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Due to COVID-19, many more people are working remotely these days, which makes it imperative for employees to be able to print jobs, and manage them, remotely as well. That’s why MakerBot is launching a new workflow meant to make remote 3D printing collaboration easier. Not to be confused with Google’s CloudPrint or this open source factory, the new MakerBot CloudPrint software, formerly called MakerBot Cloud, is a next generation 3D printing platform that ensures all individuals and teams can collaboratively and seamlessly use 3D printing across multiple devices both onsite and remotely.

“We are experiencing a global phenomenon with more people working remotely than ever before. Without the right tools, this can lead to a disruption in work and, ultimately, a decrease in performance. We believe that MakerBot CloudPrint is an ideal solution for individual or team collaboration from anywhere,” stated MakerBot’s CEO Nadav Goshen. “MakerBot CloudPrint offers an all-in-one solution for users to prepare, queue, print, and manage printers. MakerBot CloudPrint aims to easily adapt to your workflow, no matter how many printers you have. This solution was built with productivity in mind, and we plan to continuously improve the fastest CAD-to-part benefits of the METHOD platform.”

By providing one centralized, cloud-based application, this new workflow software offers a faster, more advanced printing solution, and helps optimize 3D printer usage and collaboration as well. MakerBot CloudPrint marries cloud scalability with familiar software features to create a 3D printing workflow management solution that makes it easier for users to prepare, queue, print, manage, and monitor their jobs.

MakerBot CloudPrint provides users with more control, letting them reorder the queue if priorities suddenly change and share access to other connected MakerBot 3D printers. The new software solution can also reduce 3D printer downtime between projects, which helps streamline the workflow and ramp up productivity. It offers many other handy features as well, such as the ability to group printers into workspaces and shared in classrooms, production areas, or with teams. You can actually set permissions for different team betters for more access, or just create submission links so anyone can submit prints for approval.

The software solution’s full-featured print preparation view makes it easy to preview and position parts on the build plate, and allows users to slice prints right from their browser. A live camera feed allows users to add, monitor, and control access to other connected printers, as well as get live status updates on print jobs. Additionally, with the queue and print history features, it’s easy to track projects, and a dashboard offers a central place from which to view prints. You can generate reports to analyze printer performance, and optimized print modes can be used to access advanced settings, like custom and experimental print profiles, on the MakerBot METHOD platform. Finally, MakerBot CloudPrint allows users in need of more advanced print features to unlock expert METHOD settings, such as extra MakerBot LABS for METHOD user settings and all of the METHOD extruders and materials.

MakerBot CloudPrint already has one stamp of approval from NYC-based PENSA, an industrial design and invention consulting firm, uses the METHOD platform.

“Working remotely has meant a lot of changes to how we collaborate in a creative environment,” explained PENSA CEO Marco Perry. “While many digital tools have replaced face to face interactions, nothing can replace working with physical prototypes. MakerBot CloudPrint enables us to work with our 3D printers at a distance, removing one more barrier in the process.”

The software is integrated with Google products, and is also compatible with all MakerBot solutions, including the Replicator 3D printer series and SKETCH Classroom bundle. Additional MakerBot CloudPrint features include:

multi-model support
better slicing and preview options
speed optimizations
improved print performance
new UX/UI designs

MakerBot CloudPrint: 3D Printing Collaboration Everywhere | MakerBot

In the near future, additional features, such as custom print modes and improved monitoring and queuing, will be released for MakerBot CloudPrint, which is currently available to use free of charge. This is one major difference between the solution and Ultimaker’s subscription-based Ultimaker Essentials enterprise software platform, which was just launched last month. While MakerBot CloudPrint is compatible with its SKETCH Classroom bundle, Ultimaker Essentials includes a new eLearning platform, as well as access to three courses from the recently launched Ultimaker 3D Printing Academy. Ultimaker Essentials also comes with a catalog of verified plugins meant to improve the 3D printing workflow, while MakerBot CloudPrint appears to accomplish the same without the use of plugins. Test it out and see for yourself!

(Images courtesy of MakerBot)

The post MakerBot CloudPrint Software Makes Remote, Collaborative 3D Printing Seamless appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Creating a scalable business is a phrase often heard in startups and new venture circles, but what does it mean? You could say growth, or perhaps, strong sales, and you would not be wrong, but scaling is much more than those two ideas.

Sell more. This is often touted as the complete solution for how to scale a business. Another is to simply add more machines or people to increase capacity.

The well-worn mantra of “selling more” does not always solve the problem, nor does adding more capacity. Scaling means you build efficient processes. If you have not built organized processes to handle and serve the customer, then you are not ready to scale your 3D printing service.

A scalable business includes the flexibility and versatility to expand your business in a cost-effective way. It involves expansion so increased workloads do not overwhelm your team or disappoint your customers. Scalability is delivering without destroying your company. Scaling your business is more than exponential growth.

You may be asking, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, why bother trying to scale during a potentially slower economy? Here are five reasons to consider:

Improved efficiency usually results in cost-savings.
By preparing for scalable growth, you can create more consistent plans for the ups and downs (and may discover new ways to weather this current “down”).
Scalability creates adaptability to roll with economic changes and pressure.
Businesses which carefully consider scalability are much more likely to survive
Streamlining internal processes, automating them as much as possible, will make you a much stronger competitor in the marketplace once the storm is over.

Realizing these benefits for your 3D printing business will not be easy if you are hacking together a variety of disconnected software tools to get the job done. All you’re doing at that point is creating separate instances of data with varied access within your team and increasing your software bloat.

You and I both know putting together a streamlined and in-sync workflow is not easy. There are a variety of platforms or desktop software that let you combine some of the processes that 3D printing companies need. You want to combine a customer-friendly front end (a quoting tool on your landing pages or home page), and then integrate some or all of your backend, internal processes so that you can track customer communications in a logical way (keeping them informed of job progress, for example), and keep the internal pipeline of work in one place so that everyone can get to it quickly and easily.

I learned these lessons early on in my career after founding multiple 3D printing services in Chicago and Detroit. I searched for a tool that solved for these problems, but none existed. That’s why I started MakerOS.

MakerOS is a web-based collaboration platform for 3D printing and digital fabrication companies to develop products faster, regardless of company size or stage. My team and I built this platform over the past few years, and already it’s been used in thousands of projects for 3D printing services with clients from around North America.

I sought out to create a business operating system for professional fabricators, engineers, designers, and makers, and together with my team that’s exactly what we’ve done.

If you feel like you need an operating system that’s specifically built for someone like you to help your 3D printing service scale, especially during this global pandemic, check us out. Or drop us a note and request a live demo to learn more about how we help you make more.

About the Author:

Mike Moceri has deep experience in manufacturing, design, and software. In 2013, he co-founded the world’s first 3D printing retail service bureau in Chicago. In 2014 he founded Manulith, a 3D printing and product design agency, where his clientele included Fortune 500 companies within the aerospace, automotive, and medical industries. Mike is also a mentor at Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator, a mentor at WeWork Labs in NYC, and formerly a mentor at TechTown Detroit. He’s previously been featured on MSN, Make Magazine, NBC, and the Encyclopedia Britannica. D-Business Magazine called him the “Face of 3D printing.” Mike is currently the founder and CEO of MakerOS, an all-in-one collaboration platform for additive manufacturing services to efficiently work with clients throughout the entire lifecycle of a project.

The post 5 Reasons You Should Continue Scaling Your 3D Printing Service During COVID-19, and How to Do So appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.