A Good Result - Desktop Factory and 3D Systems

I've watched the Desktop Factory story unfold over the last few years with great interest and a degree of hope. Cathy Lewis and the team there have worked hard to deliver a breakthrough technology in terms of price. Success of a sub $5,000 machine would be good for the industry particularly as Desktop did a great job getting coverage outside engineering media in mainstream outlets - helping to expose the technology to a much wider audience.

Then the recession arrived and the requirements of investors have subsequently become harder and harder to satisfy, so much so that Desktop Factory had to rethink how they could move forward. Too much time and effort had gone into the technology to walk away, all they needed was an investor or buyer who "got" additive manufacturing.

Enter 3D Systems (full press release here)....The reality is that Desktop Factory needed a believer, not a venture capitalist looking to make a fast (or even slow!) buck - and in 3D Systems and Abe Reichental they have found not only a believer but the company that started it all in the first place...and one with the infrastructure and capability to deliver to market what Desktop Factory started working towards.

I think the news is a good thing, sure there will be those out there that think it would be better for the industry if some other company had got their hands on the technology but it's worth reflecting on this to finish with.

Yes the V-Flash did take a little longer to get to market than everyone, including 3D Systems, expected. However breakthrough technologies are never easy to get to market particularly when you are striving to control the market price of the machine.

The key point here is that 3D delivered it to market successfully and that is why this deal is a good one. Because now the Desktop Factory machine WILL be launched commercially, it WILL work and it WILL have the back up of an organisation that has already done it time and time again over the last twenty or so years...and that all means that more people will have a 3D printer in their price range than before and that can only be good for all.

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The World of Inspection at TCT Live 2009

A little bit of self promotion here, as the dates for this years TCT Live 2009 event race towards us it's time to spotlight one of the key new developments for this years event.

Supporting the TCT Live theme of Education for Industry, the 2009 show will include a dedicated Seminar Day for Inspection, Digitising and Metrology technologies enabling visitors to witness and learn about the very latest technologies and techniques being used in this sector.

The seminar has been designed to take an in-depth look at the impressive technological developments in this sector. With case studies and interactive demonstrations, presentations will take visitors through the full spectrum of measurement, scanning and inspection equipment available and the various ways it can be used to improve R&D, process efficiency and product lifecycles.

Topics being discussed include: Rapid 3D Measurement of Inner & Outer Structure by Computed Tomography — Dr Martin Simon, Wenzel; Measuring up to the Challenges of F1 Motor Racing — Steve Nevey, Red Bull Racing; The Advantages of DSSP within Aerospace — Steven Fletcher, Geomagic Inc.; Saving Time & Cutting Cost Using Optical Measurement — Andrew Cuffley, GOM UK; and The Conundrum of Detail v Accuracy v Speed — Satish Mysore, 3D Digital Corp.

The full programme can be found here

On the exhibition floor itself, visitors will find the leading experts in this field who will be on hand to give advice and demonstrate live their revolutionary techniques. A host of new equipment will be introduced at TCT Live this year. New exhibitor, 3D Digital Corp, will show together for the first time a laser 3D scanner and White-Light scanner. Making its UK debut on the Carl Zeiss stand will be the new ‘myCalypso’ software with the DuraMax CMM.

Konica Minolta will demonstrate live its recently introduced Range 7 3D Digitiser and the versatile Vi-9i 3D Digitiser. The all new Romer Infinite II portable measurement system complete with Scanshark Laser Scanning System will be displayed by Hexagon Metrology. Wenzel UK will be exhibiting three new products for the first time in the UK — the exaCT CT scanning machine, the new Steintek MobileScan3D, and Pointmaster, demonstrated for the first time as a standalone 3D surfacing software. Meanwhile visitors to Z-Corp will see firsthand the ZPrinter 650 and the ZScanner 700 CX.

Other exhibitors from the sector include NPL, Olympus, Vision Engineering, Steinbichler, Werth, Geomagic, FARO and GOM,

TCT Live is being held at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on October 20–21, the Inspection Digitising & Metrology Seminar will take place on the second day of the show, October 21.TCT Live and its co-located show MM Live are proud to promote Education for Industry. By providing specific industry sectors with an educational platform, vendors and users alike are given the opportunity share and discuss the very latest in cutting-edge techniques.

All seminars are free of charge to attend, for details on all seminar programmes visit www.tctshow.com, where registration can also be completed quickly and easily.

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