00:00hi welcome to the a 6nc podcast I'm
00:02sonal from the editorial team and I'm
00:03here with Corrine who's the head of
00:06marketing at Shapeways and she's been
00:07there for the past three years so she's
00:09really seen it she's really seen the 3d
00:11printing service and marketplace grow
00:12there and I'm also here with Tom
00:15Reichert who is a partner in the
00:16investing team and previously he's had
00:19gigs at Autodesk and Silicon Graphics so
00:22he knows a lot about this space as well
00:24but the reason we're talking about this
00:26today is because you know one thing that
00:27we talk about a lot here obviously is
00:29the theme of software eating the world
00:32but a software eats the physical world I
00:35think the question that a lot of people
00:37have is how do you bring our
00:38expectations of software like behavior
00:40like rapid prototyping and being able to
00:42just put things out there quickly when
00:45you're dealing with physical objects and
00:47I wanted to know if you guys had any
00:48thoughts there sure hi and I think maybe
00:51to take a step back before we dive in
00:52let's just get a baseline understanding
00:54of 3d printing because it's been a lot
00:56of hype in the market and sometimes you
00:58know we used to say it's all lasers and
00:59magic which is probably not very true 3d
01:02printing at its core is a manufacturing
01:04technology and it's digital so it's all
01:07additive and you take some kind of
01:09material and you're building up layer by
01:11layer the biggest difference with
01:12traditional manufacturing is that
01:14there's no mold so that creates a
01:15freedom in both design but also cost
01:17because there's not this upfront capital
01:19that's just kind of the basics that we
01:21should all a group on yeah I think one
01:23thing the one thing is very unique about
01:243d printing is that you can print the
01:26simplest objects to the most complex
01:28objects it's all the same to the 3d
01:30printing system so you can print things
01:32that before could never have been
01:33manufactured with traditional techniques
01:35and they're stronger and lighter and in
01:38some cases more beautiful than they
01:40could have been done in a traditional
01:41setting oh that's great so um why is 3d
01:46printing interesting in the context of
01:48software eating the world then like how
01:50does that connect for you guys well you
01:52touched on the word rapid prototyping
01:54and that's kind of been the core of 3d
01:56printing for decades so you know large
01:58industrial firms we're making big
01:59prototypes before they would go to
02:00market the materials have gotten so much
02:02better that you can actually do what we
02:04like to think about is rapid product
02:06development so you quickly get a product
02:07an MVP to market and all of a sudden you
02:10can get feedback from your customers
02:12like hey no one actually likes
02:13maybe let's not go spend years
02:15developing this further or all of a
02:17sudden you've got a runaway hit so
02:18you're actually able to iterate with
02:19your customers which is a very big shift
02:21from how products are historically made
02:23yeah if you look into the labs at Apple
02:25Computer right the rumor has it they
02:28have lots of molds so they have all
02:30these different form factors for
02:31different devices and they you know
02:32manufacture these so you know one by one
02:34to simulate what it's like to have a new
02:36device and so you know 3d printing
02:38brings that kind of capability to any
02:39designer right and what people used to
02:41be able only design web applications and
02:44mobile apps now they can design physical
02:45things are the same fluidity and
02:47actually have something they're handed
02:48test what happens when that happens I
02:51mean when when you when you can do that
02:52that changes a lot of things I mean
02:54about inventory management you know
02:57products video cycles I mean what what
03:00are the implications of that I think
03:02fundamentally you just touched on this
03:04word designer at its core it's changing
03:06who can be a product designer it's
03:07changing who can be a part of this
03:08process because there's not the mold
03:10there's not the capital you know even
03:12marketing historically is almost
03:14invented to kind of take a product and
03:16that has to be mass-produced you need to
03:18make sure there's going to be enough
03:19demand and so if if you just are making
03:21something for yourself all of a sudden
03:23you can say hey are other people
03:25interested in that and that's a lot of
03:26the products we see on our site are
03:28actually quite niche and longtail and
03:30when you think about them I'm like I
03:31don't know if someone needs a raspberry
03:33pie case with a My Little Pony on it but
03:35you know what there's actually a market
03:36there and you're not bound by those
03:38traditional concepts of product market
03:40fit historically that required scale in
03:42a different way it's kind of changing
03:44this this pressure you know to be able
03:46to have before you go to market you need
03:48historically you would sit down with a
03:50focus group and you'd say like hey guys
03:52what do you think about this who knows
03:53if that focus group is actually the
03:55right group of people to talk to you and
03:57it's just in general this classic notion
03:59of everything has to be ready before you
04:01go to market in the software sense
04:02that's crazy you would actually put
04:04something out there you a test and you
04:06would even a/b test and see what would
04:07happen and you can actually do that with
04:08products today so we're actually seeing
04:10people go to market with things that
04:12might not actually have demand and all
04:14of a sudden take off for example there
04:17are these guys who have diabetes and
04:19they have motox phones and no one was
04:21making a case for the phone that could
04:23hold their diabetes monitor and all of a
04:25sudden they just put it out in the
04:27huge demand from that community and the
04:29hashtag on the side said we will not
04:31wait you know so they're not going to
04:32wait for traditional manufacturing to
04:34meet their needs you know I think
04:36there's an interesting movement to
04:38around artisanal products you know I'm
04:39kind of more unique personalized
04:41custom-built handcrafted you know like
04:44all these things that we always have
04:45admired in in terms of how we want to be
04:47different we want to express ourselves
04:48and I think 3d printing is making that
04:50more available where you know anyone can
04:52say you know I want a product for me and
04:54they can now have a means to produce it
04:57and you know ultimately this could
04:59become not just kind of a cottage
05:01industry but it's the way I think
05:03mainstream products are going you look
05:04at products at Nike Offers where you can
05:07personalize all sorts of aspects of your
05:08shoe it's not 3d printed per se but
05:10there's a push right for more
05:12personalized products and I think the
05:14same thing is happening kind of right
05:15now at this hobbyist level it will move
05:17itself up into the more mainstream
05:19products so that's that's actually
05:20really interesting but how do we
05:21actually move it beyond the niche to a
05:23broader audience like what are some of
05:25the things we need to do to unlock the
05:26potential of 3d printing for a broader
05:28audience do we one - yes I think there's
05:31an issue in the first stage of producing
05:34something is designing something so does
05:36this design literacy problem right or
05:38not most people are not good at starting
05:40with a blank page or could play computer
05:42screen and creating something so I think
05:44what we need to find is ways where you
05:46know someone who has inspiration can can
05:49tweak and modify and personalize
05:50something that's already there right and
05:52I think that there's already lots of
05:54repositories for many 3d models but the
05:57innovation that now has to happen is how
05:59do you put the knobs and dials in the
06:01right places so people can be kind of
06:03guaranteed some successful output as
06:05they tweak it so kind of those kind of
06:06guardrails in the design process so that
06:09they have that instant gratification it
06:10becomes more of a consumer or at least
06:12kind of non-trained person's domain
06:15right that's interesting what are your
06:16take on that Korean because it's
06:18interesting - that's a really
06:19interesting theme to us because we've
06:21seen with products like 53s mix which
06:24doesn't expect you to start with the
06:25blades blank blank slate on your tablet
06:28that you can take existing ideas and
06:29kind of rebuild and mix them and even
06:31with Pinterest I mean people are you can
06:33repin things you don't have to like
06:35actually upload a photo that you've
06:36taken like of a beautiful sunset on your
06:38own I think that theme is really
06:40like how does that work for what you're
06:42seeing yeah I do agree and we've
06:44actually seen in our research people are
06:45not looking to start with a blank page
06:47they do want to tweak or tweak or tinker
06:49you know they want to be a part of the
06:50development process they actually want
06:52to even feel closer to the designer but
06:54today self perceive as the designer I
06:57think software definitely is the biggest
06:59challenge in the landscape today not
07:01only for consumers as you're talking
07:02about but even for designers because a
07:04lot of the three software that was
07:06created was made for actually rendering
07:08so like beautiful animations you would
07:09see Pixar movies that does not have
07:12anything to do with gravity so you see
07:14these designs come out and all of a
07:15sudden like the arm breaks off in
07:16production and designers are not getting
07:19that real-time feedback on the
07:20manufacturing constraints when they're
07:22actually designing so I think that
07:24remains a big challenge and then coupled
07:26without a materials about a year ago we
07:28were in a much worse place I think I'm
07:30far more optimistic than I used to be
07:32you know we now have 50 materials on our
07:34site when I started we were less than 10
07:35and so you know there's more innovation
07:37but you still don't have the level of
07:39R&D in the space that you do in many
07:40other industries yeah and you're
07:42starting to see innovation where 3d
07:44printing companies are making 3d
07:45printers are now saying well how do we
07:47tightly couple the software so that when
07:49you're designing something it takes into
07:50account the material and like the
07:52physics so that when you print it out
07:54like it doesn't break so there's some
07:56basic things that are just starting to
07:58really be solved now in a more packaged
08:01way you know you think of kind of the
08:02you're a Macintosh and like the the
08:04printer driver and the printer utility
08:06like that's that kind of level of
08:08abstraction and kind of ease of use to
08:10print things in 3d is just starting to
08:13go a more mainstream
08:14yeah and we're just even getting more
08:15data about that in our own manufacturing
08:17process so we've made over millions of
08:19parts to date it's actually taken that
08:20long to figure out what can you actually
08:22make with certainty and we use these big
08:24industrial machines the size of a fridge
08:26that we're always used for prototyping
08:28historically you would just fill one
08:30product in there we're putting a
08:31thousand products in each print run and
08:33then we're hot swapping them because we
08:35don't want to ever stop the machines and
08:36so we're using this this technology in
08:38ways that it was not intended to be used
08:40and sometimes that can be frustrating
08:42for a designer because why can't I make
08:44it thinner why can't I you know be more
08:46flexible and so we're kind of in this
08:48balance between almost you know mass
08:50manufacturing and 3d printing which some
08:52people call mass customization
08:54you know what is that space where you
08:55can get exactly what you want that meets
08:58your needs but it's still able to be
08:59produced pretty quickly yeah and I go
09:01back to the back to Apple desktop
09:04publishing revolution you know and then
09:06they kind of did the you're become kind
09:09of a Mixmaster for your own music and
09:11they had you know rip mix burn you know
09:13is the slogan so I think 3d printing now
09:15it's gonna be like on a rip mod fab
09:18right how do you scan in a design or
09:20take a design it's already there how do
09:21you modify it and then how do you you
09:23fabricate it anything one of the key
09:26challenges I see and the venture side is
09:28how do you think about digital rights
09:29management so the mod part is really
09:31challenging you know how does the owner
09:33of the IP you know the object of design
09:35building business rules so someone you
09:38know the mass-market can take it and
09:39change certain aspects but there's still
09:42value that accrues back to the original
09:44designer so I think that's a key
09:45challenge to solve how are people
09:47dealing with that issue that you see
09:49Karine like what's coming up there what
09:50are some of the things that are
09:51happening yeah it's still early stages
09:52for digital rights management in large
09:55part because you know even DMCA is
09:57really only covering one part of the
09:59physical realm so by DMCA Digital
10:01Millennium Copyright Act yes exactly and
10:04so that is covering copyright but not
10:06trademark or patent and so for people
10:09who are riffing off other people's
10:10designs there is a big question about
10:12where does one design start and one
10:14design stop what we're seeing is some
10:16brands like Hasbro are opening up their
10:18IP which is pretty innovative but there
10:20are very few companies who are doing
10:22that yet today yeah it is typically a
10:24revenue share but the models are just
10:26pretty nascent and I think historically
10:28companies if you look at even social
10:30media at first when social media was put
10:32out in the market brands were a little
10:34bit uncomfortable saying let's have a
10:37conversation with our customers now if
10:39you don't respond to a tweet you know
10:41you're gonna basically be perceived as
10:43inauthentic or you know like a bad
10:44company same thing will happen with
10:46product design and development so if you
10:48don't let the customers in eventually
10:50you're gonna be perceived as old-school
10:52but like what did they what did the
10:54company benefit from beyond the
10:55perception of being perceived as
10:56old-school there are plenty of companies
10:58that still do things an old-school way
11:00like what do they actually get out of it
11:01like by opening up their IP in that way
11:03I mean I think if you're able to
11:05actually let your customers into the
11:07they'll help define the product in a way
11:09that meets their needs in a much more
11:10efficient way maybe this is a marketing
11:12perspective but if you don't listen to
11:14your customers you're not going to make
11:15great products and so listening has
11:18historically been very hard in a product
11:19development sense because the cost of
11:21manufacturing is so high you know you
11:23have to wait six months between
11:24iteration cycles it's pretty different
11:27in the software space so if you actually
11:29can listen to your customers let them in
11:30you can make better products and
11:32hopefully make more money so let's play
11:34this out more long-term like what
11:35happens when there are there is enough
11:38of this type of rapid prototyping
11:39happening like what does that mean like
11:41how does it change the supply chain
11:43you know the inventory management the
11:45seasonality of products like what
11:47happens with that yeah I think if you
11:50look a long term actually would be short
11:52on FedEx and UPS you know like rather
11:55than having to ship things around the
11:56world in airplanes wouldn't be great
11:58just to download the design and print it
11:59out you know right where you are so I
12:01think that that's a good long-term
12:02disruption but in shorter term I yeah I
12:05think if once you can go from printing
12:09items with just form to printing items
12:11with function then I think that what
12:13you're talking about gets more
12:14interesting by function you mean like
12:15printing electronics
12:16yeah well printing objects that you know
12:18a working replacement part then go into
12:20a production piece of machinery right
12:22and they're starting to do this for you
12:24know jet engines so on so I think that
12:26we're starting to see signs of that and
12:27that's where you know if you're you know
12:29looking at very high costs you know high
12:33utilized things like airplanes or ships
12:35it makes a lot of sense I still don't
12:38see that right around the corner for
12:40like you're you know napa auto parts you
12:42know like i think it's going to be more
12:43kind of a specialized situation where
12:46like the cost or time is so critical
12:48that you'll have a 3d printer on-site
12:49yeah we've seen actually one only a few
12:52companies are starting to upload their
12:53spare parts to our site one of them is a
12:55DJ synthesizer company so they're based
12:58in sweden they create these beautiful
13:00and essentially synthesizers for djs and
13:04if i were to have to replace a small
13:06knob it would cost me $25 in shipping
13:08and production and now i can actually
13:10just download it print it at home or buy
13:11it online for three dollars and that
13:13that economics make sense for the
13:15customer and the brand itself so one of
13:16the things that carl bass is the CEO of
13:18autodesk says when he talked about
13:20you know some of the myths and
13:21misconceptions around 3d printing is
13:23that we need a different kind of Moore's
13:24law for 3d printing because while 3d
13:27printing has unfettered scale you know
13:29you can whether it's as complex as a
13:3220-sided object or a two-sided object it
13:34doesn't matter it's the same thing to
13:35the computer but the volume is an issue
13:37and that's where the costs of the
13:39materials can get prohibitive so what
13:40are your thoughts on some of the you
13:42know limitations there and will we be
13:44able to overcome that on the material
13:45side and the economics there will they
13:47make sense or do we just never get there
13:49and does this just live as a
13:50complementary technology like what
13:52happens then yeah I mean I think there's
13:55the reality that unfortunately it is
13:58very expensive to produce big parts of
13:593d printing and so we are seeing a lot
14:01more small parts jewelry has become a
14:03massive market because of that even
14:05gadget accessories to be honest I'm not
14:07sure what it will take to shift that I
14:09think we would need a lot more Rd that
14:11we haven't had in the space both in
14:13terms of materials and in how how the
14:15machines operate yeah right now you're
14:17basically limited that once a print
14:19starts you kind of have to let it go
14:21until the end otherwise everything in
14:22that tray does not work it will crash or
14:25there's many complications in that
14:26production process so there's innovation
14:28and how those machines are operating
14:30then maybe we can actually bring down
14:31the cost for larger parties yeah I make
14:33a comparison to your modern
14:35microprocessor right like CPUs aren't
14:37getting any faster but they're getting
14:38multi-core multi-threaded so they work
14:40in parallel and it may be the case that
14:42you'll have a cluster of 3d printers and
14:45you'll have software that farms out the
14:47you know big complex part into many
14:49printers and they'll all work in
14:50parallel yeah and kind of proceed to
14:52output pieces and they'll be reassembled
14:54so that that could be a viable way to
14:57tackle some of those challenges I think
14:58that's actually really interesting
14:59because that's like taking more modular
15:01approach to the production process and
15:02then sort of figuring out which parts to
15:04do that way it's kind of analogous to
15:05what happened in the semiconductor
15:07industry actually when you when you
15:09shifted from having only industry fabs
15:11make chips and then you know moving to
15:13VLSI design this is almost like and this
15:16is almost like an inversion of that but
15:17anyway what about the ecosystem for 3d
15:21printing I mean the reality is 3d
15:23paintings actually been around for years
15:24decades in fact um so what's different
15:27like why I think the big thing here is
15:29that the ecosystem has come up around it
15:31so could you guys talk more about that
15:33yeah when we look at the ecosystem I
15:35think you can talk about materials the
15:38actual printers themselves the software
15:40and then just the applications in these
15:41cases so I think because of material
15:44innovation we started seeing an
15:45expansion and product categories which
15:47is then opening up the consumer market
15:49and getting more people involved so
15:51before metals you couldn't make jewelry
15:53right or you could but I don't know how
15:54many people were plastic jewelry and so
15:56all of a sudden you see many more people
15:58buying these products and then much more
16:00innovation on the material side which
16:02then questions on the software side well
16:04maybe people want to make their own
16:05jewelry what kind of software do we need
16:06for that so I kind of always go back to
16:09the material because that's the the core
16:11function of what you can make but I
16:14still think one of the biggest
16:15challenges is that there are very few
16:16products and are even just looking at
16:18the room around us that are single
16:20material products and that is still the
16:22biggest issue today that you can only
16:24print in one material at a time and even
16:26changing the materials for one machine
16:27if they can handle can actually take
16:29days to kind of swap it out so that is
16:31still one of the biggest challenges yeah
16:34it also had that if you look at the
16:36different players in creating a you know
16:39a print right there's there's different
16:41companies who think about the software
16:42or different companies who think about
16:43like production and then there are
16:45sometimes logistics kind of third-party
16:47logistics to ship it or package it and
16:49you know so I I'm starting to see signs
16:52ill going to be these kind of industrial
16:53clusters kind of like a little kibbutz
16:54of companies doing these kind of
16:58artisanal products and so you're gonna
17:00have people on the same under the same
17:02roof you know like these little
17:04industrial clusters who are doing these
17:06kinds of short-run you know highly
17:07innovative new products and so I think
17:10that's where you get economies of scale
17:12you set a small level and help try out
17:15new things that's a great point because
17:17I think so much of the labor and our
17:19process is actually after the printing
17:20so you're doing a lot of post-production
17:22even thinking about assembly it's not
17:24like the printer is putting the chain on
17:26the necklace or that batteries and you
17:28know the accessory and so if you're able
17:29to think about what's the next stage of
17:32kind of collaboration after production
17:33that's kind of the big question for us
17:35at least one of the things that we
17:37learned is that this historic notion of
17:39seasonality so you put something in the
17:40market and then three months later you
17:42know it has to go on the shelves or you
17:43know you need to lower the price to get
17:45that doesn't necessarily apply in 3d
17:47printing so last year of the products
17:49that we sold in our marketplace half of
17:51them were actually designed in 2011-2012
17:53which means that not only are the
17:55designers kind of continuously making
17:57money in their sleep but this notion
17:58that something is that is old is worth
18:00less is going to shift quite
18:02dramatically so what we're seeing is
18:04that there's this long tail demand so
18:05you can really create almost anything
18:07for whatever an issue have that's not
18:09super time-sensitive so if someone goes
18:10online and says I need this accessory
18:12for my you know camera and they're able
18:14to find that and some designer could
18:17have made that several years ago
18:18historically if it was mass-produced
18:20they may or may not be able to find that
18:22it depends on you know if there's
18:23inventory left over with 3d printing
18:25that inventory is kind of timeless and
18:27so what we saw in 2013 was that half of
18:30the products that were made and actually
18:32bought that year were designed years
18:34before 2012 2011 and so it didn't really
18:37matter when the designer had the idea
18:39and when the consumer needed it but that
18:41kind of connection was always possible
18:43that's so interesting so what happens
18:45when that happens to a market place like
18:48what does that change for how people
18:49think about their seasonality their
18:51products like do they never have to
18:52worry about it anymore I mean what does
18:54that mean for people who create products
18:56I don't know if that I don't think
18:59things will change necessarily that much
19:00because I think it's this this community
19:02dynamic you know what's hot like that
19:04can change maybe the accessibility
19:05doesn't change you can still get to the
19:06product but in terms of what people are
19:08going to be choosing to wear that season
19:11I mean that's a kind of a real-time
19:13decision and those trends are probably
19:15going to stand regardless so I think it
19:18may be it's more you know this kind of
19:20time shifting and kind of product
19:22availability you know that'll be more
19:24that'll be great for your kind of
19:25utility products but for fashionable
19:27products it still might be driven by
19:29just the pop culture at the time oh well
19:31yeah I think that's for sure because I
19:32think fashion is much more than
19:34individuals deciding we it's like that
19:38scene from Devil Wears Prada and if you
19:39guys have seen that movie but it's very
19:40funny scene where the character the main
19:44character Meryl Streep character turns
19:46to her and says that blue shirt you're
19:47wearing was decided by like a million
19:49people before you before you mock that's
19:51because she was making fun of the fact
19:52that they were putting so much thought
19:54into her booboo sweater matching a skirt
19:56anyway there's a pretty good analogy to
19:58their literature or content so I mean
20:00great content will live for a very long
20:02time and it's timeless in that sense so
20:04if it's a great design or it's needed by
20:07someone like that can have longevity and
20:09digitisation just makes it easier to
20:11access wherever you are
20:12okay so just talking more about this
20:14whole theme of like mass customization I
20:16mean first of all the reality is that
20:18what we're calling what people currently
20:21call personalization is really just
20:22reconfiguration and what you're talking
20:24about is actually true mass
20:26personalization and mass customization
20:27but beyond that do people actually
20:30really want to create their own products
20:32because I think we have a tendency
20:33sometimes I'm very Pro maker but to
20:36glorify the maker and the reality is
20:38like I always like the things that I
20:40make I'm I mean do people really want to
20:42create their own products from scratch I
20:44think it's a great question and where
20:47we've actually seen people there's a
20:48desire to create your own products as
20:50where there's a need that's not yet met
20:51by the market so you know when you think
20:53about 3d printing ooh amazing technology
20:55but what does it actually mean for me
20:57that design process always starts with
20:59the need and so designers are typically
21:01more well equipped to start answering
21:02that question using design principles
21:04and then they actually develop the
21:06product consumers are not there yet
21:08because we've haven't been trained in
21:09the same way I think maybe in the next
21:11generation as kids are growing up with
21:13these tools of design and you know they
21:15have access to printers in their their
21:17classroom they might think differently
21:18about it but most of the customers we
21:21talk to you are not actually interested
21:22in creating their own product from
21:24but they do want to be a part of that
21:25design process they use language like I
21:27want to tweak or tinker or I want to put
21:30they even just want to be closer to the
21:32designer to really kind of feel their
21:35impact but that's also not for all
21:36products I mean do you really want to
21:38customize like the bottle of soap that's
21:40sitting in your bathroom I don't know it
21:42just depends how much you like soap yeah
21:44I look at YouTube as maybe a proxy here
21:46like the majority of people at YouTube
21:48don't you know they don't create videos
21:49they watch it but you look at well how
21:52many people actually sit down and create
21:53videos like a lot of people have begun
21:55to do that right a lot of people have
21:57made it from a hobby to you know the big
21:59investment in their time and creative
22:02energies and you know if that's happened
22:04in creating video which used to be
22:05perceived as really hard maybe that will
22:07happen in building physical things too
22:09yeah I think actually that point on if
22:11you start to see people who are
22:12doing it how does that shift what you
22:13think is possible for yourself we did a
22:15Google consumer survey which is kind of
22:17the equivalent of a Gallup poll and
22:19statistical significance and we asked
22:22you know do you know anyone who makes
22:23themselves their own products and - and
22:25five Americans actually do which is
22:27actually a pretty sizable number so all
22:29of a sudden you start to think well if
22:31they're selling something like why can't
22:33I and whether they're actually going to
22:35be creating them using 3d printing is
22:36kind of the next step is there ever
22:38gonna be a point where we actually don't
22:39care how things are made whether it was
22:423d printed or manufactured subtractive
22:44Li or in any other way like is that a
22:47possibility with this space any like
22:49when is that gonna happen I mean I think
22:51that's the fact that we don't
22:53necessarily care about how things I made
22:54has often been true in society and so
22:56you know I didn't even really learn
22:58about injection molding until I started
23:00working at cheap ways and so I think
23:02people actually care much more about the
23:03implications of production so does that
23:06you know improve waste or does it
23:07actually is it produced locally am i
23:10supporting someone near me so people
23:12care about those values but not
23:14necessarily the hell yeah I think we've
23:15been excited by the technology because
23:17it is democratizing and all of a sudden
23:19anyone can be a designer and that's a
23:21huge shift but if you really look at
23:24this ring that I'm wearing which you
23:26guys can't see you know it's a beautiful
23:28silver ring and to be honest I love that
23:30it was designed and I love that I know
23:32the designer but I don't really care
23:33that it was 3d printed step I put on a
23:36follow on point to waste and kind of the
23:39implication of how things are made I'm
23:41excited to see the first company makes a
23:44and there's gonna be a machine where you
23:46take your 3d printed object and like
23:47throw it back in and it like you know
23:49like melts it down and recycles it and I
23:51mean that'd be a great life cycle you
23:54know kind of the the bookend on the
23:56other side of how do you take something
23:57and just continue to to refabricate
23:59using the same content on the same
24:01material no that's great so what are
24:03just up close our thoughts here like
24:06what are some of the things that we that
24:08you're seeing that are happening now
24:10some shifts any interesting directions
24:12we can expect in the space we've always
24:15been very focused kind of on end
24:17designers and typically independent
24:19designers and we're definitely starting
24:20to see more and more bigger companies
24:22and bigger brands get in the space I
24:23think part of it is just a natural
24:26there's something big happening we
24:27should be a part of it but the second
24:29part is actually saying hey can we
24:30actually work more closely with our
24:31customers or help them personalized
24:33products that we are putting into the
24:35market and I think that could actually
24:37help 3d printing become more mainstream
24:39in a sense and less of the hype but
24:41actually just more of are there relevant
24:43products that people can relate to we're
24:46seeing that on the longtail but kind of
24:47not yet in the head of the tail that's
24:49interesting how about you Tom what are
24:51yeah I think I'm the industrial side of
24:52things there's been innovations in
24:54printing in metals printing in polymers
24:56and not just doing parts they're gonna
24:59be as prototypes or kind of design
25:01examples but like production parts that
25:04have the strength properties and the
25:06heat resistance and so on or the sake of
25:08medical applications things that you
25:10could actually implant someone's body so
25:12I think those companies have arrived and
25:13now they're kind of like starting to
25:14just iterate and improve so that's
25:17exciting I think that's kind of key
25:19ingredients to to getting to a more
25:21mainstream use of 3d printing today
25:24we've often focused on printing objects
25:26with form mostly plastic trinkets and
25:28now it's starting to be printing objects
25:30with function right like the either
25:31maybe electronics inside or it might be
25:33just multi materials or could be it
25:36could be a bigger object cuz printers
25:37are getting more capable with big
25:38objects and that's what gets exciting
25:40because then you you know it's not a
25:41novelty which is kind of an accusation a
25:44lot of 3d printing things early on but
25:46it's actually like something I would
25:47paid it you know pay for and used and
25:49it's it's you know it's part of
25:50something bigger than just you know kind
25:53of a something to put on your mantle
25:55that's actually great because I think
25:56the perfect example of printing 3d
25:58objects with function is this recent
26:00spate of stories and it seems like
26:01there's not one but like five every week
26:03about a 3d printed cast saving you know
26:07healing someone in less than eighty
26:08percent of the time a 3d printing heart
26:10saving a baby's life a 3d printed body
26:13part giving touch that people never had
26:16before I mean I think that's a great
26:18example of it actually playing on it in
26:20other ways can I just one thing about
26:22the healthcare space which is so
26:23interesting so the economics of 3d
26:25printing don't always beat traditional
26:28manufacturing obviously otherwise we
26:29would be you know sitting with printers
26:31around us all the time but where it does
26:32work really well is for complexity as
26:34you said before for personalized
26:36products and then also for kind of low
26:39and I think that's where the body
26:41becomes the best application things that
26:44fit you perfectly that are highly
26:45complex like organs and you know that
26:47really need to be just for you and
26:49that's why I think it's so exciting to
26:51see the heart that you know can be
26:52replaced or the beak for the eagle or
26:54all of these stories are just classic
26:56examples of the technology and it's best
26:58that's great thanks again for joining us
27:00today Corrine and thanks Tom for joining
27:03us and that's a wrap of this week's a
![How To Succeed As A NEW & YOUNG Realtor [Deals Every Month + Luxury Listings]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FrtrRghgTayc%2Fhqdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
