Chinese 3D Printer Maker Zhuhai CTC Electronic Pulls the Plug on Kickstarter Initiative

Chinese 3D printer manufacturer, Zhuhai CTC Electronic Co., Ltd. (CTC), has announced the cancelation of its Formaker all-in-one project on reward-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter despite the initial success of the project, creating a big buzz across the industry.

The Formaker, which debuted on Kickstarter at a price of $999 on August 10th, integrates four powerful functionalities: 3D printing, CNC engraving, laser cutting and PCB etching, grabbing the attention of 3D printer makers and media outlets around the world. Several industry portals, including 3dprint.Com, Geek-gadget.com and 3dprintingindustrial.com, published reports about the 3D printer.

The multi-functional 3D printer project raised $42,000 within only six days after its debut on the platform, representing 80% of CTC’s anticipated fundraising goal.  CTC’s cancelation of the campaign announcement has received strong feedback from backers of the project. Frans, a backer of the project, commented:

“I’m surprised to see this project was canceled. I believe the idea and the campaign here generated a lot of interest and hope.”

Some industry watchers expressed doubts when CTC decided to market the printer through Kickstarter with the launch of the project rather than simply raising money through more conventional channels, while other campaign’s supporters said that they understood why the company chose the crowdfunding route. Another backer noted:

“I’m not convinced that the cancelation of the Kickstarter project is a bad thing. CTC is for years in the market as company, should have enough budget available and be not dependent on $US 50,000 to develop the Formaker on basis of their existing Bizer III 3-D printer.”

CTC Electronic PR manager Yoyo Hee announced on behalf of the company that CTC has dismissed Christopher M. Donovan, a US employee who oversaw the authentication of the company’s Kickstarter account, for allegedly defrauding the company through unauthorized control of the beneficiary account.

The company had to cancel the project to ensure the security of capital raised from backers and is in negotiation with Kickstarter on the re-launch of the project in order to meet the wishes of consumers.  Hee further stated:

“The dismissal of Mr. Donovan is expected to have no impact on the development process of the product as he was not part of the technology team of the Formaker project. CTC is pulling out all the stops to advance the process while upgrading the optical output power of the Formaker’s laser cutter to over one watt from the previous 350 milliwatts at the request of backers. Backers will be entitled to buy the printer at the original price in return for their continued support if and when the project is either re-launched on the platform or developed successfully through another channel.”