Shapeways: Turning Ideas Into Reality

By Uloop Editor on April 3, 2012

This post is a part of the East Coast Startup Series by Uloop’s Director of Student News.  To see all the posts in this series, click here.

3-D printing is a technology that has been around in one form or another since the late 1980′s.  While it used to be too expensive for the average consumer, one company is looking to change that forever.

Paving the Path for Creativity

Shapeways was founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing the manufacturing advantages of 3-D printing to any designer, inventor, or hobbyist.  The basic idea is simple: upload a design from your favorite CAD or drafting software, choose from 25 materials, and have the item printed and sent to your home or business.  The really unique thing about Shapeways is the way they allow users to create and then sell their item in their marketplace, opening the door for entrepreneurial designers to minimize their stock on hand and lower their shipping costs dramatically.

I got to sit down with Carine Carmy from Shapeways to ask her about the technology and some of the amazing things that people are creating using their service.  While there are a few physical limitations to the technology, Carine told me that you’re really limited by your imagination.  Shapeways even offers an API for software developers who want to create their own design interfaces for users.

How Much Does it Cost?

The price largely depends on the size and material of your designed product.  Things like iPhone cases, jewelry, and small sculptures usually cost under $20 and the designs can be about as intricate as you can imagine.  On the high end of the spectrum, some designers are creating custom furniture and home decorations in steel that can set you back by thousands of dollars.  While this sounds pricey, it still beats the cost of commissioning a blacksmith, and Shapeways can do things that are simply impossible with traditional manufacturing processes.  One designer has even uploaded all the pieces needed to create your own 3-D printer.

Bringing Manufacturing Back to America

Small batch manufacturing can be very expensive, and if you commission a cheaper company overseas, it can take weeks or months to build and ship the product to your warehouse or customers.  Shapeways is doing something that is almost unheard of today: opening a manufacturing facility in New York City.  Because the company was founded in the Netherlands, they currently have to ship their products from Europe, but thanks to over $11 million in venture capital investment in the past two years, Shapeways will be opening a manufacturing and distribution center in New York.

The Future for Shapeways

As the company grows and 3-D printing technology improves, Shapeways has big plans to spread its influence to creative designers across the country.  They’re already partnering with some popular internet content providers to allow users to more easily customize and print their own designs, and as their manufacturing and distribution network grows, products will get to customers faster than ever before.  As many of the startups in this series, Shapeways is hiring, so if you’re about to graduate, this might be an opportunity you don’t want to miss!

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