Print3D – Put the factory in your file menu

I have been flirting with the Rapid Prototyping industry for many years now by developing STL import/export plug-ins for CAD systems, founding the OpenRP Initiative and developing custom RP related plug-ins for clients the world over. Now I am done flirting. Today I embrace the RP industry with arms wide open. Today we announce Print3D Corporation (http://www.print3dcorp.com/), a company I co-founded with Ron Barranco, a veteran of the RP industry and founder of Stereolithography.com.

Print3D is a global provider of rapid prototyping services, basically a service bureau, but unlike any other. We offer a unique method of quoting and ordering parts directly from your CAD system. Our press release explains:

“Print3D version 1.0, offered as a standalone PC application and as a plug-in for several major CAD systems, makes ordering designs into production as easy as sending a document to a printer. CAD users receive real-time, guaranteed quotes for plastic or metal prototypes for whatever components they have open in their modeling workspace. Users can customize their order through the integrated interface, adding paint and finish options, and then send the request to rapid prototyping facilities directly from their 3D modeler.

Print3D is the first rapid prototyping bureau to develop an offline method of pricing and ordering parts. The innovation not only gives CAD users the opportunity to iteratively check costs anytime through the course of design, but also makes enormous strides both in convenience and security beyond the online ordering methods used by competing bureaus.” (Full press release here)

Print3D offers next-day delivery on most simple SLA and SLS plastic prototypes, and two to three day delivery on more complicated orders, such as customized paint, dye, or metallic-plating finishes, or metal-casted components.

Currently we have plug-ins for Alibre Design, AutoCAD, Inventor, Rhinoceros, Solid Edge, SolidWorks and SpaceClaim. Development and testing of plug-ins for other CAD systems is on full swing and we should be releasing them shortly.

Do drop in and try out our software. It’s free. And when you do have the need for a part, just print it. Click File and Print3D in your CAD system, save a quote, order your parts and we will deliver them to you anywhere in the world. Wait, let me rephrase that – wherever FedEx offers service. The last time I checked FedEx did not ship to Iran and North Korea.