It’s that time of year again. Colorful leaves and pumpkin-spiced drinks can only mean one thing – the holiday season is just around the corner. To be more specific, we are only 36 days away from Black Friday!
If you plan to or are already selling 3D products, it’s time to prepare your business for holiday shoppers. We highly recommend using our new integration with Shopify, the Shapeways Fulfillment app (see step-by-step setup instructions here). Not sure whether this is something you need? We’re here to help you make that decision.
The Shapeways Fulfillment App
This integration directly connects a Shopify store to Shapeways’ 3D printing manufacturing and fulfillment network, giving your business seamless access to 3D printing technology in over 40 materials and finishes. When your customer makes a purchase from your Shopify store, the order will flow through to Shapeways and can be fulfilled manually or automatically, depending on your business needs.
Who Is It For?
It’s for anyone who wishes to sell 3D models and have the orders fulfilled by Shapeways. The two accounts you need to set up are:
A Shapeways account: you can sell any or all products on your Shapeways shop, if you have one, or you can sell private models uploaded to your Shapeways account.
A Shopify store: there are multiple plans available, but you can always start with a free trial to test it out.
Integration Benefits
Access batch ordering – Eliminate repetitive order entries all together.
Automate customer orders – Orders can be processed immediately and automatically.
Print on demand in over 40 3D printed materials and finishes – No need to stock inventory or worry about products collecting dust on shelves.
Print without your own 3D manufacturing equipment – You will have access to Shapeways’ 3D printing manufacturing and fulfillment network.
Ship directly to you or your customers – Shapeways can package and ship orders straight to your customers. We can also ship them to you for additional processing.
Our early app adopters are enjoying the benefits of keeping customers on their own storefronts, and being able to go on vacation knowing that orders will take care of themselves in reaching the customers. If that sounds appealing to you, give the integration a try. And if you need assistance, we’re here to help you at storefronts@shapeways.com.
We’ve got business and education news galore in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. First, Voodoo Manufacturing has launched its new Shopify app, and BeAM Machines is partnering with Empa, while Sculpteo is working with a property developer to provide 3D printed apartment models. VSHAPER has signed an agreement with educational publisher Grupa MAC, and the United Arab Emirates is introducing 3D printing into over 200 of its primary schools. The US Navy will be testing the first 3D printed ship component, and Lufthansa Technik has established a new Additive Manufacturing Center. Finally, maker Thomas Sanladerer shared on YouTube about his recent visit to the Prusa headquarters.
Voodoo Manufacturing Launches Shopify App
This spring, high-volume 3D printing factory Voodoo Manufacturing began its full-stack manufacturing and fulfillment service for 3D printing entrepreneurs, which allows users to outsource work like quality control and assembly for their products through its easy shopfront integrations with online marketplaces like Shopify. Now, the company has launched its own Shopify app, which will allow online sellers to create and customize 3D printed products and sell them on their own Shopify stores. Once the app is installed, users can make their first product in less than 5 minutes, which is then automatically added to their store, ready for purchase.
“We wanted to make it ridiculously easy for ecommerce stores to diversify their product offering with 3D printed products. By applying 3D printing to the print-on-demand business model, we are opening up an infinite range of product categories for Shopify merchants,” said Max Friefeld, the Founder and CEO of Voodoo Manufacturing. “The Voodoo app provides a new source of high quality, customizable, on-demand products, that don’t require any 3D design experience.”
Before the official launch this week, Voodoo piloted the service with a group of beta users, including It’s The Island Life by graphic designer and Guam native Lucy Hutcheson. She is already successfully selling six different products made with the help of the new Voodoo app.
BeAM Machines Partnering with Empa
BeAM, recently acquired by AddUp, has signed a research and development agreement with Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. Together, the two will develop novel applications for BeAM’s powder-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology, which uses focused thermal energy to fuse materials by melting them while they’re deposited. This makes parts manufacturing much faster. The partnership has come on the heels of Empa’s acquisition of a BeAM DED 3D printer, which is located at its Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing in Thun and is used to integrate and test out innovative components.
Patrik Hoffmann, who leads the laboratory, said, “We are very excited to collaborate with BeAM’s engineers to push the boundaries of this innovative additive manufacturing technology and to develop a whole new range of applications for Swiss industries and beyond.”
Sculpteo 3D Printing Apartment Models
Together with Sculpteo, French property developer Valoptim is working to improve customer experience by providing clients with miniaturized 3D printed models of their future apartments when they sign their contracts, so they can better visualize and prepare for moving into their new home. These small, exact replicas give new owners an immersive experience, which is a definite value add. In addition, production of the 3D printed models is local, and can be done fast.
“Sculpteo uses the best machines and 3D printing processes on the market today. At first, we had the ambition to test the feasibility of 3D printing in the real estate sector. This innovative process has proven to be extremely interesting: the realistic rendering, with high-end finishes, allowed our clients to discover a miniaturized version of their future apartment enabling them to realistically imagine themselves living in it,” said Edouard Pellerin, CEO of Valoptim. “This innovation contributes to our business dynamic: constantly improving the customer experience.”
VSHAPER and Grupa Mac Sign Agreement
Polish 3D printer manufacturer Verashape has signed an agreement with Grupa MAC, the country’s top educational publisher, in front of Poland’s education curators at the recent Future of Education Congress. Per the agreement, Grupa MAC will use a network of educational consultants to distribute the VSHAPER GO 3D printers to kindergartens and other schools in the country. Grupa MAC recognizes that 3D printers are a good way to quickly present the effects of students’ learning, and the VSHAPER GO is the perfect choice, as it is easy to use and comes with an intuitive interface of SOFTSHAPER software.
“Classes with students are a perfect environment for the use of 3D Printing. Creating a pyramid model for history lessons, the structure of a flower or a human body for biology lessons are just a few examples, and their list is limited only by the imagination of students and teachers,” said Patryk Tomczyk, a member of the Grupa MAC Management Board. “We are happy that thanks to our cooperation with VERASHAPE, 3D Printers have a chance to reach schools through our network of educational consultants.”
3D Printing to be Introduced in UAE Primary Schools
Speaking of 3D printing in education, the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the UAE has announced that in early 2019, a country-wide introduction of 3D printing into over 200 primary schools will commence. As part of this new technology roll out, Dubai education consultancy company Ibtikar is partnering with Makers Empire, an Australian education technology company, to deliver a program that implements 3D printing and design. Makers Empire will supply 3D software, curriculum, teacher resources, training, and support to Ibtikar, which will in turn train MoE teachers to deliver the program.
“Through this rollout of 3D technology, our students will learn to reframe needs as actionable statements and to create solutions to real-world problems,” said HE Eng. Abdul Rahman of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. “In doing so, our students will develop an important growth mindset, the skills they need to make their world better and the essential ability to persist when encountering setbacks.”
US Navy Approves Test of First 3D Printed Shipboard Part
USS Harry S. Truman
The US military has long explored the use of 3D printing to lower costs and increase the availability of spare parts. Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest military shipbuilder in the US, has also been piloting new technologies, like 3D printing, as part of its digital transformation. In collaboration with the US Navy, the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division has worked to speed the adoption of 3D printed metal components for nuclear-powered warships. This has led to an exciting announcement by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA): a metal drain strainer orifice (DSO) prototype has officially been approved as the first 3D printed metal part to be installed on a US Navy ship. The assembly is a component for the steam system, which allows for drainage and removal of water from a steam line while in use. The 3D printed DSO prototype will be installed on the USS Harry S. Truman in 2019 for evaluation and tests. After one year, the assembly will be removed for inspection and analysis.
“This install marks a significant advancement in the Navy’s ability to make parts on demand and combine NAVSEA’s strategic goal of on-time delivery of ships and submarines while maintaining a culture of affordability. By targeting CVN 75 [USS Harry S. Truman], this allows us to get test results faster, so-if successful-we can identify additional uses of additive manufacturing for the fleet,” said Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, NAVSEA Chief Engineer and Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration, and Naval Engineering.
Lufthansa Technik Opens New Additive Manufacturing Center
Lufthansa Technik, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for civil aircraft, has established a new Additive Manufacturing Center. The goal of the new AM Center is to bundle and expand the company’s experience and competence with the technology, which can be used to make individual parts more quickly and with more design freedom. As the world of aircraft is always aware of weight, making more lightweight parts is an excellent benefit of 3D printing.
“The new AM Center will serve as a collaborative hub where the experience and skills that Lufthansa Technik has gained in additive manufacturing can be bundled and further expanded,” said Dr. Aenne Koester, the head of the new AM Center. “The aim is to increase the degree of maturity of the technologies and to develop products that are suitable for production.”
Tom’s 3D Visits Prusa Headquarters
Maker Thomas Sanladerer, who runs his own YouTube channel, recently had the chance to tour the Prusa Research headquarters in Prague. Not only did he get the opportunity to see how the company makes its popular MK3 and and MK2.5, but Sanladerer was also able to see early models of the company’s recently announced SL1 resin 3D printer, as well as the Prusament filament production line.
“I always find factory tours like this super interesting because it’s the only chance you really get of seeing behind the scenes of what might really just be a website, or you know, a marketing video or whatever,” Sanladerer said in his video.
Sanladerer took the tour of the Prusa factory right after Maker Faire Prague, which the company itself organized and sponsored. To see behind the scenes of Prusa for yourself, check out the rest of the video below:
Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.
Shapeways supports sellers wherever they want to do business. If you would like to sell beyond the Shapeways marketplace and either have a Shopify store or would like to create one, our recent integration with Shopify is a great solution to automating your order processing, production, and shipping by connecting your store with the Shapeways Fulfillment app. No more manual order entry after this integration!
Ready to get started? Follow the steps below to connect your Shopify store to Shapeways.
1. Setting Up Payment
To use the Shapeways Fulfillment app, you must have a credit card on file with Shapeways.
If you have previously placed a Shapeways order with a credit card, your payment method will default to the last credit card you used. If you already have a card on file, skip to Step 2.
If you do not have a credit card on file, you can add one on Shapeways.com.
Click the avatar in the top-right corner and select Settings.
Then select Shipping & Billing.
On the Shipping & Billing page, scroll down to Payment Method. Input your credit card information and billing address then click Save Card.
2. Installing the app
Go to the “Shapeways Fulfillment” page on the Shopify App Store here.
Click on the Add App button.
If you are not already logged in to your Shopify account, you will be prompted to login.
You will then be prompted to install the app on your Shopify site.
Next, you will be prompted to sign in to your Shapeways account. Use the same credentials that you use on Shapeways.com.
Review and accept the terms and conditions and click Authorize.
3. Creating Products in Shopify
To start, you’ll need to create your products in Shopify. There are two methods for doing this.
Method 1:
Manually create your products in Shopify. For more information on creating products in Shopify, click here to see their guide.
Method 2:
If you have a Shapeways Store and you’d like to import all of your Shapeways products, the Shapeways team can provide you with a Shopify Product Import CSV file that can be used to import your public products into Shopify. Email storefronts@shapeways.com for details.
4. Mapping Shapeways Products
You can now manually map your Shapeways models to your Shopify products in the Shapeways Fulfillment App. To do this, you’ll need to enter the Shapeways model ID and select a material for each Shopify product variant. There are two ways to locate the information needed.
Method 1:
If you have a Shapeways shop, sign to Shapeways.com and go to your Shop Settings.
Select Pricing CSV Wizard.
Click Download CSV. Your model IDs will be displayed in this file.
Method 2:
If you don’t have a Shapeways Shop: click on the 3D Models tab. Here, you’ll find a list of your uploaded models. Click on a model and copy the number at the end of the browser’s page URL. This is the model ID for your product. (Example: for https://www.shapeways.com/model/upload-and-buy/1234567, copy “1234567”)
Then, you can map your Shopify products to your Shapeways models and materials. Go to the Shapeways Fulfillment app and click on the Products tab.
Here, all of your Shopify products and variants will be automatically populated in the first column.
For each product-variant, enter the ID of the Shapeways model and select the material you want it to print in.
If you select multiple product-variants, the bulk edit tool will appear at the top. You can use this to map several product-variants at once.
If you have a product-variant that is not manufactured by Shapeways, simply leave it blank.
When you have finished mapping all of your products, click Save.
5. Configuring Settings
You can access your app setting by clicking on the Settings tab.
Decide how you want your Shapeways orders to be created.
Place orders manually means that you will need to create each order. This gives you the ability to decide which Shopify orders need to be fulfilled by Shapeways and when the order is placed.
Place orders automatically means that for every Shopify order you receive, a corresponding Shapeways order will automatically be created.
Decide how you want your orders to be fulfilled by Shapeways.
Ship orders directly to customers means that Shapeways will ship the order to the customer who purchased it on your Shopify site. If this setting is selected, the order will be shipped to the address the customer provided while checking out on Shopify.
Ship orders to me means that Shapeways will send all orders to you first. This will allow you to complete any assembly, finishing, or packaging that is required before sending it to your customer. If this setting is selected, Shapeways will send it to the Store Address in your Shopify settings.
To update the Store Address, go to your Shopify Settings and select General.
Decide how you want your orders to be shipped by Shapeways.
Choose cheapest shipping option means that every time a Shapeways order is placed, it will default to the cheapest shipping option.
Choose fastest shipping option means that every time a Shapeways order is placed, it will default to the shipping option with the shortest delivery time. If several options have the shortest delivery time, it will default to the cheaper option.
You can view the shipping rates and delivery times on Shapeways.com. The address used for calculating the shipping rate is determined by the Fulfillment Method setting.
Getting Help from Shapeways
The Shapeways team is here to assist at any stage during the setup. For help, just email storefronts@shapeways.com.
