RE: On what RP vendors need to do...

From: SiderWhite (SiderWhite@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Fri Oct 29 1999 - 18:36:22 EEST


>Now that copiers are down in the $300.00 USD range (Canon PC 325 model) I
do
>have one in my home and consider it an indispensible tool for work and home
>uses and I don't have a home business (not yet anyways). I believe 3D
>"fabbers" will also be useful tools for home uses, especially for those
into
>crafts and jewelry, but I believe it will be many years before it becomes
>affordable for the average family, say in the $300-$500 dollar range. It
>will take time to filter this technology down from the homes of risk-takers
>and innovators to the homes of the "average" family, but I believe it will
>happen. It will become another PC peripheral just like regular and color
>printers. Being a design engineer I can think of many instances where I
>think of something over the weekend and it would be real nice to have a 3D
>model in hand for Monday morning to show the idea to bosses and coworkers
to
>get their feedback on it. Many people already have relatively inexpensive
>3D CAD programs running on their home PC's such as AutoCad or CADKEY
>(Educational versions are a really good buy for those going to school) so
>getting a model to run would be no problem. I don't know if there will be
a
>"fabber" in EVERY home but if it becomes affordable enough (I believe cost
>is really the main factor here) my bet is there would be quite a few homes
>with one!! At the rate we are seeing today in materials development I
>believe we will see many safe materials developed for home use so this
won't
>really be a major issue. I believe that given time 3D fabbers can become
>practical for home uses. Never say never.
>
>Get ready people, the future is coming faster then we believe!!!
>
>Regards,
>
>Glenn Whiteside
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bill Richards <billr@fieldingmfg.com>
>To: RP-ML <rp-ml@bart.lpt.fi>
>Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999 8:41 AM
>Subject: On what RP vendors need to do...
>
>
>I might be a little behind in responding to this, but I wanted to give this
>some thought.
>
>People keep talking about the future of RP will be a rapid prototyping
>machine in every home, as ubiquitous as the ink jet printer is today. That
>will never happen. It isn't so much the cost of the machines, the fact that
>some RP materials are so exotic they require specialized handling, the fact
>that the machines require expensive and time consuming upkeep to maintain
>them, etc. It's simply that it isn't practical.
>
>Think of another machine we find in the office that seems no business can
do
>without: the copier. Aside from those of us who have a business at home,
>I'll bet that no one has a copier in their house. It isn't like there is no
>demand for this -- look at all the copier service bureaus like Kinkos,
>CopyExpress, Mailboxes Etc. and such. A lot of public libraries have
copiers
>that one can use for free or at least a nickel or two. Everyone has to make
>a copy of some document every now and then! But almost no one keeps a Xerox
>copier in their home.
>
>Until the day comes when we have technology that gives us a device such as
>the replicators we see in Star Trek: all you do is tell the computer what
>you want, be it a new shirt or a full dinner, and seconds later there it
>is -- we will never see RP machines in the private home. I would urge RP
>vendors to steer clear of this route for now.
>
>BUT...!
>
>That being said, there is a market there! Mainly: hobbyists, model
builders,
>inventors, and as people are finally waking up to the fact, ARTISTS! Which,
>when you think about it, artists tend to cover the first three there,
>anyway. There are always tinkers who will want to have something like a
>prototyper around, so they can make the custom items that invariably they
>will need, or invent. But considering the cost, right now, of a prototyping
>machine, it is pretty likely that these people will still go to a service
>bureau to get the prototype made.
>
>Until the price on a "fabber" gets below $5,000, and the raw materials it
>needs are cheap and easy to get and not toxic or difficult to clean/dispose
>of, rapid prototyping will never get into the private home.
>
>The ripest targets for marketing RP are the art and jewelry industries!
>Michael Rees, Steve Pollack, and now our newest voice from this sector,
>Bathsheba, are very good examples. Steve is really the first jeweler I have
>known to actually take the plunge into using rapid prototyping as an
>integral part of his business plan.
>
>Jewelry is a highly competitive industry. Profit margins are tight, and
>international competition is fierce. They don't want to risk meager profits
>on a technology that might not pan out for them. A lot of jewelry companies
>are looking at rapid prototyping, and there are some who are dabbling in
it.
>But the vast majority are taking a wait and see position. They want to see
>someone else successfully use rapid prototyping before they take the risk
>themselves.
>
>So if you want to sell your machines to the jewelry industry, you want to
>help those that are the early adopters succeed at what they are trying to
>do. Where there is success, business will follow! Offer easier financial
>assistance. Training and technical support are a must. On the average, an
>artist won't be as technically minded as an engineer usually is.
>
>PROMOTE those that are using your machine! Buy some of Steve's jewelry and
>show your potential clients what someone is already doing using rapid
>prototyping. Grab Michael and Bathsheba and pay them to be guest speakers
at
>trade shows to show off what they are doing! You've got to say to the
>jewelers and artists, "Look what these guys are doing with rapid
prototyping
>technology. You can too!"
>
>Start promoting the software that best suits the application! Pro-E (few
can
>afford it!), Solid Works, and others are fantastic for engineering
>applications. But for artwork, the organic forms that artists create and
>humans find esthetically pleasing, you will need programs such as form.Z
and
>Rhino.
>
>Terry Wohlers says that our industry is in the chasm. I agree. But there
are
>untapped markets we can tap into to carry us through this, we just have to
>make it easier for these markets to use rapid prototyping. You might
realize
>a smaller profit in these markets -- but it is still a profit!
>
>Good luck to all!
>
>
>Bill Richards, Rapid Prototyping Tech.
>Fielding Manufacturing "From Art... To Parts... ...To Parts!"
>780 Wellington Ave.
>Cranston, RI 02910
>T: (401) 461-0400 x221
>F: (401) 941-2222
>
>

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