3D Printers Come to Consumers at de Bijenkorf

We’re participating in our first ever retail event with the Netherland’s major department store, de Bijenkorf, to merchandize 3D printers and 3D printed content during the store’s annual Three Crazy Days sales event September 29th to October 1st, 2011.
For this historic sales event, de Bijenkorf will feature our award winning RapMan™ 3D printers along with beautiful lamps, jewelry and personal accessories designed and created by our world renowned Freedom Of Creation™ designers.
De Bijenkorf plans to attract over 1.2 million visitors to this unique and exciting lifestyle and luxury goods shopping experience through a combination of published catalogues, creative social media campaigns and live demonstrations at nine of its flagship department stores.
“We are honored to partner with de Bijenkorf, Holland’s leading department store chain to participate in this groundbreaking retail event,” said Janne Kyttänen, Chief Content Creator for 3D Systems and founder of Freedom Of Creation™. “Our Dutch based team will be on hand throughout the event to guide consumers with the selection of their own personal 3D printer and unique Freedom Of Creation™ content for home, hobby and shop use.”

Video from Maker Faire

Check out our collage video from World Maker Faire 2011 in New York. We had a great time checking out all the Makers, and we hope you did too!

Debut of Latest Bits From Bytes™ Color 3D Printer!

We just announced the immediate availability of our latest Bits from Bytes™ 3D printer: the 3DTouch™.  Starting at $3,900, the 3DTouch™ is the most affordable color 3D printer in its category and will be on display in stand number H11 from September 27th-29th, 2011 at TCT Live 2011 at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.
The 3DTouch™ is packed with new features including multiple print heads for greater color and material choices, a new intuitive touch screen for enhanced user experience and USB storage. This innovative 3D printer is easy to set up, simple to operate and capable of printing multiple materials and delivering more complex print geometries.
“The 3DTouch™ makes personal manufacturing much easier,” said Andy McLaren, Director of Sales and Marketing, BFB™ Products. “Enhanced printability together with a better tablet-like user experience and USB storage makes the 3DTouch™ easy to operate and economical to own. Every new BFB™ 3D printer we bring to market underscores our commitment to democratize access and accelerate adoption of our 3D content-to-print solutions for the benefit of professionals and consumers alike.” 

3D Systems Acquires Formero

We just announced the acquisition of Formero Pty, Ltd., a leading provider of on-demand custom parts services and 3D printing solutions headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. We plan to continue all Formero operations as 3D Systems Asia-Pacific and immediately offer our expanded range of 3D content-to-print solutions for the benefit of design-to-manufacturing professionals and consumers alike.
Recognized as a trusted and knowledgeable technology resource to the Australian manufacturing sector, Formero brings nearly two decades of experience providing best-in-class rapid prototyping and custom manufacturing services. Through its wholly owned XYZ Innovation subsidiary, Formero is also a leading distributor of personal, professional and production 3D printers that include plastic and metal printing solutions. Additionally, Formero operates a facility in Shenzhen, China to support its growing on-demand custom parts services.
“We are very pleased to add a company of Formero’s reputation, experience and scale in Asia-Pacific, our fastest growing region,” said Abe Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “With key operations in Australia and China under the capable leadership of Simon Marriott and proven custom parts services and printers solutions growth record, Formero represents a significant milestone in our Asia-Pacific expansion plans.”
“We are excited to become part of 3D Systems, a leading provider of the most complete portfolio of 3D content-to-print solutions available today,” said Simon Marriott, General Manager, 3D Systems Asia-Pacific. “We plan to leverage our knowledge and experience for the benefit of our customers by building stronger local presence and deliver the full range of 3D Systems products and services throughout the region.”

3D Systems Delivers First Ever Rapid Manufacturing Design Guide

We’ve just introduced a powerful new Rapid Manufacturing design guide created expressly for designers and engineers that are driving end-use manufacturing applications using SLS® 3D Production Printers for selective laser sintering applications. The guide delivers a compelling collection of high value SLS® 3D printing applications that are available immediately at www.production3dprinters.com.
We worked closely with industry leading companies and their digital designers to amass this collection of stunning and functional designs along with the invaluable tools and instruction that illustrate how to achieve the full potential of SLS® 3D printing.
“We are pleased to share this powerful collection of 3D content-to-print knowledge reflecting the cumulative wisdom and experience of our innovative customers the world over,” said Kevin McAlea, VP and General Manager, 3D Production Printers, 3D Systems. “We are deeply grateful to all of the pioneers, creators and contributors on this exciting publication and look forward to continued collaboration and updates as we expand and share this body of expertise.”

Reminder: Maker Faire New York This Weekend

If you’re in the Queens, NY area this weekend, make sure you stop by Maker Faire New York 2011 at the New York Hall of Science!  We’ll be showcasing the unlimited potential of our Maker solutions, including our truly affordable BotMill™ 3D printers, Bits From Bytes™ 3D printers and Alibre® personal design packages, downloadable content from The3dStudio.com™ and 3D printed works of art from Freedom of Creation™. Makers and their families are invited to participate in interactive demonstrations of 3D Systems’ newest, maker friendly, BotMill™ 3D printers and kits starting at under $990 USD and admire the largest part ever made on a modified 3D printer kit. DIY’s will experience the possibilities of real-time digital making through activities such as face scanning, tutorials on personal design tools, access to free content and 3D printed bubble blowers for the kids. To fully equip makers, BotMill™ 3D printer kits are available for purchase at Maker Faire, and one lucky winner will take home a BotMill™ 3D printer kit, courtesy of 3D Systems. “We are excited to deliver the power, promise and affordability of DIY 3D printing to New York area Makers,” said Rajeev Kulkarni, VP of Consumer Solutions, 3D Systems. “Our Maker-friendly 3D printers, together with our practical design productivity tools, deliver the promise of ‘personal-manufacturing’ and empower everyone to make better design happen.”

3D Systems and DesignPoint Join Forces

DesignPoint, a recognized SolidWorks reseller and service provider, has been added to our growing network of 3D printers and solutions providers!  DesignPoint’s experienced sales and service professionals carry the highest levels of certification and deliver a comprehensive suite of engineering solutions to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The company’s customer focused offerings of design, engineering and manufacturing services have garnered SolidWorks’ #1 North American Customer Satisfaction Award for two consecutive years.
“We are pleased to add a professional and recognized reseller of the caliber of DesignPoint to our network. With the team’s focus on complete design-to-manufacturing solutions, DesignPoint is well positioned to represent our comprehensive range of personal and professional 3D printers,” said Michele Marchesan, VP and General Manager, Personal and Professional Printers, 3D Systems Corporation.
“In today’s competitive climate where product development is ever changing and the demand for new and better technology drives innovation, we selected 3D Systems technologies based on our customers’ need for highest resolution, fully functional prototypes and end-use parts,” sited John Cioffi, President of DesignPoint. “3D Systems’ technology and continued leadership in 3D content-to-print solutions mirrors our goal to offer the best service and products to our customers and help them optimize their product development process and business results.”

Come See Us at Maker Faire New York 2011

3D Systems and our employees are passionate about 3D printing. This is Jim Smith and he has personally printed what we believe to be the largest part ever from a 3D printer kit – what he is cradling in his hands is an end table base that is 14 X 14 X 10 – but come see for yourself!  Jim and his 3D printed table will be at Maker Faire New York 2011 this weekend, September 17 and 18, at the New York Hall of Science in Queens!

New QuickCutCNC™ Materials & Finishes Now Available!

We just announced the release of additional materials and secondary finishing capabilities through QuickCutCNC™. The rapid CNC machining service, launched by custom manufacturing leader Quickparts®, has added brass and aluminum to the list of plastic and metal materials available for online interactive quoting, along with the option of powder coating parts machined out of aluminum.
Brass 260 (70/30) and aluminum 7075-T651 are both now available online and adhere to the standard QuickCutCNC™ lead time of less than five days. Powder coating is a post machining process in which a coating is applied electrostatically to parts in order to create a hard finish that is more functional than conventional paint. Even with the secondary work being done on powder coated parts, the lead time for these projects is still less than 6 days.
“We are proud to be able to expand the options we provide to our valued customers,” said Todd Hellman, Business Manager for QuickCutCNC™. “As we continue to add more material and finish options to our online interactive quotes while maintaining lead times of less than five days, we are increasingly able to meet the full range of services our customers and prospects are looking for in machined prototypes and parts.”

3D Systems Enhances Online Presence for Production 3D Printers

We just announced the immediate availability of our new production 3D printer website designed to democratize access and accelerate adoption of our complete line of production 3D printers, precision engineered print materials and leading partner solutions. The new site integrates 3D Systems’ production printers, including SLA®, SLS® and SLM printers into a contemporary, intuitive destination serving customers, prospects and partners with a secure, 24-hour online presence.
“We are pleased to offer our constituents a compelling online destination that represents our entire portfolio of production 3D printers and solutions,” said Cathy Lewis, VP of Global Marketing for 3D Systems. “This new site underscores our commitment to technology leadership and showcases the high value, low volume 3D printing applications that leverage our first mover advantage in this exciting shift to on-demand, rapid manufacturing.”

Freedom of Creation™ Featured on the BBC©

Check out this article from the BBC© UK that features our very own Freedom of Creation™!