We’ve been hearing of 3D printing for quite some time now. We’ve 3D printed cars, toys, chocolates, dresses, space objects and what not. But then, after all this, what next ? Well obviously, a 3D printing marketplace. Bangalore-based DF3D recognised that pretty early and is hence operating a one-of-its-kind 3d printing products marketplace in India.
Though the ground for these markets is still rather shaky, not profitable and not mainstream because of the infancy of this idea, it can offer a profusion of possibilities in fields like healthcare, education, fashion, rapid manufacturing, mass customization- to name a few, if correctly harnessed.
Df3d- which stands for Design Factory 3D-is a design factory for 3D printing doing exactly what I described in those few lines above. They basically offer a cloud based platform for designs and software. DF3D identifies a manufacturer who will design your desired 3D product, and will then get your order placed at that vendor. In short, DF3D is acting as a bridge between the customer and the 3D printer. And this is fine approach I say. The company itself does not need to own 3D printers.
So you can visualize a giant marketplace that deals in designs, engineering and e-commerce without actually doing the printing. The best part ? Other businesses get an opportunity to offer their customers 3D printing services. It has two bases- one in Bangalore, India; and the other one in Berlin, Germany.
The flow goes like this- Draw, sketch your design or just plain type your design out, explain it to the engineers at Df3d, complete your order, and BAM ! Your brand new 3D printed product will be delivered to you, right at your doorstep. Under Df3d, the company operates three sub specialities. They’re called Cloudf3d, Osteo3d and Tutor3d.
Let’s have a look at Cloudf3d. Online 3D businesses can make use of Cloudf3d API’s- which will work as an interface, integrating online customer features like design e-commerce, creation and sale, uploading and viewing, scale pricing for each design and their online ordering.
Cloud3D’s API option is something which garnered majority of our attention. You can create your own, customised 3D printed product marketplace by integrating Cloud 3D’s API into your website. All you need to do is to contact DF3D for the same, and they will guide you through the entire integration
If you visit their website, they give you a range of options- 3D model viewer and customizer, the design services available on the cloud. You can subscribe to df3d designs if you want and take a look at their incredible 3D print Engines. If you are on the other side of the counter- a customer- you can select those trinkets and beetles (or any of the other listed products) you’d like to see in 3D and add it to your cart.
Looking for custom designs? You’ve got choices to upload and view your STL file, select color and material for the object, view its dimensions, compute its prices online and order it. You can simply go to the Custom3D option and input in your required parameters.
An enterprise customer ? Well, apart from offering the Cloud3D API, DF3D offers yet another plugin called the Quote 3D. You can easily embed this plugin/API to your 3D Printing market place and let the customer design the product as per his/her budget. This API has a pre-fed database of all the currently available 3D printing materials and their pricing. The customer can simply come to your site, enter his choice of materials for the product and get an instantaneous quote for the product he designed.
Next comes Osteo3d– the healthcare door. Doctors can use are using the Osteo3d Healthcare Platform to convert medical diagnostic images into 3D models before a procedure. This enables them to exactly see how a procedure can effect an operation, structurally. Df3d has already helped many doctors out to conduct procedures, with their 3D models as bases. Osteo3d finds applications in building surgical implants and guides too. Their designers will collaborate with experts and create custom solutions.
In fact, Osteo3D’s solutions helped in facial reconstruction of a patient wherein, by using a 3D printed model of the patient’s damaged skull structure, doctors performed a virtually real-time surgery wherein they could see as to exactly where they are putting in those artificial muscles, to bring back the patient’s damaged skull to an acceptable level.
With Tutor 3D, the company is providing your child freedom to design virtually any product from his/her imagination. They run a 6 month course for the same, divided into 2 levels. After being done with the course, candidates come out as full-fledged, qualified 3D product designers, a breed of specialists which will be highly required in the years to come.
This is elaborate. This creates a giant umbrella, that has the insight and capability to cover homes, traditional retailers and industries, along with the professional guns- studios, offices, hospitals and schools. All of these structures can now have their own online 3D model and 3D printing marketplace, leading to further interactions among each other and widening of business possibilities. The market is open to whoever wants it.
