I Don't Dispute the Value of Exhibitions and Events, But ....

the chatter emanating from Texas — SolidWorks World 2011 — this week has been prolific, and, to put it bluntly, largely irrelevant.

Whether it is in the form of blogs or tweets, often both, the "information" hitting the net is more representative of the social- / celeb-centric world that we live in rather than any applicable business / software solutions for everyman! There may have been one or two notable exceptions.

SolidWorks World has a tradition of being the place to be in January for any serious reporters/Editors in the 3D software sector. It still is, apparently, but it's no longer an exercise in reporting on new developments and applications, rather it is a flimsy excuse for a piss-up — or should that be piss-take — with plenty of bitchy comments flying around.

Kevin Bacon's appearance on stage seems to have been the highlight, although it seems no one there could work out why! (That little snippet, however, has subsequently been topped by Will.i.am's appearance for Intel.) Interested parties can also find plenty of information on boring sessions and glazed eyes all round, bets taken between delegates to break the tedium, and an endless description of what they are all eating and drinking. Soooooo not interested!!!

Seems pointless all round really, particularly the unnecessary (and extensive) addition to the T&E budgets of the media.

Surprised — hardly; irritated — definitely.

The End of the Solido Era?

A report issued by Globes, Israel's Business Arena, on Thursday last is starting to cause a stir within the 3D printing industry — and rightly so. The report states that: "Sources inform ''Globes'' that the company has laid off its entire staff of 30 employees and entered receivership."

This is coming as somewhat of a shock to many, in that the company had only recently reported significant investment followed by a pretty full-on marketing campaign. Unfortunately, if the report is accurate, the investment did not fully manifest and the company had no where else to go. If this all bears out, then I will be sorry — I could see the very real potential of this 3D printing technology but I do believe that Solido had misplaced aspirations and missed a trick. This middle of the road technology was above average in its capabilities. When I say "middle of the road" I am referring to where is was positioned within the market ie ahead of the RapMan, Makerbot genre and behind Dimension, ProJet et al. Unfortunately, rather than picking one side of the road on which to productively compete, Solido tried to be both. User feedback on the Solido 300 is very positive, and I have seen some of the models that can be produced and was impressed. However, I reported on my dismay at the company's deceptive approach to its pricing last year. Hidden costs never go down well in the long run!!

Understanding & Appreciation Takes Time

The worlds of additive manufacturing and 3D printing continue apace as 2011 gets well and truly underway. One clarification in my own mind is that these two worlds are distinct and very different. As with 2010's early posts, when I committed to regular posting, which in the main, I think I have achieved, I want to up the ante again this year, and challenge myself, particularly when things get much busier towards the end of the year, which they tend to do. However, to kick this year off, I am going with a little sentiment bolstered by true motivation. You have the comment section to disagree .......

I have been working and reading a little over the Christmas and New Year break, which marks the two year anniversary of my freelance career — the greatest joy of which is that, in the main, I get to pick and choose my schedule, particularly over holiday periods, unlike in my previous life, when school holidays tended to clash with critical deadlines, and the prioritised family time was often sidelined for more pressing 'priorities' that needed attention asap.

The new year is also the 21st anniversary of the passing of my paternal grandfather — a man whom I loved and respected greatly throughout my childhood and adolescence. I do not bring up this second anniversary to evoke any sort of sadness or maudlin thoughts, rather it is to share a nugget of advice — priceless in my opinion — that this lovely man shared with me as I started out on my university career, just a few months before he died, but which has stayed with me to this day and it influenced me greatly in my decision to go freelance. 

After a partisan expression of how proud he was of me and that he had no doubts that I would succeed at whatever I chose to do in my future career etc etc; he imparted this wisdom — "There is something else that I want you to remember, even if you don't quite understand it now: never look back with regret and always double check your priorities. It is important to remember that no one lies on their deathbed and wishes that they had spent more time at work." 

I didn't push him for further explanation at the time. At 18, I understood the concept of regret in terms of hair styles and fashion choices, maybe even wasted time on boys that were definitely "the one" — until the next day, anyway; priorities were defined in terms of subject choice and where to work that summer; and looking back was a case of assessing the previous weekend with my friends. But as with most teenagers, I assumed I knew exactly what he was talking about and agreed.  With hindsight — but without regret — I would like to have understood the thoughts and the experience behind the knowledge rather than guessing at them. Fortunately, what I did do 21 years ago was to write down what he had said to me and ponder on it at various times over the next two decades. At the close of the last decade, I came to fully understand — and greatly appreciate — precisely what he was telling me and I was able to benefit from it immensely — I still am. 

What on earth prompted me to share this? I think it was to do with numerous recent conversations that have illustrated to me that everyone has to deal with day-to-day priorities, and very often it is too easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. I was lucky enough to have great wisdom imparted that was to influence me at a major crossroads sign, I feel lucky and privileged to have benefitted from it and believe there is no harm in passing it out to anyone that can benefit from it also — whether now or in 20 years time! 

Something A Bit Different within the 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing World

At this time of year (post Euromold) there is generally a great deal of buzz and internet chatter about the new additive manufacturing / 3D printing developments that were announced at the German design and manufacturing show. Many vendors favour Euromold as the launch pad for their newest machines and/or materials for understandable reasons.

However this year, despite a couple of "new" [for new read 'different sized'] machines (3D Systems, Objet) and improvements to materials, is a year of incremental improvements and the buzz just doesn't seem to have manifested itself. The loudest gasps seem to have emerged from the announcement that MTT is splitting its activities — with the German and the UK operations going their separate ways. Interesting, but really just company politics. It will take some time to see where that is going and the intent behind it.

Similarly, Bits from Bytes seems to have hit the wrong note by producing a pink version of its RapMan kit and branding it the 'RapChick'. Gimmicky tokenism is NOT what this industry needs. I did start to write my ranting response down, slept on it, and thought better of it. Deleted the lot. I'll just go with this much more reserved paragraph here, and also reference a much more mature and productive response from Ann Marie Shillito of Anarkik 3D: http://annmarieshillito.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/virtual-3d-world-is-very-bright-and-tangible-but-not-pink/

Anyway, to the point of this blog post — something that came to my attention this morning and made me really sit up and take note. It came via REPLICATOR [replicatorinc.com], a blog post that today was awash with information. But pick through it carefully and you find a fascinating nugget detailing "Giant 3D Printed Chairs." I've seen chairs before — but not quite like this. The original article is from Suzanne Labarre at Co.Design [http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662793/giant-robot-prints-chairs-from-ground-up-refrigerators-video].

The whole project is the work of a Dutch design student, Dirk Vander Kooij (nice name and I really like his hair!!). He has obviously worked this design concept up in a 3D CAD package, but then this remarkable young man has used his knowledge with some ingenuity to breakdown some old fridges into usable material that can be deposited layer by layer (sound familiar??) via a rusty old robot arm. And it really is rusty, as you can see in the video. The robot can be programmed to produce the chairs in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours, all at low resolution, at approximately two hours per chair. If, like me, you are starting to do the sums in your head, there is some serious potential here. Now there is no indication of how long it takes to break down the fridges or how long it took to refurb the robot and so on, which would all need factored in. However, the latest news update is that Dirk is offering these chairs for sale at 800 Euros each. And as Suzanne points out, if the machine was running round the clock, it could produce 4000 chairs a year — that is a potential turnover of 3.2 million Euros. Anyone else just spluttered into their coffee?? My guess is the chairs possibly won't sell like hot cakes in the current climate at that price, but this is a true example of an additive manufacturing application coming from left of centre and I truly hope it becomes a big success story for Mr Vander Kooij.

The video demonstrating the process in action is entitled "Endless" which I am taking to refer to the possibilities here. I am now wondering what could be achieved with a bigger budget and state-of-the-art robots in a clean room facility.

TCT Live 2010 — A worthwhile trip.

The fog is starting to clear following a successful TCT event at the Ricoh Arena earlier this week. This is a show that I have been involved with in one way or another for the last 15 years, and the 2010 edition was, it has to be said, a triumph — in terms of organisation and results.

TCT has continued to grow in terms of its physical size and visitor numbers year on year, and 2010 was no exception. The industry's worst kept secret was also launched on the second day of the show, with the announcement that in 2011, TCT will move to the NEC in Birmingham to run alongside MM Live once again, as well as Interplas — Rapid News Communications' latest acquisition.

Although no longer directly employed by RNC, this year I was commissioned to draw together the conference programme on Additive Manufacturing and it was a good line up (even if I do say so myself). The subsequent feedback has been very encouraging from delegates at the conference during the two days as well as notes dropping in my in box since. (Almost worth the sleepless nights!!)

Walking the halls was also very positive, virtually everyone I met and spoke with was infinitely more up beat than this time last year, although it should be said that quite a few of them were tracking the CSR as it was delivered on Wednesday afternoon on their hand-held devices. Nobody can quite define how the impact will roll out into industry, but business seemed brisk on the show floor.

The other thing that struck me was that TCT continues to gain prominence for the additive technology vendors — for AM and 3D printing. The majority of vendors have always had a presence at TCT but now the CEO's are showing their faces and not just sending minions!

All in all a valuable three days away from the office.

3D Systems Buys Bits from Bytes — A Significant Manoeuvre for 3D Printing?

On Tuesday the news broke that 3D Systems had acquired Bits from Bytes (BfB). This strategic move is not surprising in itself, and is precisely the sort of acquisition that 3D Systems is renowned for — and seemingly very good at. I'm thinking back to the middle of last year when 3D Systems acquired Desktop Factory.

So the company has bought up two low-end 3D printing manufacturers and all of their IP in just over 12 months.

I suspect the dust is settling all round — the news has been spread far and wide across all the usual distribution channels, but there has been surprisingly little commentary on this. It's taken me a few days to formulate my own thoughts into some sort of order on this news, and it's definitely not clear cut yet, but here goes ....

Despite the surface similarities of the two acquisitions there are also some huge differences. The Desktop Factory machine, despite clever marketing had never actually reached the market, it was more about acquiring R&D and a very good marketing professional (Cathy Lewis, formerly CEO at Desktop Factory, is now the marketing spokesperson for 3D Systems). Bits from Bytes on the other hand has been shipping 3D printers — the Rapman kit and latterly the plug & play BfB 3000 — through various global channels to some acclaim for two years, with an ever increasing order book.

My first ruminations were on the motivation for these acquisitions. Call me cynical, but I could not help but wonder at first if the company motive was to buy the low-end 3D printer vendors to suppress sales, and protect market share within the whole additive manufacturing (AM) industry. 3D Systems does have a reputation for being aggressive and pretty closed off to journalists and customers alike. But although hard to interact with, it is hard to deny the success the company has achieved with additive technologies. I have come around to thinking that there were probably different motivations for each acquisition rather than one holistic subversive conspiracy!

Desktop Factory was hitting the headlines at a similar time to the 3D Systems V-Flash 3D printer — both hailed as the answer to the industry's needs in terms getting a foot on the AM ladder. Indeed the prospects of both were great but neither ever seemed to fulfill the promised potential. For Desktop Factory lack of financial backing and some technical / production issues prevented the company from actually reaching the market. The technical problems may yet be resolved, but the Desktop Factory concept has still not materialised into a working machine for sale. For the V-flash — well no one ever did get to the bottom of why the launch date kept getting postponed. However, the machine did finally filter through, but lost some credibility as a result; plus the market dynamic had shifted significantly too with the arrival of working 3D printers under £5000, namely the Makerbot, RepRap and RapMan. Since then there have been more changes with the arrival of the UP! 3D printer and the BfB 3000.

So why has 3D Systems bought Bits from Bytes (BfB)? Well, as stated, 3D Systems is very protective of its position in the AM industry. It is one of a very small minority of AM vendors that occupies space selling across the whole spectrum of machines — low to high end. Stratasys is the other, but does not have a product offering under $10,000. I suspect that the V-Flash has not met expectations — internally or at large — and therefore the BfB product line was an attractive proposition in that it was a ready-made, working solution. It has been bought as a going concern, and the 3D Systems announcement asserts that the Bristol, UK-based BfB facility will be undertaking business as usual. The 3D Systems website has the BfB machines on its product selector feature already too — and they are the only machines offered under $5000. Not something the company could offer last Monday!! I can't see the BfB brand disappearing as too much is invested in it, but based on historical performance I don't think it will remain without some sort of 3D Systems trademark for very long either.

This is beyond a doubt a significant development in the 3D printing arena. How far it will penetrate remains to be seen, but with the competition heating up things are getting very interesting again.

It's Good to Like what you Like and to Do what you Do...

This recent post by Brock Hinzmann on the rp-ml list really struck a cord with me:

"I've always found it interesting that artists often call their works 'experiments' (as in 'Experiment in White on White No. 9'), while scientists often discuss their experiments in terms of the 'state of the art.' Some artists are very purposeful and tell me it's art if the person that makes it says it is and anyone who calls themselves an artist is one. And some artists probably don't even think of themselves as artists so much as a person following a muse in their head to bring forth a mind-body experience of one sort or another. The art can grate on the senses, it can lack craft or skill and it can be highly offensive to some beholders, but it is done for a reason that is art. Making an exact duplicate probably is not. The great thing about RP is the ability to experiment. I try not to be too judgmental these days about artists or art critics. However, I prefer critics (of paintings, of sculpture, of movies, of music concerts) who can clearly state their own biases and assumptions, which I can compare against my own biases and assumptions about art. I like what I like."


It resonated for a couple of reasons, first, because I agree with it. I no longer like to be told what is good or what is bad — art is a good example — I would rather decide for myself, but understanding other people's perspective is, IMO, a good thing. It doesn't have to be the same as mine though. 


Second, it took me back to another conversation I had not that long ago about the additive manufacturing (AM) industry. The slow growth reality, compared with the hyped predictions of 15 years ago was a central theme and what could be done to push the technology harder, wider and faster. Typical stuff really. But one of the comments that has stuck with me is that — "it won't happen like that, people do what they do" [with additive technology]. In other words, the general population of existing AM technology users — whether the application is prototyping with 3D printers or manufacturing or something inbetween — have grasped the technology and only use it to fulfil their application — nothing more.

I kind of got a sinking feeling as this hit home. I don't agree with it in full because it does not take into account the individuals that I have met who passionately believe in this technology and spread the word at every opportunity. Also, things are still moving forward, and I believe they will continue to do so. The article on 3D printing in the New York Times (one of the US' largest circulation daily newspapers) yesterday proves this point nicely. Growth is slow and the minority of AM evangelists is still small and while I have been struck by the truth of the statement that — often of necessity — 'people do what they do', it is not such a bad thing. I actually like doing what I do — I hope you do too.