celtic Boar variant of a Chinese Guardian Lion (FooDog). (3D “print”:1/3 master).
Art	Sculpture	3D Printing and Porcelain. Discovering a new process	I will be exploring the use of rapid prototyping to produce original forms to be reproduced in porcelain and other materials.
Art	Sculpture	3D-REX: A 3D-Printed Tyrannosaurus Rex Sculpture	3D-REX is a 3D-printed Tyrannosaurus Rex sculpture for your desk or wall.
Art	Sculpture	Cello Girl	Art Sculpture project using Zbrush, 3D printing, casting and hand painting.
Art	Sculpture	Full Color 3D Printer with Website for artists to Upload	Creating a full color 3D print service that will offer post processing options for artists and a website to post and sell designs
Art	Sculpture	Old Man 3D print	Help 3D print my digital sculpture which I will then mould and cast.
Art	Sculpture	The Stelliform Owl	The Stelliform Owl is a sculpture I designed and modeled to be 3D printed and illuminated by a standard LED tea light.
Art	Technology	3D print shops in Vermont, and soon near YOU!	The first community engagement effort for the world’s first 3D print shop company.
Art	Technology	Large Stephen Colbert Head-Bre Pettis Interview-3D Printing	Technology builds communities. Celebrate Bre Pettis from Makerbot’s appearance on the Colbert Report. Help build a large Colbert head!
Art	Technology	PotteryPrint: Imagine, Create, Fabricate	An iPad app that enables kids to design their own unique works of pottery and export the design for 3D printing.
Devices	Crafts	SAIR and DAIR Robots	I designed the SAIR & DAIR robot parts so home hobbyists can download parts to 3D plastic print and build their own robots … FREE!
Devices	Design	3D Printed Bummpies…set your iPhone and iPAD FREE…now!	Get your own 3D printed Bummpies months before retail units are available. Enjoy your iPhone and iPAD…not the case.
Devices	Design	MakerBot – 3D Printing in a Baltimore HS Engineering Class	Fund a 3D printer for an urban high school engineering classroom. Inspire future engineers and get one of their creations as a reward.
Devices	Hardware	360Heros: 360° Video/Photo Gear – 3D Printed for GoPro®	Using GoPro® cameras, capture HD 360° Video & One-Click Panoramas w/ 3D Printed, Plug & Play designs covering a 360×180° Field Of View
Devices	Hardware	3D Printed Robotic Hand	By using 3D printing we can dramatically cut the cost of humanoid robotics. Make the future happen faster.
Devices	Hardware	3D Printer – Bayou Mendel RepRap	Download, design, customize and print real physical objects from the comfort of your home, office or evil lair!
Devices	Hardware	3D Printing Electronics for Makerbot, RepRap, Cubely, Others	Need the latest electronics on your 3D printer? Want to build them yourself to save some $$$? We do, and it’s always more fun to share.
Devices	Hardware	3D Printing for Everyone – Making the RepRap Easier to Build	The Goal: Make the process of building a RepRap less intimidating for people who are interested but don’t know where to start.
Devices	Hardware	3D Refiner by 3Dprintsexpress. com	Using the 3D Refiner you’ll transform any 3D Print into a high quality beautifully finished part in a fraction of the time!
Devices	Hardware	3Doodler: The World’s First 3D Printing Pen	It’s a pen that can draw in the air! 3Doodler is the 3D printing pen you can hold in your hand. Lift your imagination off the page!
Devices	Hardware	B9Creator – A High Resolution 3D Printer	Please help us take DIY 3D Printing to the next level, support this open source photo-initiated polymer resin based 3D printing system!
Devices	Hardware	Doodle3D	With the Doodle3D sketching tool you can 3D print your own personal drawings on a 3D printer! Start 3D printing your own doodle now!
Devices	Hardware	Fabroot – Making 3D Fabrication Available to Everyone!	3D fabrication is all the rage, but costly machines and slow turn around times hinder innovation. Help us start up the first free 3D printing service
Devices	Hardware	Gigabot 3D Printing: This is Huge!	Dream big, print big! Affordable, large-format 3D printing for your home or business.
Devices	Hardware	Maxifab 3D Printing Framework	Maxifab is a project to develop a 3D printing framework. Build a 3d printer your way. No Limits.
Devices	Hardware	OpenBeam Kossel Pro	A fork of the ground breaking Kossel 3D Printer, with all 3D Printed parts injection molded for ease of assembly and cost reduction.
Devices	Hardware	Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer	A desktop 3D printer you can build in a couple hours. Print plastic parts you design or download – even parts for another printer.
Devices	Hardware	Rapcraft: Rapid Prototyping opensource 3D Printer	3D printer Rapcraft makes Thankfull 3D things and works just plug&print.
Devices	Hardware	RepRap 3D printer Therminator 5 Hot End	RepRap 3d Printing Therminator 5 Hot End
Devices	Hardware	RepRap: DIY Self-Replicating Rapid Prototyping 3D Printer	I was born and raised in Colorado, am currently working towards a ME degree, and want to help the spread of Open Source 3D Printing
Devices	Hardware	RigidBot 3D Printer	A sturdy, customizable 3D printer that is easy to use and affordable for all. 3D print almost any object. There are no limits!
Devices	Hardware	The Buccaneer	To bring 3D printing technology into everyone’s home by building a quality and affordable 3D printer that everyone can enjoy!
Devices	Hardware	The EZ3D Desktop Printer	The new 3D printer that embodies fun and creativity, with user friendly software and a superior printing experience.
Devices	Hardware	The Vision: Not Just a 3D Printer… A DREAM	Start 3D Printing with an Affordable, Quick Build, Optimized, Large Format 3d Printer. Available as a DIY Kit or Fully Assembled!
Devices	Open Software	Sustainable 3D Printing for Blind Students	This spring, 20 first-year students at Allegheny College will found a business offering free 3D printing support to the blind.
Devices	Product design	The NEXT 3D Printer: A Full-Scale Exploration of Design	I am building a 3D printer large enough to print functional furniture as an exploration of design through the confluence of Art & Tech
Devices	Technology	Filabot: Plastic Filament Maker	Make your own 3D printing filament from recycled bottles and other plastic products. Never run out of 3D printing filament.
Devices	Technology	File2Part: Software that Makes 3D printing easy	File2Part is a powerful program that allows you to load, fix, orient, scale, and print model files on any 3D printer that uses g-codes.
Devices	Technology	MeshUp: Mashup for meshes	Super simple, always watertight, 3D modeling mashup tool for meshes, designed for painless and direct 3D printing.
Devices	Technology	One-to-One : Large Scale 3D Printer	One to One is a project focusing on 3D printing at a large scale, with speed, precision , and durable materials.
Devices	Technology	Student Built Lunar Rover Prototype for Google Lunar X PRIZE	Student built lunar rover for Google Lunar X PRIZE. Get 3D printed or CNC’d models, test-drive the rover or send your DNA to the moon!
Devices	Technology	Zortrax M200 – professional desktop 3D printer	Zortrax M200 is the professional 3D printer that will change the nature and the future of home 3D printing.
Diversions	Product design	JB Figures	Using innovations in 3D printing personal manufacturing to create completely personalized action figures.
Diversions	Product design	ModiBot Mo: DIY action Figures with 3d Printed accessories	ModiBot is a design-your-own-toy system of more than 400 different interlocking parts, personalized by 3d printing & your imagination
Diversions	Tabletop games	3D printed kits of the Ffestiniog Englands from laser scans	The Ffestiniog Englands are the world’s oldest working narrow gauge engines. We’re laser scanning them to make the most accurate kits.
Diversions	Tabletop games	3-Dice… The first entirely 3D printed dice game!	R.P.S (Rock paper scissors) will be the first dice game in a series of entirely 3-D printed games! NEW! Get a reward without pledging!
Diversions	Tabletop games	Hangar 18 Pinups: Modern Pinup Miniatures, Bawidamann Style!	Bringing Andrew Bawidamann’s pinups to life in the form of 54mm resin miniatures, using 3D sculpting and printing technologies.
Diversions	Tabletop games	Lovecrafted Games: Customizable 3D printed miniatures	Come join Lovecrafted Games! Be a part of DnD/Pathfinder history. Come 3D print your own custom tabletop experience.
Diversions	Technology	3D Printed windsurf, kite, surf, and paddle SmartBoards™	Real-time performance tracking and 3D printed manufacturing of windsurf, kite, surf and paddle boards.
Diversions	Video games	Customize & 3D Print Your Favorite Game Characters	Out of the screen and into your hands…customize and 3D print your favorite game characters with our web and mobile app!
Diversions	Webseries	The Maker Girls & the 3D Printing Revolution	Follow 5-10 young, female role models on their learning paths to becoming our next generation of #3D printing, tech savvy STEM leaders.
Modification of the landscape	Graphic design	3D Printing of a Nano Vertical Axis Wind Turbine	Fund 3D printing of a nano wind turbine for use in remote rural drinking water, irrigation, heating & lighting projects.

Funding Results

Three Art projects reached their funding goals, with two barely funded and one reaching 142.6% funding. Five of the seven unsuccessful Art projects earned under 11% of their goal, though two others made it past the 50% point. Three projects remained open at the time of analysis.

One of the Diversions projects successfully reached 159% of its funding goal. Three projects failed, with two of those remaining in the single digits and the third failing to hit the 20% point. Five projects remained open at the time of analysis.

Half of the Adornment projects (2) were successful, overshooting their goals by a small margin (107.1 and 116.9% funded). The failures were less than one quarter funded (14.3 and 20.8%).

The single project in the Modifications of the Landscape category ended at .1% funded.

Of the two successful Applied Arts projects, one barely met its funding goal whereas the other received more than double the money sought. Four projects failed; one of those succeeded in reaching nearly 40% of its goal, but the others languished between 5.7 and 26.3%. One project remained open at the time of analysis.

In the Devices category, 21 projects reached their funding goal. Squeak-through projects—100.5, 109, and 112.3% funding—were actually the outliers, with the majority of projects receiving pledges several times greater than their goals. There were 11 unsuccessful Device campaigns, with four falling between 25% and 56% funded.

See Table 3 for data.

Table 3. Funding results

Project name	Prownian category	Result	Funding %	Pledge ($)	Goal ($)
Open Source Jewelry	Adornment	Unsuccessful	14.3	286	2000
Unique 3D Printed jewelry	Adornment	Unsuccessful	20.8	623	3000
Tapigami presents Hacker Glasses	Adornment	Success	107.1	16058	15000
Artifaekt: Soul	Adornment	Success	116.9	1520	1300
thrint – inspiring the 3D printing home revolution	Applied Arts	Unsuccessful	5.7	1043	18268
The Daily Print. One 3D Print a Day	Applied Arts	Unsuccessful	9.4	282	3000
SYMPHONY SHELLS – iPhone Amplification for Your Lifestyle	Applied Arts	Unsuccessful	16.7	4500	27000
Custom 3D printed iPad Cases	Applied Arts	Unsuccessful	26.3	5255	20000
Create over 250 functional and tested 3d printable files	Applied Arts	Unsuccessful	39.1	1957	5000
SIMPLY AMPLIFIED 3d Printed SYMPHONY SHELLS	Applied Arts	Success	106.2	5312	5000
Pebble Watch Covers	Applied Arts	Success	222.5	10013	4500
Full Color 3D Printer with Website for artists to Upload	Art	Unsuccessful	0.1	27	45000
Old Man 3D print	Art	Unsuccessful	0.2	8	3806
Bring your children’s artwork to life as a 3D toy-heirloom	Art	Unsuccessful	4.5	669	15000
Cello Girl	Art	Unsuccessful	7.4	386	5200
Large Stephen Colbert Head-Bre Pettis Interview-3D Printing	Art	Unsuccessful	10.4	1825	17500
PotteryPrint: Imagine, Create, Fabricate	Art	Unsuccessful	50.3	6032	12000
3d Tattoo Body Art Scanner	Art	Unsuccessful	54.3	12388	22835
The Stelliform Owl	Art	Success	101.1	8091	8000
3D Printing and Porcelain. Discovering a new process	Art	Success	103.4	2585	2500
3D print shops in Vermont, and soon near YOU!	Art	Success	142.6	810	568
3D Printer – Bayou Mendel RepRap	Devices	Unsuccessful	0.4	85	20000
One-to-One : Large Scale 3D Printer	Devices	Unsuccessful	0.4	123	35000
Student Built Lunar Rover Prototype for Google Lunar X PRIZE	Devices	Unsuccessful	1.5	2949	200000
3D Printed Bummpies…set your iPhone and iPAD FREE…now!	Devices	Unsuccessful	15.6	938	6000
Fabroot – Making 3D Fabrication Available to Everyone!	Devices	Unsuccessful	15.9	175	1100
360Heros: 360° Video/Photo Gear – 3D Printed for GoPro®	Devices	Unsuccessful	20.9	15703	75000
Rapcraft: Rapid Prototyping opensource 3D Printer	Devices	Unsuccessful	26.7	13371	50000
Sustainable 3D Printing for Blind Students	Devices	Unsuccessful	38.1	692	1815
The EZ3D Desktop Printer	Devices	Unsuccessful	47	11759	25000
SAIR and DAIR Robots	Devices	Unsuccessful	50.3	2265	4500
RepRap: DIY Self-Replicating Rapid Prototyping 3D Printer	Devices	Unsuccessful	55.6	1112	2000
3D Printing for Everyone – Making the RepRap Easier to Build	Devices	Success	100.5	1055	1050
3D Printing Electronics for Makerbot, RepRap, Cubely, Others	Devices	Success	109	2724	2500
MeshUp: Mashup for meshes	Devices	Success	112.3	28082	25000
3D Printed Robotic Hand	Devices	Success	120.9	18399	15223
The NEXT 3D Printer: A Full-Scale Exploration of Design	Devices	Success	121.9	853	700
Doodle3D	Devices	Success	147.6	73777	50000
MakerBot – 3D Printing in a Baltimore HS Engineering Class	Devices	Success	157.3	3146	2000
Zortrax M200 – professional desktop 3D printer	Devices	Success	179.5	179471	100000
OpenBeam Kossel Pro	Devices	Success	203.4	122016	60000
File2Part: Software that Makes 3D printing easy	Devices	Success	242.7	20625	8500
The Vision: Not Just a 3D Printer… A DREAM	Devices	Success	261.4	65346	25000
RepRap 3D printer Therminator 5 Hot End	Devices	Success	318.8	6376	2000
Filabot: Plastic Filament Maker	Devices	Success	323.3	32330	10000
Maxifab 3D Printing Framework	Devices	Success	487.9	24393	5000
Gigabot 3D Printing: This is Huge!	Devices	Success	626.2	250474	40000
3D Refiner by 3Dprintsexpress.com	Devices	Success	651.1	32554	5000
B9Creator – A High Resolution 3D Printer	Devices	Success	1026.8	513422	50000
The Buccaneer	Devices	Success	1438.8	1,438,765	100000
Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer	Devices	Success	3323.3	830827	25000
RigidBot 3D Printer	Devices	Success	3467	1092098	31500
3Doodler: The World’s First 3D Printing Pen	Devices	Success	7813.8	2344134	30000
JB Figures	Diversions	Unsuccessful	2.3	35	1500
3-Dice… The first entirely 3D printed dice game!	Diversions	Unsuccessful	4	79	2000
Customize & 3D Print Your Favorite Game Characters	Diversions	Unsuccessful	18.5	23082	125000
3D printed kits of the Ffestiniog Englands from laser scans	Diversions	Success	159	12105	7612
3D Printing of a Nano Vertical Axis Wind Turbine	Modification of the landscape	Unsuccessful	0.1	45	60000

Campaigns’ Ambition and Success

The most successful projects, in terms of funding percentages and absolute value of pledges, were Device projects: 3Doodler (7,813.8%, $2,344,134), RigidBot (3,467%, $1,092,098), Printrbot (3,323.3%, $830,827), the Buccaneer (1,438.8%, $1,438,765), and B9Creator (1,026.8%, $513,422). Four of those projects sought funding for 3D printers; the 3Doodler is a less conventional 3D printing pen.

The most ambitious five projects, in terms of funding goals, included 3 Devices and 2 Diversions. Only one of those projects, the Buccaneer, also ranked among the most successful; one Diversion and one Device project failed; the most ambitious project ($450,000) was still open.

Seven projects had modest goals ranging from $500-1,000. Of those, one was open. Two projects (1 Diversion and 1 Device) failed. The other four (1 Art, 1 Adornment, 2 Devices) succeeded.

See Table 3 above for data.

Backers

Kickstarter projects offer backers rewards at different pledge levels. Small pledges—set as low as $1 for some campaigns—entitle backers to gratitude and tchotchkes (updates, public acknowledgment of support, keychains, bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc.) An individual merely interested in owning the product of one of these pieces of hardware could back a project at a lower level. At the $25 level, the 3Doodler project offered wire art created by Etsy artists. Higher pledges entitled backers to rewards which included the hardware (printer or pen), with varying degrees of assembly required. Over 90% of the supporters of the RigidBot, 3Doodler, and Buccaneer project elected for the higher pledge levels (98, 96, and 93%). 81% and 63% of Printrbot and B9Creator supporters, respectively, did likewise.⁶

Low pledge levels allow backers to support interesting projects inexpensively, so backing can be a form of philosophical or moral support. But especially in the Hardware category, Kickstarter can be viewed as a marketplace, and project supporters as consumers who have paid for something tangible. The backers of 3D printing projects had less interest in the objects pertaining to printers, or the objects created by others, than they did in the devices themselves.

See Table 4 for data.

Table 4. Backers of 3D printer projects

Project	Total backers	Minimum pledge level for device ($)	Backers at low levels (#)	Backers at high levels (#)	Backers receiving device (%)
B9Creator	388	2375	143	245	63
Printrbot	1808	75	345	1463	81
The Buccaneer	3520	297	262	3258	93
3Doodler	26457	50	1068	25389	96
RigidBot	1952	299	31	1921	98