A ball. A cup. A gear. Even an electric car. 3-D
printers can't print money, but they can produce prototypes for almost anything
else. And as prices for the desktop devices drop, entrepreneurs are seeing them
kick out something more: tangible business results.
Huntington
Beach, Calif.-based company olloclip has used 3-D printing to make a big name
for itself with its little iPhone accessory. The snap-on camera lens has
garnered rave reviews and is one of the few peripherals stocked in every Apple
Store
Olloclip has invested $50,000 in 3-D printing, not only to
prototype its own products, but also to create mock-ups of rumored iPhones so
that lenses can be designed quickly each time Apple releases a new version.
"We can literally sketch an idea in the morning, model it in the
afternoon, pop it in the printer and have a sample made that evening,"
says olloclip design director Chong Pak. Fast turnaround is key for companies
in this space; olloclip finished and validated an iPhone 5 version of its product
within days of the handset's announcement.
But olloclip's biggest challenge is in fending off counterfeiters
in China. Poorly made fake olloclips flood Asian markets. Thanks to 3-D
printing, olloclip can keep its computer-aided design files in-house and safe,
rather than having samples produced through rapid prototyping service bureaus,
which have been known to leak blueprints.
Still, investing in 3-D printing isn't for everyone. That's where
providers like New York City-based Shapeways come in. It offers 3-D printing in
more than 30 materials--including plastic, glass, metal and ceramic--and an online
marketplace where anyone can sell products. It offers 8,000 shop owners a low
barrier to entry by charging only for materials used in production, plus a 3.5
percent transaction fee. Clients include designers of jewelry, tech gadgets and
housewares; Shapeways enables them to produce and sell their creations in
limited numbers but in a cost-effective way.
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