An Unknown Formula for Starting-Up: Some 3D Printing Companies Have It, Some Don’t, Some Should.

There is an issue I have picked up on in 3D printing land that is the result of positive growth, but it also poses a problem that exists across every sector of industry.

As the 3D printing industry has continued to grow, at an increasing rate, the number of companies both large and small that enter the space, increases in parallel. The larger these companies are, the more noise is made about them. HP epitomizes this point particularly well. Everyone within the industry and many that are not directly involved, knows that this giant conglomerate has developed a new 3D printing / additive manufacturing technology platform that is not commercially available yet, but will/may be by the end of next year. The dedicated HP marketing machine has made it so.

But, what about the smaller, new start-up companies with an interesting new proposition for the 3D printing market? Here, things are very different. Not only are they competing with the corporate giants but they are also fighting to get their voice heard amid a cacophony of like-minded small start-ups also seeking to be a part of an industry that seems ripe for the picking. Many of these are offering "me-too" products and/or services and thus produce seemingly endless white noise that can drown out singular developments and voices. With often shoe-string budgets and one or two founders having to perform myriad roles (R&D, product development, sales, marketing and finance), the challenges of each role alone are many, and the primary challenge of being seen, heard and, more specifically, understood can be formidable.

There is one company, with a (relatively) new machine offering, that made me confront this issue this week, namely 5axismaker. I confess my guilt in overlooking this young company and failing to recognize the originality behind the proposition until I saw it in person at the TCT Show. I did see the Kickstarter campaign that launched them around this time last year though — I can’t remember what my precise thoughts were a year ago, but a pound to a penny they went something like this: “another desktop machine, another Kickstarter campaign, 5 axis CNC milling – it’s not 3D printing but with a promise of hybrid technology, probably worth a story, who has the capacity to write this up today?” Thus amid the hundred or so other news stories passing across my desk top that week, it didn’t get a second look but it did appear on 3DPI (where I worked at the time), and, of course, other similar sites in the third week of September 2014. From what I can tell, there have been a couple of follow up stories in various places since, but 5axismaker has not really stood out in the crowd as, in my opinion, it could do.

This mid-sized desktop machine now has a number of inter-changeable tool heads that enable it to perform multiple operations, namely 5 axis CNC milling of multiple off-the-shelf materials, 5 axis touch probe scanning and 5 axis 3D printing capabilities with both ABS and PLA materials. The machine is retailing at £5000, is developed and manufactured in the UK and is only one of two machines globally, according to the company’s Managing Director, with these capabilities at this price point.

Even acknowledging the problem for small start-ups, I don’t pretend to have a guaranteed solution. Editors working with voluminous, fast-moving news stories can and probably should try to be more discerning (but that is SO much easier said than done) and the small start-up companies can try and be more original (but, from experience, that can get dismissed as ‘gimmickery’). At the end of the day, however, success seems to come down to an unquantifiable combination of factors, the greatest of which is that the technology proposition will ultimately, eventually stand-out.

Funding is obviously an essential factor in helping to make this happen. But, as a number of “successful” crowd funding campaigns can testify, funding alone does not bring success — execution and experience are vital too. As is networking, via well-selected events and/or shows, which is more likely to garner the type of attention required, if not the volume. Even if, as in this case, it’s tucked away from the main show action. If the tech is physically out there, it provides an opportunity for people to see it in person and to understand its relevance. The audience may be smaller but the impact is greater — person by person. After talking to the 5axismaker team myself, I stood back and observed awhile as visitor after visitor at the TCT show displayed unmistakable comprehension at what this machine could actually do, at a very pleasing price:performance ratio. Two people (within 10 minutes) expressed an interest in buying one “at the earliest opportunity.” You can’t get that sort of engagement from a news story, particularly one that sits among 10-20 other similar news stories on a given day.

Other factors include entrepreneurial spirit, personality, good choices and, of course, just a little bit of luck! Unfortunately, there is no fail-safe formula. I guess if there was, everyone would be doing it!?

There is one new company that seems to have got the formula (whatever it is) right though and as a consequence, is all set to reap the rewards: Carbon3D. The experience of the founders, some serious financial backing, faultless execution, great personality and clever networking have all ensured that the this start-up company — proposing a radical new 3D printing process — has garnered phenomenal attention ahead of commercial launch. Personally I have no doubt that this process is radical and will have a significant impact on the processes currently in the mid-to-top range of the plastic 3D printer platform hierarchy. And, I am reliably informed, not too long to wait to see if I, among others, am right!

Back to Basics

After three years, I have finally figured it out: I am most productive — and happy — when I am just me. So after a summer epiphany, with a number of contributing factors, I am going back to basics. At the most basic level, it comes down to the fact that I love the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry — the tech, the people and the wonderful things that are achieved with it.

Watching and commenting on an industry that I love and have been a part of (albeit on the fringes) for the best part of 20 years, it has been amazing to watch its evolution and growth. In all honesty, there have been periods of disillusionment — I can think of no 20 year relationship that doesn’t go through such times — the most recent being the result of the seemingly endless hyperbole and nonsense. Thus it is about accepting and handling these issues in the best way possible. The hyperbole is par for the course, and the nonsense…. well even that has some value in terms of raising awareness, but it also endangers the real value this amazing technology has to offer, so it needs managing, and sometimes, redress. It is vital, now more than ever, to keep it real, warts and all. So, for me it’s time to (re)embrace the evolution and get back into the middle of it all here on my RPES blog and use my voice again. Returning to freelance status supports these efforts — in terms of time, flexibility and independence. That said, full disclosure is important on the media front, I do still have a freelance affiliation with Disruptive Magazine and will continue working on that magazine because I fully support the honest vision behind that project in terms of high quality, original content about 3D printing and additive manufacturing.

If you want to get in touch, about anything to do with additive technologies and the end-to-end solutions that are burgeoning, or you have an opinion on the nonsense feel free to email me: rachelp@rp-editorialservices.co.uk

Probably One of my Favourite 3D Printing Interviews to Date....

At the recent 3D Printshow in London, I conducted a number of interviews with inspiring individuals doing some amazing things with 3D printing technology. Over the years I have been lucky enough to speak with and interview lots of different people and learned so much in the process. Not least, how to improve the results when pointing a camera at people.

My interview with Lee Cronin, a Professor of Chemistry at Glasgow university has to be one of my all time favourites though. I have been following Lee's work for some time, and I am a big fan of his Twitter feed (@leecronin), which is not just about 3D printing and chemistry, although those things do feature. Rather it points to a well-rounded individual, for whom family is important and world-issues matter, and he has an excellent sense of humour.

That was all confirmed when I met Lee for the first time the night before our interview, at the official launch of Disruptive Magazine, when considerable volumes of alcohol were involved. Things were dialled back slightly by the time the camera was rolling the following morning, but the interview still teases out some of the fundamental issues that Lee is confronting in his bid to democratise chemistry for drug discovery and delivery to the world at large.

The interview has gone live on Disruptive today, you can view it here.

What Happened to 2014 ....?

I have a rare lunch hour free and I thought I should probably check in on my blog, my memory suggesting it had been a few months since my last visit!! 15 months counts as a few, right???

So, here I am, looking at the last post in October 2013, and wondering where on earth the time has gone since then. In reality, 2014 saw my work / life balance skewed so far towards work that, despite some procrastination, by the end of the year it was time for a change. 2015 has been the slowest, and yet still most exciting start to a year since I first went freelance in January 2009. And, it probably beats that, because it comes without uncertainty and self-doubt.

I am now back in the world of employment, working full-time for the brilliant team behind the 3D Printshow, with some exciting new things to come this year. Can't wait to reveal more, and, for anyone that knows me, it's really really hard!

I am going to try and keep things more regular here, for the foreseeable future, I should have parts of my life back that will permit the time to do just that. Although, come the end of this year, that may have all gone to pot.

We'll see....

Manchester Police Raid Sparks the Whole 3DP Gun Thing Off …… Again!

Last Friday morning as I was juggling packed lunches and social media for 3DPI, while attempting to throw a piece of toast down my throat, the voice of a local BBC news presenter interrupted my endeavours, announcing that Greater Manchester Police had seized a 3D printer and what was believed to be plastic gun parts during a sting on organized crime in the city.

My heart sank — here we go again!

What unfolded — across different national UK news channels and social media reactions — throws up a number of issues, all equally frustrating, that just aren’t going to go away any time soon

The initial frustration comes from (badly researched) mass media coverage of a sensational headline. Turns out Sky News broke the story originally with “Police Find First 3D Gun-Printing Factory”.

And we wonder why our children struggle to differentiate between fiction and reality! Until global broadcasters can manage to do it, they are always going to find it difficult.

In reality, one MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer was seized, along with two suspected plastic gun parts (turns out that that they were not parts for a working gun) and, more notably, but barely touched on in the TV coverage: “£330,000 worth of drugs, £25,000 in cash, weapons such as high-powered air rifles, seven high powered cars and 50 tonnes of counterfeit goods worth at least £2m.“ And, more than 50 suspected gang members have been arrested in connection with the seizures too. So, some potentially dangerous criminals are now in custody and a wide range of illegal and dangerous paraphernalia is off the streets thanks to some decent police work. 

But where does the focus lie? On a 3D printer, that may or may not have been used illegally. Chances are, in all honesty, that the owner(s) of the 3D printer probably did want to try and print a gun — they are probably stupid enough and amoral enough to give it a go. But, there is absolutely no proof of that and for me, this takes away the merit of what the police have achieved here.

And, while the police have taken a battering for this, because they over-reacted, like the public at large, the police are forming opinions on 3D printed guns that are largely inaccurate. In the UK it is hardly surprising they want to err on the side of caution. But then, that can result in the debacle that unfolded across the course of the day. By Friday night it was no longer being broadcast. Some responsibility does have to lie with the police force in this case and the others like it that will almost certainly follow — they need to be better informed and react accordingly. But the biggest problem by far, IMHO, is the mainstream media, its reactionary and sensationalist tendencies and total disregard of truth in favour of ratings. 

And then we come back to Cody Wilson, who gave Sky News an interview off the back of this story. His original 3D printed Liberator gun, and the subsequent widespread release of the data files across the internet will forever be the origin of any sort of furore around this subject. And isn't he just basking in the "glory".

As is his wont, he used the opportunity to proclaim his “crass, irresponsible and self-serving rhetoric” as I called it on Friday morning on twitter, when I was struggling to contain my anger. And even though it has now dissipated, I will stand by that description! His calm, patronizing and smug tones (and smile) as he denounced British culture and typical attitudes to guns I found so odious and prejudiced it was hard to keep my breakfast down. His conviction that Britain’s “future will have [guns] as a feature, irrevocably, from now until eternity” is not entirely wrong, it’s unlikely we’ll ever eliminate gun crime completely. What I find objectionable is his delight in contributing to this fact along with the desire to “Republicanise” us somehow, implying that we are not entitled to want and/or try to keep guns off our streets. In believing that we are entitled to want this, according to Mr Wilson, we are engaging our “fat middle class conscience.” We’re also “too comfortable” with “our eyes half shut” to even comprehend the vision of anarchic freedom that he proudly espouses — a freedom that whether he can see it or not, means that more people will die, sooner than they should. 

Super Sirens, Sneezes & Soap Boxes — Some reactions to 3D Printing 'Bandwagonism'

Watching the host of new start-up companies emerge around 3D printing draws conflicting reactions from me, I find. It is, of course, primarily gratifying to see the technologies blossom and evolve, appreciated as they are by a much wider user base and audience than ever before. And yet, at times, it’s disheartening too. The inevitability of individuals and corporations pouncing on the tech is a given, but you’d think a little common sense, a degree of research, some background checking maybe, would go a long way in determining success. Apparently not — some (probably a minority of) companies seem to think that using 3D printing terminology fused with some superior (not in a good way) marketing speak will do just fine!

I generally like to keep things up beat, but that’s not always possible. I’ll deviate from the happy when necessary and today it is necessary.

What’s prompted this post ….. well, let me tell you!

As the stream of press releases and requests for coverage on 3DPI come in from the host of newbies, it is often hard to differentiate between the often similar business models. This, I should add, does not make them unviable per se, it just means they’re fighting for business in a crowd — a big, and growing, crowd.

With the majority there is nothing wrong, and as an Editor I do try to be fair and bring the range of products and services in front of 3DPI’s growing audience as objectively as possible. Where objectivity breaks down, it is usually replaced by exuberance — the team of writers we’re building there are loving the tech and the apps. For the new 3DP start-ups media coverage is essential to help them on their way — they may succeed, they may not. The hard work needed for success is down to them, but if I can help, I will. That’s just the way I am.

However!!!

Sometimes, something lands in my in-box and warning bells go off — and by bells, I mean super sirens.

That’s what happened a couple of days ago when I received a communication from MyO3D.

The marketing ‘bumpf’ (that’s a Rachel word but suitable here) around the core message — another design repository — hailed the first ding dong. It was trying way too hard. But when I read the following, that’s when the sirens went off big time:

"Some may recall the sheer size of the first computers, taking up entire rooms and possessing less power than the phone in your pocket. A similar evolution has been seen in 3D printing; the huge, strictly industrial printers with limited uses [My emphasis] may as well be dinosaurs compared to the compact 3D printers of today, with some being even cheaper than high-end desktop and laptop computers.”

I mean, REALLY???

This just smacks of little to no real knowledge and/or understanding of the industry that they are seeking to operate in. However, me being me, I wanted other opinions, back up if you like. So I sent the quote and link to some of my go-to guys. It seems I hadn’t over-reacted.

This is the order the following came back to me:

“Anyone who compares the perceived capabilities of consumer 3D printers and professional 3D printers in this way has simply no business writing on the subject. Absolute drivel.”

Phil Reeves, Managing Director, Econolyst.

“I have sneezed on my keyboard and accidentally produced better websites and concepts than that - it's about as hollow as most 3D printed objects.”

Richard Horne, aka RichRap3D

“Ok so the dinosaur analogy is obviously complete rubbish. A more accurate comparison would be to say that industrial machines are cars and cheap compact 3D printers are soap box go karts. Yes cars are more expensive and yes they are bigger but in terms of functionality they leave the go karts behind in every sense of the word.

The author of this thing obviously knows little about the technology and understands less than that. The idea behind the site is yet another way of making money off the efforts of others while contributing little. I’m sure it will be used by some idiots who would quite frankly be better off spending their money on skin cream and deodorant rather than paying for files of chess sets and business card holders with moving parts.”

Jeremy Pullin, Renishaw

The inevitability of business “bandwagonism” and the urge to make fast/big bucks is a story as old as time, but it doesn’t make it any less sad ….. or disappointing. This is not the first case, and it most certainly, unfortunately won’t be the last either.

FYI, I did send a reply to MyO3D, challenging this comment and inviting a response. I’ve had no reply.

Definitions & Terminology Have Always Been Problematic in 3D Printing — Now it’s All About the Genre

When I first started writing and editing about rapid prototyping way back when – one of the major benefits of using the tech for prototyping applications (which, incidentally, does still stand today) was time-to-market. That’s to say getting a successful product to market first and maximizing the business returns of doing so. I remember writing about the impact of being first and the ‘me-too’ products that followed. There were often debates about whether being first or being an ‘improved me too’ product was best. Obviously you had to factor in branding and marketing and the quality of the product.

It has struck me recently that this is where 3D printing actually is now – with the printers themselves and the services and ancillary products springing up around the sector too. There are really rather a lot of them now. And it probably goes without saying that not all of them can survive. I’d say we are not too far off saturation point either – the pinnacle of the hype cycle, and we surely must be there or there about, has seen hoards of individuals and small start-ups create original and not-so-original 3D printing business models around the potential, the reality, and at least some of them, the hype. As the trough of disillusionment beckons, we are likely to get clearer visibility on the companies that will be in this for the long haul and the many more that won’t survive and will move on to bubbles new.

It is even getting quite difficult to categorise the genres of the business as they grow and/or emerge — I used to be able to differentiate really easily — hardware, software, service and materials. With some companies doing more than one thing, still easy. Now, though, there are hardware manufacturers that offer services; services that resell hardware; services within services; 3D Content repositories — some with 3D printing services or affiliated to them others without; as of today there are also services that offer APIs; and, of course, one or two that try to do it all – not quite sure what I’m going to call them.

It’s getting messier and messier. I’m not a fan of mess, generally, but this is all quite good fun as I try to figure it all out and label everything in an appropriate and understandable way — mostly for me, which will maybe help you!?  

I’ve also just been made aware of another, let’s call it service, launching this month (no specific date).  Been asked to hold off on covering it for a day or two, but news to follow early next week.

The upshot is that 3D printing is exciting, it offers much and will continue to do so, I believe. The companies that try to do business around it however, will need to be flexible and accommodating to survive the ups and the downs as they happen.