Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Service Providers
11
These companies will print your models in a range of
exotic materials.
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Upload Files and Order
Prints
If you don't have a 3D printer, you can still
enjoy the benefits and fun of turning a CAD
file into a physical object. It's well worth get-
ting familiar with the growing number of 3D
printing service providers, and commercial
providers can print in a surprising range of
materials not available to the home printer
user. Even if you do own a printer, it's great
to be able to turn a piece of art or technology
you prototyped in plastic into something en-
during, like titanium or stainless steel.
Shapeways
Shapeways caters to hobbyists and design-
ers, offering high-quality prints in a wide
range of materials, including sterling silver,
stainless steel, brass, and ceramic. They often
have the lowest prices, but with production
based in the Netherlands, their stated ship-
ping times of 2-3 weeks haven't always been
accurate. They recently built a production
facility in New York to meet demand.
Shapeways also offers a marketplace of de-
signs where users can open their own shops.
Because theirs is the most visible of these
services, having a shop on their site is almost
essential to getting started selling your work.
There's little up-front cost or commitment.
Figure 11-1.
A Strandbeest mechanism by Theo Jan-
sen, printed in nylon on an EOS selective laser sinter-
ing (SLS) machine at Shapeways headquarters in
New York. Dust it off and it's ready to walk.
