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on its ability to build and control a software platform. For example, Microsoft
built Windows and then Ofice into the world's leading platform for ofice
productivity. In the mobile device space, Apple's iPad, iPhone, and iPod offer
consumers intuitive, easy-to-use products and that spawned an entirely new
way to sell software in the form of apps.
To build its platform, 3D Systems has been on a dizzying buying spree,
acquiring roughly two dozen companies over the past 3 years. The acquired
companies represent several different facets of the design and production
process. Some offer design services, others make printing materials, build
printers, or create content and tools, for example, a simple interface that helps
users design simple 3D-printable robots.
Rajeev continued, “While 3D Systems is good at making 3D printers, our
goal is to bring the entire 3D capture/create/make process to everybody.
That cannot be achieved by just handing people a 3D printer. That has to be
achieved by presenting them a platform.”
Cathy Lewis, Vice President of Marketing at 3D Systems, is a long-time
visionary in the arena of low-cost 3D printing. Before she joined 3D Systems
in 2010, she was the CEO of Desktop Factory, one of the irst companies to
build commercial 3D printers aimed at the home and ofice markets. Desktop
Factory made democratic 3D printers that—unlike the mostly industrial 3D
printers available at the time—printed nylon using concentrated light from
an everyday halogen lamp, not a laser.
When Chuck Hull founded 3D Systems in 1986, it's unlikely he would have
predicted that just a few decades later there would be a small but growing mar-
ket for home-scale 3D printers. When Cathy Lewis irst showed off the Cube
at electronics trade shows and industry events, she discovered an unexpected
degree of interest not just from consumers, but also from small manufacturing
companies. “At irst we were surprised by the number of people who started
asking about whether they could use the Cube for end-use manufacturing,”
said Cathy. “I think there's a need in the market place to help companies envi-
sion how to break through their current paradigms to capture the beneits of
this new type of manufacturing.”
Today, 3D Systems keeps track of several game-changing trends that will
shape the future of the 3D printing business. The company believes that cloud-
based computing, Big Data analysis, and the ever-growing presence of powerful
and smart mobile devices will open up new creative and business opportunities
