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International CES Features 3D Printing Conference Track and Tech Zone

December 1, 2013

The scope of the International CES conference and expo extends well beyond everyday electronics such as TVs, tablets, audio systems, cameras, and gadgets.

The 2014 International CES (January 7-10) in Las Vegas will showcase how connected technologies are changing the way we run our homes, drive our cars, educate our children, monitor our health, care for the sick, buy things in stores, play games, and watch videos. Tech zones will include areas devoted to robotics, fashionware, fitness technology, digital health innovations, and 3D printing.

The 3D Printing TechZone will showcase the various additive manufacturing processes that are being used in making prototypes in the medical, aerospace, engineering, and automotive industries as well as the more compact 3D printers that are making the process more accessible to makers and consumers.

A Conference Track entitled, “Don’t Believe the Hype? 3D Printing Uncovered” is being organized by experts from TCT Magazine and Personalize.

Personalize is a web portal that delivers 3D printing news and printable designs to consumers. TCT Magazine is a leading source of business intelligence on industrial 3D printing. They have been covering the topic for more than 20 years. The editors of TCT magazine note that “3D printing is an overnight sensation that has been around for 30 years. Consisting of tens of technologies processing hundreds of materials, there’s more to it than meets they eye.”

The 3D Printing Conference track at CES will bring together thought leaders, 3D printer manufacturers, champions of 3D printing-related businesses models, and industrial super-users of 3D printing processes.

Speakers will include:

Avi Reichental, CEO of the 3D printing equipment manufacturer 3D Systems,
Clement Moreau, CEO of the Sculpteo 3D printing service, and
TCT columnist and technology consultant Todd Grimm.

Other Programs of Interest to Creators

Sometimes, the disruptive impact of emerging technologies can difficult to predict. Many of the conference sessions are less about the technologies, and more about the types of changes they might bring.

For example, one session will focus on how Hollywood is being affected by the world of always-connected, always-on media and the ability to watch video whenever and wherever we want. Another session will examine how mobile photography on smartphones and tablets has affected photography-related businesses.

A session entitled “The Roar of the Crowd” will examine how crowdfunding through sites such as Kickstarter to deviantArt is changing how content is funded, created, and curated.

Other session titles include:

Merging Content with New Technologies
The Digital Copyright Debate: What Needs to Change?
YouTube: Unlocking the Power of Programming, Premium Content, and Advertising
The Future of Gaming
The Smartphone/Tablet Economy
The Multiscreen Universe
Redefining the Relationship Between the Consumer, Advertising, and Media Platforms
The State of Digital Music
Impact of the 3D Printing Revolution
The Power of Co-Creation and the Maker Revolution

International CES

The International CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Held in Las Vegas every year, it has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years—the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace.

CES showcases more than 3,200 exhibitors, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more; a conference program with more than 300 sessions; and more than 152,000 attendees from more than 150 countries.

LINKS

2014 International CES

Follow CES on Social Media

CES TV

Fashionable Belts and Clutches Personalized with 3D Printed Hardware

September 24, 2013

DESIGNERS. Here’s a fresh example of how entrepreneurial creatives are incorporating 3D-printed designs into customized products.

Bow & Drape, the fashion brand that lets women add their personal touch to every piece, has partnered with the 3D printing marketplace Shapeways to launch a line of 3D printed, jewelry-grade metal accessories for Fall 2013.

The line includes leather belts and clutches with 3D printed hardware. The adjustable 100% leather or twill belt comes in 4 colors (black leather, tan leather, natural twill and black twill), and each customer can choose among different brass and metal buckle designs brought to life by Shapeways.

On the Bow & Drape website (www.bowanddrape.com) you can customize each Galaxy Belt with 3D printed hardware from Shapeways.

Each piece is also interchangeable so the belts function more like a collection. “They were inspired by a vintage 1970s belt from Paris,” says Creative Director and CEO, Aubrie Pagano. “We hope that our customers invest in our hardware over time. That way, women can interchange designs just as their mood changes.”

Bow & Drape’s clutches don 3D printed zipper pulls in an assortment of animals and miscellaneous shapes. .

“The decision to incorporate 3D printing technology was a natural choice for us,” says Pagano, “we are standing at the forefront of fashion and technology, so this brand of me- commerce rings true to our ethos.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Bow & Drape on their new line of 3D printed accessories,” said Carine Carmy, Director of Marketing at Shapeways. “This partnership is a natural extension of our vision at Shapeways, which aims to enable anyone to turn an idea into reality. Shapeways and Bow & Drape share the goal of helping individuals create meaningful, personalized products, and we’re inspired to see how designers are using 3D printing to bring innovation and custom design to the fashion industry.”

Bow & Drape creates modern elegant womenswear and wants women to add their personal touch to each piece. “We believe style is as unique as a fingerprint,” says Pagano, “and so we want to equip women to really own their style and choose if they would like something a little extra special. It’s a reinvention of the private client model; everyone knows designers’ most loyal and successful customers are the ones that they work with privately to create totally personalized fashions. We are simply allowing more customers access to this service model.”

How It Works

Bow & Drape works closely with CAD designers, artisans and independent printers such as Shapeways to create designs that are a strong representation of the collection. Each design is meticulously constructed to be both aesthetically beautiful and structurally sound.

Through the Bow & Drape website, women can choose the design of their 3D printed hardware from a curated selection of vintage-inspired shapes including: geometric bows, elephants, lions, carousel horses, beetles, and even lipstick. New designs will be added each season.

Shapeways will then print each belt buckle or clutch pull to order, and Bow & Drape will attach the finished metal pieces to the customer’s selected material for delivery. The customer should receive her printed accessory within two weeks.

The Fall 2013 Collection is just the beginning. Bow & Drape is exploring new ways to allow customers to place their marks on the design process. Other uses for 3D printing technology, the company believes, will open doors to new customer interaction models, new manufacturing processes and new product delivery channels.

Imagine in five years, being able to license a Bow & Drape design, modify it in CAD, and print it out in your home. “This is not a so distant reality,” Pagano says,” and we are excited to help usher in the future of fashion.”

The Fall 3D printed line is currently available and retails between $48 and $148.

About Bow & Drape

Launched in late 2012, Bow & Drape is an e-clothier and innovative womenswear brand bringing a custom-made approach to the hands of every female shopper. Recently named as one of Teen Vogue’s “10 Fashion Start Ups That Will Change the Way You Shop,” Bow & Drape merges high tech with high fashion. From hemlines to buttons to necklines to colors, Bow & Drape’s personalization technology encourages women to bring their personal touch to every detail of their wardrobe.

About Shapeways

Shapeways is one of the world’s leading 3D-printing marketplaces and online communities. The NY startup harnesses 3D printing to help anyone turn ideas into reality, making product design more accessible, personal, and inspiring.

Shapeways prints everything on-demand, which means that every order is customized and personalized.

LINKS

Bow & Drape

3D Printed Hardware on Belts and Clutches

Shapeways

Bow & Drape Opens Custom Dressmaking E-Shop with $32K in Kickstarter Funds

Websites Help Designers of 3-D Printed Objects Sell Templates to Consumers

September 2, 2013

DESIGNERS.Now that anyone can buy a 3D printer at Staples or through Amazon, interest in 3D printing is rising. According to Lux Research, 3D printing will be an $8.4 billion industry by 2025, up from under $1 billion in 2012. Although the models at Staples and Amazon sell for around $1200, some low-end printers, such as the MakiBox, will cost around $200. Enterprise-class 3D printers are expected to be available for under $2,000 by the year 2016.

What the 3D printing world needs now is easy access to print-ready files for creating a wider range of products. Here are a few online marketplaces through which designers can make their files available to consumers around the world.

Cuboyo.com

Founded by three 3D printing enthusiasts in Lausanne, Switzerland, Cuboyo provides a virtual library for any type of useful object a consumer might want to 3D print and use immediately. The Cuboyo team is striving to take 3D printing beyond the realm of technophiles and make it more user-friendly to consumers. They promote their site as the marketplace for 3D printable objects. Product categories include hardware, gifts, accessories and spare parts, home and garden, sporting goods, automotive, logos and symbols, travel, IT and electronics, and kids and baby.

The process flows like this: A skilled designer creates a file corresponding to a 3D product such as a cellphone case, chess set, or ice cube tray and uploads it to Cuboyo.com Consumers can then browse through the categories, select the objects they want to print, and download the files.

LINKS

Cuboyo LLC

How Cuboyo Works

3DLT.com

This Cincinnati-based start-up has developed a marketplace through which industrial designers, companies, and makers can upload and sell 3D printable designs directly to consumers. They offer designs for toys, tools, fashion, furniture, and gadgets.

“With all of the interest in 3D printing, and the sheer number of 3D printers being sold, there will soon be a huge demand for content, and that’s what 3DLT provides,” explains 3DLT CEO Pablo Arellano, Jr.

Buyers can output purchased designs on their own 3D printers or have the designed object printed at one of the 500 print shops already in the 3DLT network of 3D printers. The printed item can be picked up or drop shipped to the buyer’s home. The 500 3D printers that can be accessed through the 3DLT website provide abundant options, including a wide choice of materials and competitive pricing. The founders of 3DLT believe this feature can help make 3D printing possible for nearly anyone.

Arellanno believes 3DLT’s business model has the potential to change the way people shop: “Walmart made shopping easier by putting millions of products under one roof, closer to the consumer. Amazon took the next step of delivering to your doorstep. 3DLT goes even further by allowing you to choose, when, where, and how the items you buy are manufactured.”

LINKS

3DLT: 3D Printing Template Marketplace

How to Sell on 3DLT

Coming Soon to a Print Shop Near You?

Even if 3D printers become affordable enough for use in homes or collaborative studios, the size of the items that can be printed at home may be limited. Commercial 3D printing businesses can specialize in outputting larger objects or more complex designs on a wider range of materials.

It will be interesting to see how the topic of 3D printing is addressed at the PRINT 13 Conference, September 8-12 in Chicago.

A post on Forbes.com contends that “UPS May Have Hit Pay Dirt with 3D Printing.” The article describes some of the early successes achieved in a UPS test project to see whether it makes sense for UPS franchisees to offer 3D printing as a service. The 3-D printing service offered by a UPS Store in San Diego has attracted interest from consumers, students, small businesses, and corporations.

When I’m in Chicago for PRINT 13, maybe I will visit The 3D Printer Experience on North Clark Street and get my head scanned and “printed” as a 3D bust. The facility has more than twenty 3D printers in house and conducts workshops on different facets of personal, desktop manufacturing.

Enterprise-Class 3D Printers Will Be Available for Under $2,000 by 2016

MakerShop Enables You to Monetize Your Designs for 3D Printing

Learn How 3D Printing May Affect Art, Design and Business

MakerShop Enables You to Monetize Your Designs for 3D Printing

July 11, 2013

MakerShop.co is an online marketplace for 3D printer designs. If you have a design you would like to monetize, you can either set up a basic storefront for free, or pay a small, monthly fee for a more customizable shop that offers a richer experience for your fans. On the subscription sites, you can customize many of the pages with videos, donate buttons, or special graphics.

Michael Spivey of SpiveyWorks created MakerShop.co earlier this year, because he envisions a time in the not-too-distant future when certain designs will go viral. A designer in one country one might devise something so cool over a weekend that tens of thousands of people around the world will want to download the design and print it on their own 3D printers.

The MakerShop.co website passed the 5,000th download mark in June after fans flocked to Fantasygraph’s 3D printer designs. The owner of the Fantasygraph shop said “For a long time, I tried to find a good website to run my own ‘Web shop’ for my 3D printing product. As soon as I found MakerShop, I knew that I had found my place. The interface was neat and professional, and the opening of my web shop was free and was made in ten minutes without a problem.”

Spivey believes that enabling MakerShop “store owners” to embed more videos on their pages will enable them to make better, and more personal connections with their fans.

“People want to know who the designer is when they create great work,” says Spivey. “3D printing the work of a person is one dimension of connection. Video provides an additional way for designers to differentiate themselves in a growing marketplace for 3D printable models.”

LINK

MakerShop

Enterprise-Class 3D Printers Will Be Available for Under $2,000 by 2016

March 27, 2013

Successful creative professionals can discern what types of technology skills might be most in demand in the next few years by reading reports from technology research firms. For example, designers should pay attention to what’s happening with 3D printing.

Analysts at the Gartner technology advisory service are urging enterprises to start experimenting now with 3D printing technology to improve traditional product design and prototyping, with the potential to create new product lines and markets.

In a report entitled “How 3D Printing Disrupts Business and Creates New Opportunities,” they point out that 3D printing is already disrupting the design, prototyping and manufacturing processes in a wide range of industries and will soon become available to consumers via kiosks or print-shop-style services.

“3D printing is a technology accelerating to mainstream adoption,” said Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner. “It is a technology of great interest to the general media, with demonstrations on science shows, on gadget websites and in other areas. From descriptions of exciting current uses in medical, manufacturing and other industries to futuristic ideas — such as using 3D printers on asteroids and the moon to create parts for spacecraft and lunar bases — the hype leads many people to think the technology is some years away when it is available now and is affordable to most enterprises.”

Broad Acceptance of 3D Printers

The material science behind 3D printing processes and materials will continue to progress, and affordable 3D printers are lowering the cost of entry into manufacturing in the same way that e-commerce lowered the barriers to the sale of goods and services. As a result, the 3D printer market will continue moving from niche adoption to broad acceptance, driven by lower printer prices, the potential for cost and time savings, greater capabilities, and improved performance that drives benefits and markets.

Businesses can use 3D printing to design personalized products, components, working prototypes and architectural models to promote their brand and products in new and interactive ways. Indeed, there are opportunities to create entirely new product lines in which the finished 3D-printed product is what the consumer purchases.

3D printers are now priced so that any size business can invest in them and start experimenting with the myriad ways to monetize them. By 2016, enterprise-class 3D printers will be available for under $2,000. Early adopters can experiment with 3D printers with minimal risk of capital or time, possibly gaining an advantage in product design and time to market over their competition, as well as understanding the realistic material costs and time to build parts.

Furthermore, enterprise uses for 3D printers have expanded as capabilities of 3D scanners and design tools have advanced, and as the commercial and open-source development of additional design software tools has made 3D printing more practical. Gartner believes that the commercial market for 3D print applications will continue expanding into architectural, engineering, geospatial and medical uses, as well as short-run manufacturing.

“Businesses must continuously monitor advances to identify where improvements can be leveraged,” said Mr. Basiliere. “We see 3D printing as a tool for empowerment, already enabling life-changing parts and products to be built in struggling countries, helping rebuild crisis-hit areas and leading to the democratization of manufacturing.”

3D printing is already established in industries ranging from automotive manufacturing to consumer goods to the military, as well as the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Major multinational retailers have the means to market the technology to consumers and generate revenue by selling printers and supplies, as well as from sales of individual 3D-printed pieces. One vision is for the retailers to not only sell the printers, but also offer a service bureau that prints custom items or personalized variations on stock items, a key consumer trend.

Another possibility is for roving display vans to visit the retailer’s stores. Customers would visit these self-contained vans parked in front of the store that contain two or three operating printers and watch parts being made (including possibly their own personalized 3D item).

Alternatively, the consumer could order the custom or personalized part to be made while they are shopping, or to be available for pickup the next day.

Models of chains, gears, wheels, and even a dinosaur are made at the touch of a button on the using the Dimension 1200es 3D printer at Braintree Printing in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Braintree Printing Adds 3D Printing Capabilities

When I read about reports by marketing analysts, I look for evidence that some of their predictions are coming to pass in the real world. On my Great Output blog, I recently published a news item about Braintree Printing, a 30-year-old commercial printing company that has recently purchased a 3D printing device. They will be using the device to enable customers to convert digital files supplied by customers into physical 3D objects, such as prototypes, customized parts, and architectural
and medical models.

LINKS

Gartner Report: How 3D Printing Disrupts Business and Creates New Opportunities

About Gartner

Great Output: Offset Printing Business Adds 3D Printing Services

Learn How 3D Printing May Affect Art, Design, and Business

March 3, 2013March 3, 2013

WebMediaBrands (parent company of Media Bistro) is organizing two 3D Printing Conferences and Exhibitions this year. The first “Inside 3D Printing” event will be held April 22-23 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. A West Coast conference will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center on September 24-26.

“Inside 3D Printing is the first event to delve into the present and future of the business impact of 3D printing,” said Alan M. Meckler, Chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands. “3D printing has become the next great technological disruptive force in the field of ‘making things’ and according to a recent article in The Economist, 3D printing ‘could well rewrite the rules of manufacturing in much the same way as the PC trashed the traditional world of computing.'”

The conference program is being designed for architects, artists, jewelry and fashion designers, industrial designers, marketers, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, software developers, venture capitalists, intellectual property lawyers, and other professionals whose careers might be affected by the growth of 3D printing.

The program chair for the inaugural event is Dr. Hod Lipson, the director of Cornell University’s Creative Machines Laboratory and co-author of the new book: Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing.

“3D printing is already shaking our age-old notions of what can and can’t be made,” said Hod Lipson. “But what we’ve seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. The next episode of 3D printing will involve printing entirely new kinds of materials. Eventually we will print complete products — circuits, motors, and batteries already included. At that point, all bets are off.”

Keynote speakers include Terry Wohlers, an expert in rapid product development and additive manufacturing, and Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO of the Shapeways 3D printing online marketplace and community for personalized production. Weijmarshausen is a global expert on 3D printing, entrepreneurship, internet marketing, and business development.

Conference sessions will include:

3D Printing Firearms: The End of Gun Control?
Design Tools in the Age of 3D Printing
Transforming Education through 3D Printing Digital Materials
Spotlight on Fashion, Art and Architecture: Redefining the Future of Design
How Professional Investors Are Playing the 3D Printing Boom.

Early bird registration rates are in effect until March 14.

The conference sponsor, WebMediaBrands, is an Internet media company that provides content, education, and career services to social media, traditional media, and creative professionals.

Book: Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing

Whether you plan to attend the conference or not, reading the book “Fabricated” will give you some insights into why creative professionals should care about 3D Printing.

“Fabricated: provides an introduction to 3D printing now and in the future. The book explains why 3D printers “are bursting out of the factory” into homes, businesses, schools, kitchens, hospitals, even the fashion catwalk to create an explosion of technological and social innovation.

Based on hundreds of hours of research and dozens of interviews with experts from a broad range of industries, The book was written to help you imagine some answers to this question: “How will 3D printing technologies change my life?”

You can read about pioneering teachers, small businesses, artists, surgeons and researchers who are applying 3D printing. In addition to explaining the basics of 3D printing, the book covers weird and wonderful applications such as printing food, dental crowns and (someday) replacement heart valves, organs and joints.

Consider this: As more people acquire the tools to duplicate or “edit” commercial products or works of art, intellectual property challenges may rise to a whole new level.

LINKS

Inside 3D Printing Conference

Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing by Hod Libson and Melba Kurman

DeltaMaker Wants to Change How We See 3D Printing

February 12, 2013

If futurists such as Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson are correct, many of us are going to have personal 3D printers in our homes some day. So, would you rather buy a 3D printer that looks like a microwave oven? Or would you prefer a device that’s more interesting to watch?

DeltaMaker LLC is banking on the fact that many people would opt for a more elegantly designed 3D printer –one that makes the act of creation as interesting as the finished 3D products they can generate. They came up with a prototype design to “shift 3D printing from industrial spaces and back rooms to living rooms, waiting rooms, and classrooms.”

The four engineers behind the design believe that “While many artists and designers produce finished pieces of art from 3D printers, we view the creation process as art as well. We envision an artist who not only displays his finished works during an exhibition, but has a DeltaMaker creating a new piece during the show.”

Apparently many other people can see the potential in DeltaMaker’s innovative design as well.

DeltaMaker launched a Kickstarter campaign on January 24 with a funding goal of $107,000. So far (as of February 12), they have raised more than $115,000 from 173 backers. This puts them among the small percentage of Kickstarter projects that has attracted more than $100,000. And the campaign isn’t scheduled to close until Feburary 28, 2013.

So, if you want to help the DeltaMaker team move their innovative 3D printer into production, there is still time to contribute to the Kickstarter campaign. You can pledge as little as $1 or as much as you like. DeltaMaker is offering rewards ranging from T-shirts and 3D prints to actual DeltaMaker 3D printer.

The DeltaMaker project team chose the crowdfunding route because they want to cultivate a community of passionate supporters who can help with word-of-mouth marketing. Printers are expected to begin shipping in low quantities in June with production scaling up in the following months.

The DeltaMaker startup team, Bob Houston, Robin Lopez, Zack Monninger, and Craig Rettew, have been developing the DeltaMaker prototype for the past year. All four founders have undergraduate degrees in engineering (mechanical, electrical, aerospace, and software engineering) and have worked in industry for companies such as IBM, Lockheed Martin, and FLIR Systems. Together, they have decades of engineering and product development experience, and understand what it takes to design and produce complex systems.

Now that the project has successfully reached its funding goal, the DeltaMaker team has hired the Charlotte-based digital marketing firm, Command Partners to accelerate the growth of the start-up company.

“Yes, there are other 3D printers out there, but this one is a no brainer,” says Amish Shah, Managing Partner and CEO of Command Partners. “With a clean aesthetic feel, they’ve tapped a new market and positioned it as a conversation piece for display.”

LINKS

Kickstarter Campaign for DeltaMaker

Facebook Page: DeltaMaker

Twitter: DeltaMaker

Will 2013 Be the Year of the Makers?

SME To Display Art Created with 3D Printing and Imaging

ARTICLES

Wired Magazine: The New MakerBot Replicator Might Just Change Your World, by Chris Anderson