listen to this story

With the expiration of the key patents, other organizations have replicated (no pun intended) the process and gave rise to such ventures as RepRap, MakerBot and many others. These low-cost options will eventually become sufficiently reliable and capable to compete directly against Stratasys, although they are nowhere near that stage yet.
So what is Stratasys to do?
They’ve already taken one step: acquiring Objet, a competitor with a different 3D printing process that remains protected under patent. This preserves Stratasys’ original business model, at least for a while.
But there’s another approach Stratasys can use: Materials.
Read More at Fabbaloo