Xometry going public

[thunderskunk]

Isn’t Xometry just copying that business model??

And how in holy hell does Xometry do tens of millions in business every quarter?

Just another thought: I wonder what the breakdown of their used services are. I’ve used Xometry for 3D printed parts, and my company has several of their own printers. I’m not a 3D printing fanboy, but it has a time and place. It helps they have materials available I can’t justify having a printer for.

That alone is a separate business model. Anybody here hire a “3D printer machine operator”? How about a “3D printer programmer”? “3D printer maintenance technician”? It just sits on a shelf and does it’s thing. Quality issue? Just print another one. Broken? Maybe you have a service contract, maybe it’s cheap enough to just throw it out and buy another.

It takes just a few schmucks to not realize injection molding isn’t all that hard to send crappy CAD off to Xometry and 3D print 10,000 pieces at a rate that seems fine compared to the other options they’ve never investigated. I have to believe the margins are pretty OK for what it is.

 

[drcoelho]

Parallels to amazon: I use amazon because it is so incredibly convenient. I can see Xometry filling the same role. I do have relationships with a bunch of local machine shops, but quite honestly getting a quote can take a week or two from some of them, and often the lead time is long. While I do prefer giving the local shops the business, having an internet source that is fast and reliable is a proposition that has value.

 

[Finegrain]

Student graduates, gets a job, where does he get his nuts and bolts? McMaster because he’s too stubborn to realize you can get 1/4-20 bolts at any hardware store.

I buy fasteners from McMaster all the time. Trip to the hardware store takes 45 minutes of my time. McMaster-Carr takes 2 minutes. Also, McMaster has way more fastener types than any local hardware store.

Regards.

Mike

 

[Trboatworks]

What is the IPO date- anyone dig through the SEC to find out?

 

[Trueturning]

Under the best of circumstances taking any print on a job requires careful consideration and often is a process of understanding the obstacles based on experience . This service is not designed to provide that kind of expertise. Such is hard earned and is not shared much as it is a competitive advantage-competence.

A good shop sorts them quick. To me adding a middle man always complicate the process unless those kinds of things are sorted out before getting things to bid on from them things any shop has to sort through.

It is like a crap shoot. They would be better off buying details of a certain part accumulated by the person wanting the bid. Things they know that are done to cut through normal problems.

Shops that run those parts well know the best processes. So should the person wanting the job bid if they are not stupid or lazy. I do not know but from feedback I have heard they do not bring much to the table except more work.

 

[drcoelho]

What is the IPO date- anyone dig through the SEC to find out?

Typically, there is not a specific date in the S1. The S1 is used as the selling document by the underwriter to pre-sell stock to the various brokerages, who in turn pre-sell the stock to investors. Once the stock is mostly pre-sold the underwriter then sets the initial price and triggers the IPO. In the two cases where my companies filed S1's, it was about 60 days prior to the IPO, but depending on reception to the stock it can take much longer.

 

[Trboatworks]

Thanks- drop a note here when they announce the offering date.

 

[drcoelho]

You should contact your broken now if you are interested, the IPO date happens very quickly once underwriter is ready to go. Your broker will be aware of the action....maybe even contact the underwriter directly (see the S1).

 

[nateacox]

We are still doing a fair amount of work for Xometry every day. I do understand some of the frustration from others on this board, but I don't totally understand the complete hatred towards them and their business model. Their platform is where the industry is moving towards, and whether its Xom, or any of the 20 other places doing the exact same thing, it is the direction the industry is headed. We are seeing a lot of work from fortune 100 companies that are now using their platform. We couldn't get the time of day with ANY of those companies without Xom as a middle man. I'm willing to pay for that, and its working well for us. Engineers can now upload a solid model and print for instantaneous pricing and DFM feedback. They can then forward that quote to purchasing and have a PO cut in an hour or less. We still do a lot of traditional quoting for other customers, and it can take a few days to get a quote to them, then weeks for PO's with little to no feedback from the customer. Xom and platforms like it change all of that. Perhaps it will lead to even lazier engineers, or a complete collapse of the industry. Or perhaps its just the direction everyone will move, and it will become the new norm. I personally think that its good for the industry in a lot of ways. Sure there are some draw backs, but over time the market will correct that. In 3 years of doing work with them, I am still quite satisfied with the relationship I have built with them, and the ways it benefits my machine shop. I started with 1 machine and myself doing work for them when I was slow after my first year. Its grown steadily since then and their work and their platform (which is a lot more than just the job board) has allowed us to continually expand.

Just because I don't have 54000 posts here doesn't mean I am lying, or fake. I've been a member for a long time, and don't hide behind my username. Its a platform that we have adapted to make work to our benefit, and it works well. We make good margin on the jobs, we get paid on time (which is becoming a larger problem for our non Xom customers).

 

[bosmos_j]

I don't totally understand the complete hatred towards them and their business model. Their platform is where the industry is moving towards,

I think your insinuation of hatred is a distraction from an honest discussion of the topic. I can have an honest, informed opinion that does not support them or their business model.

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe everything you say (although ass9100d had screenshots of all the loot he was raking in too). Still, you are one in ten (probably more) that is lucky. Maybe you got in early, maybe your dad works there, don’t care. It’s easily observed that the other 9/10 who have tried have had crap results and their stories are all almost identical. When it comes to investing, I’m going with the 9 not the 1. My two cents.

Their model removes the critical communication path between designer and machinist. Their model also suggests highly trained machinist with very expensive equipment should work for minimum wage or thereabouts and the option to give the work to China is front and center. I would also not be surprised if the domestic part does just disappear completely. Don’t forget you’re supposed to sit there and work for free improving their algorithm all day when you’re not on a job. If you think this new reach around economy is the way of the future, you are welcome to your opinion. Don’t accuse someone who doesn’t think the same way as you as being a hater. This song is the jam though: haterz

 

[Finegrain]

Just because I don't have 54000 posts here doesn't mean I am lying, or fake. I've been a member for a long time, and don't hide behind my username. Its a platform that we have adapted to make work to our benefit, and it works well. We make good margin on the jobs, we get paid on time (which is becoming a larger problem for our non Xom customers).

All I can say is your experience is quite different than mine. I have tried mightily to get Xometry jobs to align with my business parameters. I've cold-called Xometry reps, I've sent loads of feedback, etc. All to no avail ... after 1.5 years and >100 jobs completed, I still see the same class of low-margin, high-complexity, tight-deadline jobs.

Maybe there is a different class of job, that you see, that I don't. It's either that, or your version of "good margin" is way different than mine. I can see where if your shop rate is half what mine is, Xometry jobs are indeed "good margin".

Regards.

Mike

 

[triumph406]

We are still doing a fair amount of work for Xometry every day. I do understand some of the frustration from others on this board, but I don't totally understand the complete hatred towards them and their business model. Their platform is where the industry is moving towards, and whether its Xom, or any of the 20 other places doing the exact same thing, it is the direction the industry is headed. We are seeing a lot of work from fortune 100 companies that are now using their platform. We couldn't get the time of day with ANY of those companies without Xom as a middle man. I'm willing to pay for that, and its working well for us. Engineers can now upload a solid model and print for instantaneous pricing and DFM feedback. They can then forward that quote to purchasing and have a PO cut in an hour or less. We still do a lot of traditional quoting for other customers, and it can take a few days to get a quote to them, then weeks for PO's with little to no feedback from the customer. Xom and platforms like it change all of that. Perhaps it will lead to even lazier engineers, or a complete collapse of the industry. Or perhaps its just the direction everyone will move, and it will become the new norm. I personally think that its good for the industry in a lot of ways. Sure there are some draw backs, but over time the market will correct that. In 3 years of doing work with them, I am still quite satisfied with the relationship I have built with them, and the ways it benefits my machine shop. I started with 1 machine and myself doing work for them when I was slow after my first year. Its grown steadily since then and their work and their platform (which is a lot more than just the job board) has allowed us to continually expand.

Just because I don't have 54000 posts here doesn't mean I am lying, or fake. I've been a member for a long time, and don't hide behind my username. Its a platform that we have adapted to make work to our benefit, and it works well. We make good margin on the jobs, we get paid on time (which is becoming a larger problem for our non Xom customers).

View attachment 323008View attachment 323009

ASS9100D is that you??

 

[Hightemp]

Parallels to amazon: I use amazon because it is so incredibly convenient. I can see Xometry filling the same role. I do have relationships with a bunch of local machine shops, but quite honestly getting a quote can take a week or two from some of them, and often the lead time is long. While I do prefer giving the local shops the business, having an internet source that is fast and reliable is a proposition that has value.

Exactly my experience. They are always faster than local shops, usually easier to deal with, and often cheaper.

 

[AARONT]

Exactly my experience. They are always faster than local shops, usually easier to deal with, and often cheaper.

Thats like saying you would rather go under the bridge for a rub and tug, than go to a massage parlor.

 

[jz79]

a more appropriate comparison would be a shopping mall and mom and pop stores, plenty of evidence how that turns out in the end, yet people still want to profit from stock trading (thus indirectly supporting the company) and buying something 0.10 cheaper

 

[nateacox]

ASS9100D is that you??

It must be. Only logical explanation.

 

[nateacox]

All I can say is your experience is quite different than mine. I have tried mightily to get Xometry jobs to align with my business parameters. I've cold-called Xometry reps, I've sent loads of feedback, etc. All to no avail ... after 1.5 years and >100 jobs completed, I still see the same class of low-margin, high-complexity, tight-deadline jobs.

Maybe there is a different class of job, that you see, that I don't. It's either that, or your version of "good margin" is way different than mine. I can see where if your shop rate is half what mine is, Xometry jobs are indeed "good margin".

Regards.

Mike

I consider making between 65 and 90 per hour as good, and anything above that as great. I'm in Michigan so my overhead is what I would consider quite reasonable. I've also never had that golden goose customer to compare to. All of my other customers are a similar margin, pay slower, and require the same amount or more personal attention.

I don't accept any of the low margin jobs, we do take some of the short lead time work when we can. Our average lead time we take is 3 weeks.

I agree our boards must be very different, but I honestly have no idea how the algorithm chooses who sees what. I do know that several of the other shops in town take work and haven't had anything bad to say yet. I guess as long as the majority of shops avoid them, I should be able to continue growing with them.

 

[nateacox]

I think your insinuation of hatred is a distraction from an honest discussion of the topic. I can have an honest, informed opinion that does not support them or their business model.

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe everything you say (although ass9100d had screenshots of all the loot he was raking in too). Still, you are one in ten (probably more) that is lucky. Maybe you got in early, maybe your dad works there, don’t care. It’s easily observed that the other 9/10 who have tried have had crap results and their stories are all almost identical. When it comes to investing, I’m going with the 9 not the 1. My two cents.

Their model removes the critical communication path between designer and machinist. Their model also suggests highly trained machinist with very expensive equipment should work for minimum wage or thereabouts and the option to give the work to China is front and center. I would also not be surprised if the domestic part does just disappear completely. Don’t forget you’re supposed to sit there and work for free improving their algorithm all day when you’re not on a job. If you think this new reach around economy is the way of the future, you are welcome to your opinion. Don’t accuse someone who doesn’t think the same way as you as being a hater. This song is the jam though: haterz

I would never disclose my personal financial situation on a message board, and my post history certainly is not full of braggadocio. I just keep saying it works for us. It works for some other shops we are friends with also.

Maybe hatred was the wrong word. I've had plenty of customers leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I would never bad mouth them in public or call them out for the issues I had.

I guess my experience with them is quite different, bit I have a feeling my experience with one of your best customers would probably be quite different than yours also.

 

[mkd]

Maybe hatred was the wrong word.

Maybe jealous rage would be more apt?

How many negative nancies here IPO'd a company?

 

[triumph406]

Their model removes the critical communication path between designer and machinist. Their model also suggests highly trained machinist with very expensive equipment should work for minimum wage or thereabouts and the option to give the work to China is front and center.

A local company I do work for sends a lot of parts to China. The Chinese NEVER ask for drawings, NEVER.They NEVER ask questions of the designer, they just make the f'ing parts. Somehow the Chinese seem to be able to deliver good parts ontime with zero problems and with the absence of any "critical communication path"

They did tell me by the time local shops gets around to giving them a quote, the Chinese have already quoted, made and shipped the parts.