The Series Finale
The Atomic Layers: FINAL EPISODE (00300)
The Atomic Layers – my flagship, daily newsletter on The 3D Printing Journal – has been published for 300 consecutive days. Today is the last one…
Yes, dear readers, all good things must come to an end. This amazing streak began on August 6th of last year and has continued non-stop until today. 300 days in a row, including weekends and holidays. Not a single missed date.
This is how it all was started…
But just like my historical series that ended three weeks ago, I’ve now decided – this is enough.
As of writing this, the newsletter has 747 subscribers and gets over 1800 views per day (with peak records surpassing 4000 views/day). Among the subscribers are representatives from every major AM company you can think of – including their most recognizable figures.
The main partner of The 3D Printing Journal is Dyndrite – one of the largest and most important AM software developers in the world.
But why shut it down…?
First, because writing interesting articles daily, tracking down news and gossip, and – above all – writing it all in a way that those bastards can't sue me is hard, demanding, and time-consuming.
In other words:
Second – and this might surprise you – constantly writing about others’ f*ups is depressing. Honestly, I’d rather write about good things, except:
there are very few of them
objectively, they’re much less interesting than the bad ones
and the bad ones? Holy sh*t, they’re wild! Not reporting on them is a sin!
The last year and a half has been a series of failures across the Western AM industry. My loyal readers know exactly what I mean. I’ve become the main herald of these apocalyptic updates. I did it because no one else approached this with the same intensity:
I’m not saying others didn’t cover these things – just that very few were as direct as I was. And I’ve never published the PR-driven “explanations” from companies whose dirty secrets I exposed.
Still, it takes a toll on your mental health. Just look at the last week’s articles:
Writing those stories is like unblocking sewage drains. Important and necessary – but not exactly pleasant.
So that’s it for now.
Wait, what?
You’re not publishing anything anymore?
Oh no, of course I am.
As I wrote three weeks ago, I’ve got new projects. Here’s what’s coming:
3DPJ War Journal – my flagship LinkedIn series will now also be published on The 3D Printing Journal. New issues every Monday at 10:00 AM CET (same schedule as before).
Recode AM – a project I previewed to a few people/companies back in March. Initially, I thought about releasing it as a PDF digital magazine, but it will now be a series of weekly articles every Wednesday on The 3D Printing Journal.
Recode AM will focus exclusively on 3D printing software – exploring selected topics and challenges, describing software tools, and possibly including interviews with company reps. Expect familiar Atomic Layers-style news and profiles of AM software companies.
AM Survivor – I hope this will be my new flagship project that will elevate The 3D Printing Journal to an even higher level.
A series of articles about the hardships and realities of running an AM business, published every Friday. I’ll draw on my own extensive experience, as well as the countless stories I’ve heard from other companies and individuals over the years.
Instead of reporting on failures, the aim is to analyze their causes, outline what was done well or poorly, and create mini-guides on what mistakes to avoid and what practices are worth emulating. And no, I’m not talking about Desktop Metals – but smaller, local companies that most businesses can actually relate to.
I want to do more interviews with people who’ve walked long, hard roads and have powerful stories to tell.
Because this cycle won’t be about “success stories” (of which there are only a handful in AM history), but about “survival stories” – tales of overcoming adversity and winning battles, even if the war still rages on…
We begin this coming Wednesday and Friday.
It’s going to be great – less quantity, but higher quality.
As for industry news – it will continue to be published, mainly here on Notes, but also on LinkedIn. So not much will change in that regard.
Oh – and don’t worry, I won’t pull a Tom Orbach – creator of Tom’s Marketing Ideas, one of the best newsletters on Substack – who, after years of free content, suddenly locked everything behind a paywall and now spams me twice a day telling me how my life will be transformed if I buy his subscription.
Nope. The 3D Printing Journal will stay free.
If I ever want to commercialize anything, I’ll launch a new newsletter – this one stays free. (You can take screenshots!)
BUT REGARDLESS OF THAT, THE NEXT BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING UP!!!
The details will be revealed in the coming days. It has nothing to do with ending The Atomic Layers — it’s a complete coincidence. Seriously, on August 6, 2024, I wasn’t thinking about ending the series after 300 episodes, and that it would just happen to fall on June 2, 2025. And that it would coincide with…
Well, You’ll read about that soon…
Well done Pawel, and thank you for what you did in this last 300 days. I can't say I've read everything, but really most of it !
Let's keep in touch !
Nicolas