3D printing for business Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

Kickstart Your Innovations With 3D Prototypes

The advent of crowd funding has opened up an entirely new model for bringing innovative products to market. And with the added advantage of 3D printing, crowdsourcing products as a path to the consumer market has become more effective, efficient and successful.

A Kickstarter Requirement

While there are multiple options and websites that function as crowd-sourcing platforms (i.e. asking customers to pre-pay or fund a new-to-market item before it goes into production to cover the upfront investment costs), Kickstarter is undoubtedly one of the most popular and utilized.

As part of their rules and regulations, Kickstarter requires a visual of the prototype along with a description and use guide. They also note that a graphical or computer-generated image of a product is specifically prohibited. Kickstarter requires that companies present a looks-like, functional working model as a prototype to both explain the product and to entice potential backers.

This is precisely why 3D printing has been such an effective and essential tool for companies looking to crowd source projects through Kickstarter. Other techniques for creating a working model may require substantial financial investment upfront, and/or increased working hours. Tooling, mold making, sculpting by hand as well as less effective techniques like “kit bashing” (mixing and matching parts from existing products to create something new) all lack the advantages 3D printing provides – custom-designed, precise and affordable models that can function as prototypes and final products.

So what type of products benefit from 3D prototyping for Kickstarter? The simple answer is – almost anything. 3D printing is not limited to any one category or industry, and can offer different benefits for different types of Kickstarter product pitches. Here are three examples from three different businesses that utilized 3D printing in their Kickstarter campaigns.

Customize Your Vision

*Boulton Eyeware’s custom-made eyewear. Image source: Boulton Eyeware.*

Boulton Eyeware ran a successful Kickstarter campaign where they received a total of £35,000 ($26,000) to fund their pre-production costs. Their unique concept was based on one simple premise: every human face is different. Just as customers have fitted suits created for their bodies, Boulton felt there was a market for custom sunglasses for each individual’s face.

3D printing excels in customization, which is why Boulton Eyeware turned to this process, not only for their prototype, but for actual production as well. In order to create a working prototype to use on Kickstarter, Boulton went through 70 different concepts refining and changing their materials and finishing until a satisfactory model was achieved. It was the ease of use, cost effective process and robust selection of material that made 3D printing the right choice for their custom product.

Customized For Coffee Lovers

*Fellow’s Stagg EKG Electric Kettle and Atmos Vacuum Canisters. Image source: Fellow*

The ability to experiment with functionality is another major advantage to using 3D printing for Kickstarter prototypes. Fellow started as a class project that blossomed into a startup business based in San Francisco. Their simplistic goal: to create the world’s best cup of coffee.

Dubbing themselves “coffee loving nerds” the team at Fellow led by founder Jake Miller found inspiration from across the globe and throughout history. They reviewed coffee pot designs from as far away as Scandinavia, as well as mid-century industrial designs.

Where 3D printing came into play was in the functionality
aspect. In order to find that perfect
design that would brew and pour the coffee of their dreams, Fellow engineers
made hundreds of 3D prototypes, constantly changing, modifying and updating
their design to achieve the ideal result they wanted.

Using 3D printing not only provided a cost-saving measure with the ability to constantly change designs at a low cost, but it allowed them to see how their product would take up space in kitchens and countertops. By working in 3D, their designs could be reviewed both functionally and aesthetically in the real world. It became much easier to review a physical model because it was to scale, letting designers hold, manipulate and brew coffee using their 3D printed models.

Getting into the
Action

*Valaverse’s action figure. Image source: Valvaverse*

Turning to the toy category, Bobby Vale, a former designer at Hasbro, saw a hole in the consumer market for 6” highly articulated action figures that represented military soldiers and the different divisions of our service men and women.

Aiming to please the discriminating “adult collector” who looks for features such as sculpting detail, paint deco and above all a large amount of articulation points (for posing and display), Bobby was set up for success. He modeled his Valaverse military figures off of the successful Marvel super hero products he worked on in his previous position. 3D printing became the key tool to show off these features to potential funders on Kickstarter.

Both the durability and flexibility of 3D printing were important factors in creating the Valaverse 3D prototypes for Kickstarter. In order to show off the high level of articulation, each part needed to assemble and work just like a mass-produced action figure. The materials offered by 3D printing not only permitted his prototypes to articulate, but they could assemble and function exactly as finished products would. This permitted the most accurate and true-to-final prototype to illustrate his Kickstarter concept to potential backers.

All the Features You Need

3D printing is becoming more and more the go-to technology for prototyping visual models for crowd-funded campaigns.

At Shapeways, we offer 3D printing benefits that go above and beyond what consumers may find elsewhere. In addition to a vast selection of materials (over 75!) and the best quality checks by 3D printing engineers, printing with Shapeways requires no equipment to purchase or maintain. We handle all of the fast turnarounds and deliver exactly what you need to succeed for your campaign.

Whether you are looking for customization, to test out functionality, or demonstrate features that work like finished goods, 3D printing can be your best solution. The Shapeways team is here to provide all of your 3D prototyping needs in one place.

The post Kickstart Your Innovations With 3D Prototypes appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Customize Drones with 3D Printing to Suit Your Business

Drones, or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), are a growing technology used in many different sectors and their designs must suit their specific application. 3D printing facilitates drone innovation by enabling design freedom, as well as fast and affordable prototyping and printing of parts. It is possible to 3D print many of a drone’s parts including the frame, propellers, the landing gear, protective equipment and casings for the electronic components.

With the cost and time efficiency that 3D printing offers, each of these parts can be optimized, customized and upgraded to suit the exact needs of the business it is serving. If you are using or considering using drones for your business, 3D printing has the potential to substantially enhance your drone’s function.

Cut
Time and Costs By Turning to 3D Printing for Customized Drones

Commercial drones can be highly expensive and out of reach for smaller businesses that rely on the use of drones to grow their business. 3D printing cuts costs in many different areas including prototyping, customization and manufacturing and therefore makes specialty drones more accessible. It also speeds up the design and prototyping process so that changes can be implemented and the design can evolve more quickly. Kespry, a company that specializes in drones for mapping and surveying, were able to successfully grow their business thanks in part to the affordability of 3D printing their drone parts. Prototyping and printing the covers for their drones’ electronic components cost substantially less than traditional manufacturing methods like injection molding.

Design
a Drone that Suits Your Business Perfectly

Even with the wide range of drones already out there, why rely on a ready-made drone that only suits some of your needs? If you need drones to transport supplies and other cargo, to perform reconnaissance in tight spaces or remote areas, or to catch stunning video footage from the sky, 3D printing can allow you to upgrade drones to suit your business specifically.

Optimize Your Drone Based on its Function

A drone transporting cargo would need a much sturdier, reinforced frame, for example, whereas an FPV drone carrying a small camera might benefit from a more lightweight body. Perhaps your drone needs to be weather resistant and be able to continue flying in unpredictable conditions. No matter what your business’s unique set of needs is, 3D printing allows you to make specific design choices.

Take Advantage of a Higher Level of Geometric Complexity

3D printing technology allows designs to incorporate a higher complexity, allowing parts to be produced more efficiently. Using 3D Printing, companies like Quantum Systems are able to consolidate their drone parts by taking advantage of the ability to produce more complex designs that integrate multiple functions into one part. This not only saves time and materials but also gives them the opportunity to add any needed features to their designs without compromising on the drone’s weight.

Prototype
Your Drone Parts

Prototyping with 3D printing helps make customizing drones accessible even to smaller businesses. The process allows for unprecedented speed and cost reduction in making sure your drone is the best it can be. Instead of waiting months to test new iterations, changes can be made to 3D designs within hours, then printed and shipped to you in days. Implementing changes quickly allows for a faster evolution of a design and to find exactly what is right for your business.

Print
Your Parts with the Appropriate 3D Printing Method and Materials

Selecting the right 3D printing technology and materials will depend on the drone. SLA printing provides a high level of precision and a wide range of materials to choose from. The material should be tough and versatile and be able to handle stretching, bending and impact. Nylon is another option as it is strong, temperature resistant and is also good for printing drone fuselages that resist collision damages.

Partner
Up with a Service To Achieve the Highest Level of Quality

For the most efficient printing process, it is important to have dedicated support and access to the highest quality results. Our services at Shapeways enable businesses of all sizes to develop specialty drones without incurring high equipment startup costs and navigating the trial and error of adapting to a new technology. That way your focus can be on your needs and your unique drone design while the production of prototypes and parts is taken care of.

Drones are used for such a wide range of projects and functions that having specific enhancements to suit its purpose are hugely beneficial. Traditional manufacturing methods would have made unique alterations inaccessible to many smaller businesses but thanks to 3D printing, updating a drone’s design has limitless opportunities. Whether your business uses or produces and sells drones, customization will become more and more important and 3D printing is the best suited technology to facilitate it.

See how Shapeways can help you produce the best drones to grow your business.

The post Customize Drones with 3D Printing to Suit Your Business appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Top 10 Ways Rapid Prototyping Can Save Businesses Time and Money

Additive manufacturing has sparked a wave of innovation. The ability to translate intricate designs into tangible objects quickly and with precision is changing the way businesses operate at multiple levels. It’s not just mature companies with a wealth of resources that are reaping the benefits of 3D printing technology. Jewelers, architects, toymakers, and many other businesses that never knew they needed a 3D printing service provider are discovering how rapid prototyping can benefit them. Here are some ways Shapeways 3D printing service can get your next project off the ground.

1. Efficient use of resources

There are many steps to bringing a new product to market successfully. Your job is to see that they all get done. But you don’t have to do all of them yourself. Having a reliable partner that can shoulder some of those burdens can be a big help. A 3D printing service that can produce the prototypes needed to push your business forward will help you to use your resources to your best advantage.

2. Test the functionality of your design

You may be
confident that your great new idea will work, but you still need to determine how
well it works before committing more of your valuable resources. A working
prototype doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive and can help keep your
project on the right path. Rapid prototyping will allow you to quickly see how
all of the components of your design fit together and eliminate any design
flaws before they become too costly to repair.

3. Test the performance of your product using various materials

How durable is your new product? Will it stand up to the stress of everyday use, or will it fall apart after just a few operations? Rapid prototyping can be employed to help you make critical decisions that will determine the usefulness of your product. Is plastic strong enough? Is metal too brittle? The answers may not always be obvious. Several models can be produced using a variety of materials that can be tested over a range of conditions to determine a cost-effective solution for your application.

4. Analyze different ideas

Is there a hole in your design? A gray area where you’re not sure how to proceed? Sometimes seemingly small details can have profound effects on your project. When the answer you are looking for is not intuitive, rapid prototyping can be an inexpensive way to test several ideas to determine the best path forward.

5. Easy to revise and reuse designs

3D printing
allows for greater flexibility with your prototypes. Data from your original
mock-up can reveal areas of concern that can then drive improvements to your
digital model. This new model can later be reprinted for other uses. You can
print as many copies of your model as you need for testing or as aids to set up
the jigs and fixtures that will be required when full production of your
product commences.

6. Reduce the time and effort needed to create models

One 3D printer can replace an entire machine shop or mold shop, as well as some of the personnel required to run them. A single component may require several different machining processes using traditional manufacturing techniques. Milling, turning, and drilling operations can all be eliminated from the process. Intricate parts that might take weeks to fabricate using traditional methods can now be turned around in hours.

7. Reduce communication errors

Reducing the number of people involved in a process also minimizes the likelihood of misunderstandings between teams. Using a 3D printing service enables you to pass your designs directly from your desktop to the printer. Eliminating potential problems that can arise when translating a digital model into a solid object can be a great stress reliever.

8. Scale models can be used as sales presentations to investors and customers.

A working scale model can be a valuable communication tool for your sales team. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a model can close the deal. Rapid prototyping makes it easy to impress potential customers and investors alike. The opportunity for potential customers and investors to see and touch your product can go a long way toward convincing them of its merits.

9. Batch production for a test launch

A batch run
of a small number of units can be easily accomplished using rapid prototyping.
These units can then be given to potential customers to try out. Getting feedback
from your customers before making a final commitment to the expensive tooling
required to mass produce your product can be a smart way to save money.

10. Patents

A working prototype is not required to obtain a patent. However, your application does need to be as detailed and thorough as possible. A prototype can help you to describe your invention with far greater precision than can be achieved with drawings or written descriptions. A 3D printed model can be an affordable way to protect your property.

Find out how Shapeways can help you with your rapid prototyping needs.

The post Top 10 Ways Rapid Prototyping Can Save Businesses Time and Money appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

3D Printing Virtual Reality Products in MJF PA12

Experimenting with virtual reality is an exciting — and somewhat unnerving — process. It often requires much trial and error, which is precisely why the team at Spaces needed to find a final stage prototyping process to aid them. That’s where Shapeways stepped in. Spaces loves Shapeways’ dimensional accuracy and durability and has used 3D printing –primarily the Multi Jet Fusion Plastic PA12 material – ever since first discovering the company.

Why is it beneficial to print with Shapeways over traditional manufacturing methods such as injection molding?

Spaces: We are constantly inventing and iterating, most of the time under very tight time constraints. Using 3D printing allowed us to make parts that broke some rules and to make changes to parts quickly. Shapeways helped us create parts that could not be manufactured through conventional injection molding. Undercuts are a major concern with any tooling for injection molding and create a lot of work to get parts made.

Two players wear VR headsets at Spaces, a new VR experience in the Irvine Spectrum Center.

Spaces utilizes 3D printing to build virtual reality experiences. (Photo courtesy of Spaces)

Which is your most used material?

Our most used material is the Multi Jet Fusion Plastic PA12 because it gives us acceptable resolution and is durable.

Why do you print with Shapeways versus desktop 3D printing?

The quality and quantity of the Shapeways parts we print are the main benefit. For the most part, desktop printing does not produce the same quality and resolution. Also, most desktop printers can be unreliable, which is something we cannot take a chance with when printing large quantities of parts for our installations. Most of our parts are conceived using desktop printing methods and then turned over to Shapeways for printing en masse.

What are the added benefits of using Shapeways?

We have been impressed with the customer service. Personal attention is very important when we are working against tight deadlines.

More from the Material of the Month Series: PA12

Part One: Material Overview
Part Two: Material Comparison: Nylon Plastics
Part Three: Business Example: PA12 used in the virtual reality industry
Part Four: Tutorial: Post processing PA12 (coming soon)

The post 3D Printing Virtual Reality Products in MJF PA12 appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Voytek Medical Uses Versatile Plastic to Transform the Landscape of Healthcare

Voytek Medical's cable clasp printed in Versatile Plastic

Cable clasp printed in Versatile Plastic. Image by Voytek Medical

It doesn’t matter whether you’re experimenting with prototypes or printing final products. Wherever you are in the 3D design process, Versatile Plastic can be used to help you create the perfect end product.

The Many Benefits of Versatile Plastic

Versatile Plastic is ultra thin, incredibly flexible and can be used well for parts like hinges and springs. Printed on EOS P770, P396, and P110 machines through Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), when printed in a thick form, it can be strong enough to be used as structural components. Versatile Plastic is also heatproof to 175C/350F, skin-friendly and dishwasher safe.

Clearly, these features of the material provide a multitude of possibilities, and that’s precisely why Voytek Medical — a company focused on creating and developing products that lock all patient cables to a desired bedside monitor or roll stand without voiding warranties or modifying equipment — has utilized it so vastly.

Voytek Medical uses Versatile Plastic in its cable clasp

Cable clasp printed in Versatile Plastic. Image by Voytek Medical

“Voytek Medical has been using Shapeways in every stage of production, from concept to prototype and end-user products,” the company explained. Their job is difficult for many reasons, especially because the products they create need to be able to withstand different chemicals that they come in contact with in a hospital setting. To create their desired products, the company has been using Versatile Plastic and has seen great results from doing so. Before coming to Shapeways and using Versatile Plastic, however, there was a long trial-and-error process.

“In the trial-and-error phase of our designing, the use of extrusion desktop 3D printing in ABS was the best option available to us at the time. This material was far from precise, very brittle, and the layers tended to separate over time. From that point, stereolithography was used that brought us into the world of really designing with a purpose and good quality. The resin was brittle and dust and other mirror issues made consistent prints impossible to mass manufacture.”

Experimenting with Shapeways’ Materials

However, when they discovered Shapeways and began experimenting with the possibilities here, everything changed. For starters, they were able to continue to try out new products at an affordable cost, which allowed them to “grow and thrive at a comfortable and manageable pace.” Soon after, they discovered Versatile Plastic and its many benefits.

“In our testing, hospital cleaning chemicals had no effect on the finish or hardness of the Versatile Plastic. These chemicals are known to destroy some plastic surfaces by making them more brittle, etching and fogging on clear membranes of other equipment. In destruction testing, the material withstood all tools available to hospital staff on a regular basis.”

Finding Undeniable Success with Versatile Plastic

Now, after trying out the product for quite some time, Voytek Medical uses this material and Shapeways exclusively to print their products.

Voytek Medical uses Versatile Plastic in its cable mount.

Cable mount printed in Versatile Plastic. Image by Voytek Medical

“Shapeways materials have exceeded our performance testing. We have received no returns due to manufacturer defects from the 300+ units sold over the past 6 months. Customer service has been nothing short of phenomenal thus far, turn around times have been accurate and timely.”

Grow Your Business

Want to know more about how you can use Versatile Plastic to benefit your designs? Get in touch now and we’d love to help you with your business needs.

This is the second installment of our Material of the Month: Versatile Plastic series. Check out Part One of the series here if you missed it. And stay tuned for material demonstrations and Q&As later this month. Got a question about this material? Drop us a line here and your question may be included in our Q&A post.

The post Voytek Medical Uses Versatile Plastic to Transform the Landscape of Healthcare appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Researchers Develop Helpful AMCET Tool for Estimating Total Costs of 3D Printing

Cost Estimation model using break-down approach.

While many companies are working hard to lower the overall cost of 3D printing, whether it’s through eliminating post-processing or offering less expensive materials, sometimes it’s just not possible to make the technology less expensive. That’s why Aditya Mahadik and Dr. Dale Masel, a pair of researchers from Ohio University (OU), are focusing on AM cost estimation instead, so users can learn more about the trade-off between cost and design changes.

The two wrote a paper, titled “Implementation of Additive Manufacturing Cost Estimation Tool (AMCET) Using Break-down Approach,” about their efforts to create a tool that can help engineers and designers understand the full cost impact of 3D printing at the beginning of the process.

The abstract reads, “The aim of this research is to develop an additive manufacturing cost estimation tool (AMCET) using a break-down approach. The total cost is an addition of costs for machine, material, labor, and post-processing, which are calculated using a limited number of primary user input parameters. If additional part or process parameters are available, the user can enter the secondary input parameters to increase the accuracy of an estimate. The build time is estimated by considering the activities undergone by machine for preparation of a single layer and multiplying it by the total number of layers.”

Primary User Input Information; Secondary User Input Information for Machine Cost.

Cost estimation, or CE, can be used to help companies set product pricing, determine business potential, prepare budgets, and perform break-even analyses, in addition to providing customers with accurate quotations and helping entrepreneurs make decisions about manufacturing process and product design changes. How much any given product costs depends on the resources – like tooling, material, machine, and labor – that are used to make it. In order to properly estimate how much a company will spend manufacturing a certain product, it should estimate the cost associated with all of these resources.

The OU researchers used a breakdown approach in their AMCET, which calculates the cost components by “taking limited information from the user to support quick CE of a design when manufactured using one of seven different AM processes.”

“Time estimation is crucial for predicting cost because cost is directly proportional to the time to manufacture the product,” the researchers explained. “Build time of the product is estimated by calculating time required to prepare a single layer and total number of layers. The time required for a single layer is estimated by examining critical activities such as time to move the printer head, time to deposit material, time to fuse the material for forming a layer, and the time to lower the platform after preparing a layer.”

Total cost break-down of batch and part; Break-down of total cost.

AMCET calculates the total cost of a part by adding together machine, material, labor, and post-processing costs. The tool separates these four components into five different levels:

Primary user input for cost components
Additional user information to increase estimate accuracy
Cost-component parameters calculated from primary and secondary parameters
Sub-component cost estimates calculated based on Level 3 parameters
Component cost estimate generated by the addition of sub-component cost estimates

“The user can analyse the contribution made by the individual cost components,” Mahadik and Dr. Masel explained. “The AMCET provides the cost of different part designs (batch) and cost of single part. The actual usage and the rate individual cost components is also estimated by AMCET to perform the detailed analysis.”

In the OU experiment, the estimates that the AMCET generated were validated by using three different 3D printing processes to manufacture two parts, and then compared the results with the true cost. According to the results, the cost of PolyJet 3D printing was estimated with 12.87% error, 14.65% for SLA 3D printing, and 19.14% for FDM 3D printing.

Total cost comparison of three AM techniques with two parts.

“AMCET supports the quick cost estimation of AM parts by allowing the user to provide limited information. The user can refine the estimate based on availability of data for accurate cost estimation. The estimates generated by AMCET are with some errors but accurate enough for the estimation purpose. This helps selection and comparison of desired AM process based on the time and the cost constraint,” the researchers concluded.

“The companies investing in AM can make the use of AMCET to determine a break-even point to analyse the investment. Unlike, other AM cost estimation software’s where loading of .STL file is mandatory to generate an estimate, AMCET can generate an estimate by entering primary and secondary parameters. This will ensure engineering companies to protect their designs by not having to share it outside an organization.”

Discuss this research and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

Holiday Planning Tips: #5 Promote Your Products In Tactful Ways

You may not be a marketing specialist, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use some marketing tips to help promote your products this holiday season. These simple, easy-to-follow tips will not only help generate more interest in your products over the next few weeks but also lead to more long-term business success.

Dive Deep Into Your Google Analytics Account

One of the best ways to fully understand your customers is by using Google Analytics. Reviewing your traffic data will give you a good indication of what your customers are most interested in and which products they view the most. If you haven’t set up your Google Analytics account, it is easy to do — and free! — just follow our tutorial here.

Once you’re all set up, make it a habit to check it regularly. Know how many visitors your shop receives on a weekly and monthly basis, the demographics of your visitors, how they’re finding your shop, and what your most popular products are.

Utilize Social Media

If you see through Google Analytics that your shop is receiving decent referrals from social media, it’s worth allocating some time to further develop your social channels. Whatever your preferred channel is, these tips could help:

Comments are worth more than likes: Not only from an engagement scoring perspective, but meaningful conversations can help you understand your customers’ needs and wants much more than likes.
Know what time zones your audience is in and when they are most active. Use this insight to plan your posts at times when there is more engagement.
Aim to only share high quality photos, meaning that none of them should be blurry or hard to see. Additionally, candid photos work well on social because they feel more personal, and behind-the-scenes photos shot on cell phones can be just as effective.
Build relationships online and offline: Ultimately, you want people to message, contact, and purchase from you. Don’t lose sight of your end goal, which is to generate revenue, not to reach x number of followers or likes.

Don’t Underestimate Word of Mouth

As useful as digital marketing is, word of mouth is still extremely important. If customers are happy with the products you make for them, chances are they’re going to tell their friends and family. Don’t be shy about letting your social circles know about your 3D products. You are your own best advocate, so give out your products as gifts, bring them to holiday parties, wear them, display them, use them at home, at work and when you travel, so that when people think of your product category, they think of you.

Ask For Customer Testimonials

Getting customer testimonials is also useful. Remember that customers are humans, and behind each purchase is somebody looking to make their lives happier or more productive with your product. Ask your customers for feedback and use the feedback to improve your shop, and to let the world know why people have chosen to purchase from you.

So you’ve reviewed our material cutoff dates, refreshed your products, added in the best images possible, and now you’re marketing your products to your target audience. We hope these tips have been helpful and wish you a great holiday season of selling.

The post Holiday Planning Tips: #5 Promote Your Products In Tactful Ways appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Holiday Planning Tips: #4 Position Your Products Well to Optimize Sales

The goal of this holiday season for our business owners is simple: to sell as much as possible and to deliver quality products that satisfy customers. A helpful part in doing that — in addition to planning for material cutoff dates and refreshing products and images — is marketing. But we have one more tip to share before we get to that, which is to recognize how your products are positioned in the Shapeways marketplace, or wherever else your products are sold.

Consider the Theory of Long Tail

Traditionally in the commercial world, a company’s sales work like this: About 20% of their products make up 80% of the sales, which is known as the 80/20 rule. The other 80% of the products, while still manufactured, draw in much less revenue. At Shapeways, however, our marketplace sales embrace the theory of Long Tail.

3D printing is moving the consumer world more towards personalized and customized products, and the products our shop owners sell on the Shapeways marketplace is an example of a diverse long tail of products. Our shoppers purchase from this long tail of products instead of from a small pool of selections (meaning the 80% rather than the 20%).

Categories, Subcategories and Popular Product Placements

At Shapeways, we split our marketplace into 8 main categories: Tech, Accessories, Jewelry, Art, For Your Home, Games, Miniatures and Other. Within those 8 categories, we have 43 sub-categories. During the holiday season, while we don’t have popular products in the same way that major chain stores do, some categories are slightly more popular for shoppers. These include: Tech, Jewelry (pendants) and Games (tabletop & wargaming).

Where you choose to place your product in the marketplace is completely up to you, but it’s definitely a decision you should take some time to think about. You can reconsider your categories to help more shoppers discover your shop, or you can count on a less crowded space to help your products stand out. Whatever you choose, know that each route can lead to much success with the right strategy.

The post Holiday Planning Tips: #4 Position Your Products Well to Optimize Sales appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Holiday Planning Tips: #3 Attach the Best Images to Your Products

So you’ve taken the time to review your products and our material cutoff dates. Great! But there’s one more aspect you’ll want to consider when polishing up your shop: photography.

Look at your product images: Do they reflect your 3D printing capabilities well? Are the pictures appealing to potential clients? Do they show customers an accurate representation of what they’re ordering? Stellar photography can make or break a sale. It’s simple: People love photos and Shapeways’ audience is no exception. Follow these tips to ensure your images are effectively helping you promote your designs.

Which Images Should You Use?

Use photos of printed products. “Default renders” of unrealized products don’t give shoppers the confidence to make the purchase because they can’t visualize what the actual products will look like.
Use images that show the material options so customers know exactly what to expect when they order the 3D model in a specific material and finish. For example, do you offer your products in both gold and bronze? Have photos that show the difference in the two options.
Use images that are focused and can capture details on your 3D products. If you need help with this, we’ve created a simple tutorial just for you.

Photo Quality and Quantity

In your images, show the actual size of your products. In the past, we’ve heard from confused shoppers who thought that the miniature chair they purchased is one they can actually sit on! Including dimensions in your images will help avoid similar problems.
It’s best to show three types of images: close up, scale, and in-use (for a wearable object, show it on the body; for a toy, show it next to related items). In addition, you may also want to use photos to show how your products can be the perfect gift idea. For instance, if you’re selling jewelry for women, consider having photos of women modeling the products.
Summer is long gone, so go ahead and update the background of your photos to fit the holiday theme. Change that photo you took in the park in the spring to one with snowflakes in the back.
Be consistent with having great photos. If you have great photographs next to bad ones it erodes the overall integrity of the look of your shop.

In addition, adding a video alongside your images can help tremendously. Most of the top selling 3D products here at Shapeways include videos, so it’s clear that going the extra mile certainly pays off in the long run.

The post Holiday Planning Tips: #3 Attach the Best Images to Your Products appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Holiday Planning Tips: #2 Review and Refresh Your Products This Season

If you have been offering the same 3D products for some time, it’s a good idea to review them now before the rush of holiday orders flow in. Possible improvements could take your products to the next level and make them more appealing to potential customers. Here’s a step-by-step guide to polishing up your shop.

Review Your Products

Overall, are you as happy with the current products in your shop as you were when you first designed them? Do they still represent who you are as a designer and your skill set?
Check your product categories and tags. Are they still accurate or have they changed over time? If you’re not sure how to categorize your products, have a look at the Shapeways marketplace and check out how similar products are labeled.

Look at Your Offered Materials

Have you tried printing your products in all materials offered? It’s good practice to test the printed quality to make sure the product prints as expected.
Some customers may not be very familiar with 3D printing, so it’s vital that you communicate the difference in materials and finishes you offer to them. Let the customers know what to expect.

Polish Up Your Descriptions

When altering your descriptions, start by adding in recipient-based keywords as tags (friend, mom, men, hostess, stocking stuffer) to help people find your products.
Wherever applicable, consider tweaking your descriptions and tags to make them more timely with the holiday season.
Describe the story of your items. The authenticity of a unique product carries much more value than a mass-produced one. Help gift givers understand how special your product is.
It’s best to use photos of printed products instead of 3D renderings. This will help your customer visualize the product much easier. Want to take it one step further? Post a video of your product!

Having great products isn’t enough, however. To guarantee success, you need to have great photos showcasing your 3D printed projects. In our next Holiday Planning Tips series, we’ll share some key tips to doing just so.

Want to be notified of future articles from our Holiday Planning Tips series? Subscribe to our newsletter and opt in to the Holiday Planning Tips list.

The post Holiday Planning Tips: #2 Review and Refresh Your Products This Season appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.