entities that can have 3D objects printed in space rather than launched. “Today the space station is a national lab, and there is a huge amount of research going on,” said Dunn. “It seems like there are breakthroughs every day. It’s hard to transport supplies to space (in the past year, three of the resupply rockets have not made it), and having an option to manufacture in place—on the space station—is a game changer.” This is Made in Space’s primary focus, but it has profound implications for the rest of us on the ground. “At the end of the day, if 3D printing is a disruptor to something, it’s the global supply chain,” said Dunn. “This is one of the most critical impacts of 3D printing.” If printers can find places where their customers have pain points in the supply chain, he speculated, this is a place to explore. “If you want to make a supply chain better, you have two options,” Dunn explained. “You can move things more quickly from one point to the next, or you can reduce the distance between them. In space, a lot of research has revolved around the logistics of getting a supply rocket launched. Nobody had really considered what if you just reduced the distance? 3D printing moves printing to the point of need.” Dunn gives the example of an astronaut who was bemoaning the fact that he’d lost his ratchet. Five days later, he had one in his hands. “That picture was taken two hours after we sent the file,” said Dunn. “That same supply chain bottleneck exists on the ground. Think about global commerce, military on the front lines, cruise ships. Anywhere MAKING THE WORLD’S CONTENT 3D PRINTABLE If you haven’t heard of ZVerse you might want to pay attention. This company, founded in 2012, is finding a way to create meaningful 3D printable content. With the LAYR 3D Content Creation Platform, ZVerse is creating a suite of software applications that make any 2D content 3D printable. According to Kevin Maloney, co-founder and CMO of ZVerse, the company’s mission is to “solve the content problem facing 3D printing by creating software to convert meaningful 2D content that already exists into 3D printable content. In 2014, we successfully demonstrated this with our licensed content business utilizing LAYR.” Layr enables any business to take advantage of the benefits of 3D printing and, as a result, helps expand the reach of 3D printing into new markets. Maloney said, “Our growing portfolio of licensing partners has allowed us to bring together vast libraries of 2D content and it 3D printable.” Franchise Services Inc. (FSI), which includes the Sir Speedy, PIP, and Signal Graphics brands, has also entered into an agreement with ZVerse. Under the new agreement, these franchisees will offer custom, 3D printed promotional products, signs, event marketing pieces, and architectural models from ZVerse to their customers. With the LAYR 2D to 3D content creation platform, Franchisees will have a turnkey solution for 3D printing. “Our Franchisees are excited to partner with ZVerse to offer 3D printing services. ZVerse’s easy-to-use LAYR technology enables our franchisees to offer high-value, high-margin custom printed 3D solutions to their customers,” said Kelly Kimberlin, VP of business development for FSI. “They will be able to upload a customer’s 2D image file, produce a fully print ready 3D file from LAYR, and have a fully customized 3D printed order, all within a few days. Their 3D print solutions surpass anything in 3D printing we’ve looked at in recent years.” doors for 3D production in a commercial print setting? “Even in industrial settings, there is no reason to think that a suite of printers couldn’t be operated by a suite of technicians remotely,” said Dunn. “All the end user has to do is turn the machine on, turn it off, and take parts out when they are finished. Think about companies like The UPS Store or Staples. They are using basic Stratysys printers. Could they have a better printer in their stores—opening greater production opportunities—if they were remotely operated by a highly experienced, centralized team?” 3D printing still offers a lot of questions. While sustainable business models still elude the commercial printing industry for now, what is clear is that as the technology develops, there are more avenues to explore. The cost of entry continues to drop, 3D scanners continue to improve, and other breakthroughs (such as remote operation) continue to keep wide open the doors of experimentation. Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12111287 there is a supply-chain problem, it becomes easy to see where a 3D printer makes sense.” Although Made in Space focuses largely on space, it builds customized solutions and what it calls “the world’s most robust” 3D printers designed for extremely rugged environments. “A lot of parts such as airplane and automotive parts are made by 3D printing already and we don’t even know it,” Dunn continued. “Nobody asks, ‘How did the airplane engine get put together?’ or, ‘What’s under my dashboard?’ 3D printing is well established in those areas. That will continue to grow, not because it’s catchy technology but because it makes things faster and cheaper for the end user.” Centralized Operation Another interesting opportunity arises with the concept of remote operation. Made in Space operates its printers on the space station remotely. Astronauts simply have to open the printer and see what’s inside. What implications might this have for simplifying and opening PrintingNews.com Printing News | October 2015 13
Printing News October 2015
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