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Domestic Design
Thanks to the falling cost of domestic 3D printers and
the work of virtual manufacturers in promoting the
technology to consumers, there is a growing market
of hobbyists or makers using domestic 3D printers
for the production of professional, custom-designed
objects at home.
Virtual manufacturing services such as Scuplteo,
Shapeways and I.materialse operate shared
factories that serve as the back end for small-scale
unit manufacturing, allowing amateurs as well as
professional designers and makers to print objects to
specification any time.
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Sculpteo and I.materialse: This online service
provides printing through uploaded design files,
and then allocates them to the best current
technologies and materials for the design. The
service allows for the unit price to be controlled
through adjusting which materials to use.
Once designs have ben uploaded, this service
provides a global marketplace by integrating
custom shops to sell designs.
Sculpteo
© Sculpteo
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Redefine
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Global retailer Staples is to launch a new
service, Staples Easy 3D, that will allow
customers to upload designs to the Staples
website and then pick up the printed objects
at their local store. Using Iris printers, objects
generated will be made from paper, which can
then have photorealistic colouring added.
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There’s also a growing range of personal 3D
initiatives, printers and kit, becoming more
accessible both in size and price, and hinting
at a future in which most homes could have a
3D printer. Maker Bot’s Replicators, RepRap
and Fab@Home are all grabbing headlines for
their consumer-facing printers and scanners.
Maker Bot opened its first store in New York in
September 2012.
Consumer Product