IEEE Spectrum November, 2013 - 22

resources_sTArT-uPs

eing in the 3-D printing business
brings some conveniences-like
fewer trips to the hardware store.
"If we need an adapter for a vacuum hose, we
don't buy it," says Ben Wilkinson-Raemer,
an industrial engineer with the start-up
Shapeways. "We print it."
Instead of selling 3-D printers, which typically
cost upwards of US $1000, Shapeways sells
printing services to designers and DIY makers.
Customers first upload their designs to the company's website, and then Shapeways, which
originated as a spin-off of the Dutch electronics
behemoth Royal Philips in 2008, takes care of
the fabrication and ships out the printed objects.
Most are fabricated in lightweight plastics, but
several metals and ceramics are available;
objects can be as large as a night table.
To print an object, you first need a 3-D model,
and many potential customers aren't familiar with modeling programs. To overcome that
barrier, Shapeways has strategies for simplifying the design process: It offers online tutorials,
provides apps that make it easy to create objects like smartphone cases or cookie cutters,
and hosts a forum where customers can find
and hire 3-D modelers.
Roughly 300 000 people have used the
Shapeways site either to make or buy a 3-D
doodad. "Our customers range from hardcore model-maker engineer types to suburban
housewives," says Wilkinson-Raemer. About
11 000 of those customers have opened shops
on the Shapeways site to sell their creations.
Shapeways' headquarters are in New York
City, where the company has nearly completed
a full-scale production and distribution facility
in a warehouse district. Ten machines were running when IEEE Spectrum's reporter visited the
factory, but it could host as many as 50 printers
by the time it's fully built out in January 2014.

NoV 2013

NorTH AMerIcAN

ForM FITTINg: Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese
models a 3-D printed gown, produced by Shapeways,
precisely tailored to her body. The mesh of the gown's
"fabric" is fully articulated to permit movement.

Despite the high expense of real estate
in New York, Shapeways decided to build a
manufacturing plant there because the location guarantees proximity to people that the
company values: customers and software
developers. The city's throngs of designers and artists are all potential customers,
Wilkinson-Raemer says, and the company

sPecTruM.Ieee.orG

wants to make it possible for dedicated makers
to visit the factory to get a better understanding of the printers' potential. New York also has
an excellent talent pool for software developers-important for a company that expects to
hire more than 50 people this year, he notes.
Software is crucial to Shapeways' manufacturing process. Printing one object at a
time would be impossibly slow and expensive,
Wilkinson-Raemer explains. Instead, in the preproduction phase, software arranges a 3-D
"puzzle" of objects that can be printed in a single run. Prices for printing vary according to size
and material, but producing a plastic napkin ring,
for example, formed from the letters of a custom
message, will cost a customer about $9.
Michael Wolf, founder and chief analyst of the
high-tech research firm NextMarket Insights, in
Edmonds, Wash., thinks that Shapeways is well
positioned for success. "People are fascinated
by 3-D printing, but a 3-D printer is still out of
reach for the average consumer," he says. The
price of printers may be coming down, but Wolf
says that printing services are what consumers
will find affordable for at least the next five years.
Wolf credits Shapeways with expanding its
market by harnessing the creativity of app developers. "They have simple apps that access
this really complex printing capability," he says,
citing an app called Mixee Me that guides customers in creating plastic dolls. Says Wolf: "Even
my 8-year-old daughter can design a little version of herself and print out a figurine."
But all these clever tactics may not be
enough to keep Shapeways in business if a
deep-pocketed e-commerce company decides to enter the fray. Wolf expects serious
competitors to emerge in the next year or two,
naming Amazon.com as one potential rival. In
proving the viability of the 3-D printing market,
Wolf says, Shapeways may end up encouraging other players to jump in and take 3-D printing seriously. -ElIzA STrICklAND
Founded: 2008; headquarters: New York
City; Founders: Robert Schouwenburg,
Marleen Vogelaar, Peter Weijmarshausen;
Funding: Recently raised $30 million in venture capital; Employees: 90+; Website:
http://www.shapeways.com

shapeWays

shaPeways
bringing 3-d
printing to the
masses

http://www.Amazon.com http://www.shapeways.com http://sPecTruM.Ieee.orG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum November, 2013