From "Green-Skin Trains" to "High-Speed Trains": The Vast Breakthrough of 3D Printing | Frontline

Author | Wu Huaxiu

Editor | Yuan Silai

Ten years ago, 3D printers were merely experimental devices in geeks' bedrooms. They were slow, had limited precision, and were more like "novelty toys," hardly capable of undertaking production tasks. At that time, the industry was dominated by European and American manufacturers. It can be traced back to the 1980s when Stratasys proposed the FDM molding method and long relied on patent barriers to monopolize the equipment market. It wasn't until around 2008 when the patents expired that Chinese manufacturers entered the market with their supply - chain advantages. The products at that time were often sold in kit form, priced at two or three hundred dollars, and reached the global market through Amazon and AliExpress. However, users had to spend dozens of hours assembling them, and the efficiency remained at the "green - train" product stage of 50 millimeters per second.

"The real problem in the 3D printing industry doesn't lie in whether it can complete the printing of various models, but in whether the molding speed can be fast enough to enter the production stage," Shen Kang summarized to 36Kr. He believes that in the past decade, the industry has gone through the "green - train" stage, where products have spread in the education and hobbyist markets, but have yet to cross the productivity threshold. "If a machine can only print a few parts a day, it is destined to be a toy, not a tool."

In 2015, Shen Kang left Alibaba and founded Chaokuo. His judgment was that as long as a new industry has enough problems and a high enough growth rate, there must be a breakthrough. Initially, like most manufacturers, Chaokuo relied on low - cost kits for sales. On "Double 11" in 2017, it sold thousands of units in a single day and achieved short - term profitability. However, just when the industry was booming, he axed the best - selling model and bet all on "high - speed."

At that time, 95% of the global models still used the I3 architecture, which was cheap but bulky. Chaokuo, however, chose the more difficult Delta architecture: a three - axis parallel connection with complex algorithms, but it has a naturally light load and the potential for speed increase. This decision was once opposed by almost the entire company, and R & D often got into trouble. Shen Kang recalled, "No one was optimistic at that time. Even the partner thought it was a waste of time. But if the speed couldn't be improved, the industry would have no future."

Three years later, in 2019, Chaokuo developed its first prototype with a significantly improved speed. In 2020, it globally launched the SR series, with a speed of 150 millimeters per second, proving the feasibility of the high - speed path for the first time. In 2022, the V400 was launched, increasing the speed to 600 millimeters per second, and the industry officially entered the "bullet - train era." At that time, the "farmers" community at home and abroad began to emerge. They relied on 3D printing to mass - produce figurines, lamps, and daily small items for sale. Their business logic completely depended on the improvement of the efficiency of 3D printers. What used to take several hours to print could be completed in just dozens of minutes after 2022.

In 2024, Chaokuo launched the Xunyinguang S1 Pro, breaking the speed to 1200 millimeters per second, and it was certified by authoritative institutions as "the world's fastest consumer - grade FDM 3D printer." For the same model, the printing time was shortened from two hours on the previous - generation product to fifty minutes on the Xunyinguang S1 Pro. In the same year, the S1 Pro quickly became popular in the maker communities in North America and Europe and became one of the world's most popular high - speed models.

In 2025, Chaokuo launched the Zhuirisuo T1 Max, targeting the farm production scenario. Its efficiency is more than twice that of products with other architectures, and the pay - back period is shortened to three or four months. The Julingzhu V500, a model with a 500 - millimeter large molding size, is aimed at the large - model markets such as sculptures, lamps, and Cosplay. It can print a 1.5 - meter - long Chinese dragon ornament or an entire piece of armor at once, without the need for piece - by - piece splicing.

The challenge brought by high - speed lies in the need to reconstruct the entire hardware and control chain. The faster the speed, the geometrically more difficult the related technologies become. Shen Kang told 36Kr that initially, the product even had to be manually calibrated for leveling with A4 paper, but now it can maintain precision and consistency at extremely high speeds. "This is the result of seven or eight years of investment."

Chaokuo's product evolution has hit the node of the industry's explosion. According to Context, in the first quarter of 2025, the global shipment of consumer - grade 3D printers increased by 22% year - on - year, exceeding 1 million units for the first time and becoming the fastest - growing segment. In contrast, the shipment of professional - grade and industrial - grade models priced over $20,000 declined. In 2024, China exported 3.778 million 3D printers (excluding components), with a total value of 8.16 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 32.75%. The vast majority of them were consumer - grade 3D printers, and China produced 96% of the world's consumer - grade 3D printers.

The demand side is also evolving rapidly. In the past, the main buyers were makers and hobbyists who regarded 3D printers as toys. Now, more than 80% of the devices are used as tools. The explosive effect brought by the trendy toy economy has led to the emergence of farms with thousands of units in places like Yiwu. Printing a 30 - centimeter dragon used to take more than a dozen hours and cost about a thousand dollars. Now, Chaokuo's high - speed machine can complete the printing in just one hour and costs more than five hundred dollars, shortening the pay - back period by more than ten times.

This efficiency revolution has directly given rise to new industrial forms. Trendy toys are just the starting point. Scenarios such as printing lamps, luminous characters, Cosplay equipment, medical stents, and sculptures are being verified by small - scale workshops. At the same time, as the price of materials such as PLA has dropped from 30,000 yuan per ton to less than 20,000 yuan, the printing cost of a mobile phone stand is now less than one yuan, unlocking more possibilities.

In the industrial landscape, Chaokuo is not the only high - speed manufacturer, but its path forms a sharp contrast with those of Tuozhu and Creality. Tuozhu entered the market with the background of DJI and through Kickstarter crowdfunding, and became popular overseas with its P/X series. Creality has become an established player with its rich product matrix and large user base. In contrast, Chaokuo is not very large in scale, but it bet on the high - speed strategy earlier. The continuous iteration of the SR, V400, S series, and T series has enabled it to cross the threshold in terms of speed and stability first, forming a differentiation. Shen Kang frankly said, "The competition brought by high - speed is far more brutal than selling kits, but this is also the only direction for the industry to get out of the toy attribute."

In Shen Kang's view, efficiency has always been the most important indicator in the production tool industry. Chaokuo has invested eight years in the high - speed path, and the results prove that this route is correct. As the Xunyinguang S1 Pro is certified as the world's fastest consumer - grade FDM 3D printer, Chaokuo's positioning is gradually shifting from a hardware manufacturer to an industry participant oriented by technology and efficiency.