* Original post from late 2013 *
Thanks for the continuous support, patience, and feedback! Many of you suggested that providing more multimedia with our Kickstarter updates would be helpful. A video seemed like a good way to answer some questions about the Viki LCD upgrade, so @chief_hacker recorded a quick tour of the Viki LCD add-on. All of our Gigabot-level backers will receive this add-on as part of our stretch-goal fulfillment.
Watch the video Viki Intro:
Katy Jeremko
Blog Post Author
* Original post from late 2013 *
Caitlin Maudlin is a freshman at West Albany High School where she is an active member of the school’s robotics team and Future Business Leaders of America.
Imagine being able to create anything that comes to mind. Imagine making things big as cars or small as human veins. 3D printing brings this day dream to life. 3D printing is fast growing as both a hobby and a career. Not only because it’s still interesting and new, but because there’s so many possibilities. It opens doors we didn’t even know existed, as all true advances in technology do. There are opportunities to use 3D printing in everything from the medical field to engineering. Now go and introduce this to the creative youth.
You get thousands of teenagers wanting a shot just to see this thing in action. As someone who is on a robotics team personally I love the idea of having access to a 3D printer for prototyping. At competition this year we saw a several teams with them. Each one spoke very highly of using them and recommends them to anyone. The vice president of team S.W.A.R.M. gave his opinion on this technology as “3D printing is useful for prototyping quickly, creating models/trinkets/art pieces, and overall having fun being able to see your creation take shape.”
Now robotics teams aren’t the only groups of kids who are using this. Makerspaces all over the country are taking advantage of this new way to provide hands on education. A Makerspace at the University of Mary Washington called ThinkLab uses a 3D printer for prototyping, designing, and creating solution to business problems.
It doesn’t even stop there just yesterday I went to the Maker Faire only to see a group of teenagers showing off their printer and what they make with it. Maker Faires are great places to go see what people are doing with new technology and to show off their homemade crafts. People are using printers not only for stuff now, but for things that can help us in the future. The possibilities are truly endless. Ten years from now what could we be making? What kid is going to figure out how to use a printer like the Gigabot to make new arms or legs for amputees?
So why not strive to put a bot into every high school? Help the future by introducing the youth to printers today. George Benard Shaw said “Youth is wasted on the young.” I believe in firmly proving him wrong. Teens love tinkering with all the new “toys” the world provides. Not all of them have had the wonderful experience I’ve had being able to learn to use a 3D printer.
Which is why 3D printers should be as common as regular printers are. Robotic teams, some schools, Makerspaces, clubs, artists, and more are all getting into 3D printing. These kids are the ones who are imagining what they can do with this product. They daydream about the things they can accomplish and build in the short time it takes to print out the tools they need. The youth is the future, and as an overused phrase says so in 3D printing.
Katy Jeremko
Blog Post Author
* Original Post in August 2013 *
The second day at the conference was noticeably slower than the first. On top of some significant internet problems (and by that I mean there was no wifi for most of the day), there were less people stopping by the booth, and just less people in general. Regardless, we spent most of the day printing The Next Web logo (thanks Lorena!), which was given as a prize to Senseta for winning the startup rally.
With more free time than the day before, I had more opportunities to hop next door and watch the presenters. Kei Shimada kicked things off with a great quote by Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” I took this advice to heart, explaining our 3D printer to bewildered onlookers with the simple one-word explanation: “Magic.”
The investor panel on stage – among them Startup Chile’s very own Horacio Melo – offered some sound advice regarding startups in Latin America. They urged the crowd to look to solve Latin America’s problems, rather than rushing to build the first thing they see on Tech Crunch and thinking it will work in the LatAm market. These solutions they said, will not be sexy. Think: B2B, software as a service companies. Horacio added: “Please no more social networks.”
My favorite speaker of the day was Paulo Veras from 99 Taxis. His talk was about how to scale your startup to a full-fledged business, but he also spent a lot of time talking about how to be a successfulstartup. A lot of his advice was very pertinent to re:3D’s current stage. Veras stressed the importance of hiring exceptional people. Startups need to take the time to seek out A players, and fix mistakes quickly when they arise. One of his other main points was about laser focus – a piece of advice re:3D hears a lot. Unfocused startups fail, he said. Have one product and nail it – then, when you become really good at that one thing, you can diversify.
On top of listening to some very interesting talks, we got to speak with more new people at the booth. Some brief points from the day:
Tomorrow is our final day in São Paulo – Matthew heads to Santiago to play musical chairs with some Gigabots while I head back to San Francisco. I get most of the day tomorrow to explore the city and I plan on making a 2nd, hopefully more successful than my first experience, stop at a Churrascaria.
Morgan Hamel
Blog Post Author
* Original Post from August 2013 *
As expected, it was an action-packed first day at The Next Web conference in São Paulo, Brazil. After accidentally eating until the point of pain the night before at traditional Brazilian Churrasco restaurant (I clearly did not understand the process at this kind of establishment), it was an early start this morning to get set up. Matthew zipped through Gigabot assembly, with only minimal visible envy of the surrounding software companies whose setup procedure was opening their laptops.
The first talk of the day was Luis von Ahn, who humorously explained his past accomplishments: “How many have you have ever filled out [a captcha form]? How many of you found it extremely annoying? Yeah, I invented that.” The human being-verification inventor went on to describe his latest venture, a language-learning startup called duolingo (www.duolingo.com). The idea behind it is that users learn a new language while simultaneously translating the web. The service is free – duolingo makes their money by selling the translations that their users create for them. The same thinking went into both captchas and duolingo: recycle the energy that people are already expending on the web. This mentality can be traced back to von Ahn’s childhood idea of creating a gym where the people exercising on machines create electricity which is then sold back to electric companies. Take an action that people are already doing, and figure out how to make use of it.
On top of this, duolingo is simultaneously essentially doing one giant A/B test of language-learning. von Ahn asks, “Do we teach students adjectives first, or plurals first?” Now they have a definitive answer to that question, after splitting up users between the two different options and tracking their progress. And with research showing that after using the service for 34 hours, users have the same amount of knowledge as the equivalent of a semester of a university course, it seems they have the right idea.
Many Brazilians expressed interest in 3D printing, and they see the value in having such a tool for prototyping. However, they warn of potential problems getting Gigabot through Brazilian customs. Not only are the taxes high, they say some imports just never make it through. More investigation is needed into this, but it seems like the best option for interested Brazilians might be to come to the states and bring Gigabot back with them.
Some Brazilians suggested we manufacture the machines down here, thus circumventing the complicated customs process. But the Brazilian market is notoriously difficult to break into, so the conundrum is how to test the popularity of Gigabot in the country if we can’t sell it here. The Brazilians we talked to stressed the importance of targeting the massive Brazilian market, so it’s something we need to explore as a company.
I can apparently pass for Brazilian. In Chile, my blonde hair and face in general was a dead giveaway that I was an outsider, but I cannot tell you how many times I was asked today where in Brazil I was from. The game is over when I can’t reply to them in Portuguese.
We’re looking forward to what Day 2 brings. We’ve got some exciting prints planned!
Boa noite,
Morgan Hamel
Blog Post Author
* Original post from mid 2013 *
Design is a relational tool, used to communicate our respect for the end-user and to manipulate human behavior. To think, I design. The best part about being a designer is having the ability to allow others to see what I see and collaborate on effective solutions at the human scale. Here are pieces of my design process that I have found invaluable and want to share with you.
When you start a design project, usually your first ideas are your best ideas.
But, you won’t figure that out until you’ve circled around at least ten other concepts. Designers are born with a strong intuition for brand sentiment, but start with the big picture before being able to streamline the resonate details. Carry around a small notebook and pen everywhere and use doodle time to sketch quarter-sized brand marks. Sometimes the best ideas come when you’re least expecting it.
Map your constraints.
The beginning of a project is easily the best time to get yourself acquainted with your future hurdles. What is the type and size of audience you are designing for, and how much time do you have to create something magical? Be realistic, but dream about all possibilities.
Print it out, pin it up, and draw at least 100 thumbnail sketches of concepts with a pen or pencil.
The first thing that a designer must do when presented with a new project is to curate a mood board of images, textures, samples, and concepts that can guide your project. From there, print every single thing out and hang it up on a wall in front of you. Knoll your inspiration into categories, stand back, and synthesize the early stages of your brand.
Play with design styles. Learn useful vector tricks and tips, but avoid following trends in your industry, especially if it’s an emerging market. Developing a brand for yourself and your company are two different things. The beauty of being in a start-up is being able to have a lot of input on the form of the brand.
Your brand is an umbrella of your understanding of the product.
As a designer, you feel out the emotions and desires of your audience, and your brand is a tangible expression of that understanding. In order to give your product the ability to scale and grow, you must look to your customer for the answers. Just remember, Reddit can be your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to how the public perceives your product. To grow your brand identity, ask yourself: What are the reasons that your community wants to be involved?
Live with your design before you decide to go any farther with it.
When I develop a brand, product, or graphic design, I like to carry it with me somehow everywhere I go. Showing my brand to a diverse group of friends is a great testing ground for the world.
Never take criticism personally.
Your design is not you. Once you create it, you are donating it to your customers. Everyone is an undiscovered designer, so listen before reacting to new ideas. My favorite thing to do is develop 3-5 versions of an idea and walk around with my computer asking, “what do you think”?
Think Big, Print Huge
Katy Jeremko
Blog Post Author
* Original post from mid 2013 *
Note: This post is adapted from an article written by Morgan Hamel for the Santiago-based magazine “I Love Chile.”
If you had told me a month ago that I would be leaving my hometown of Silicon Valley – the heart of all things tech – to come to Santiago, Chile to work with a startup making 3D printers, I would have thought you had taken one too many deep inhales of the Santiago smog. Yet here I am, gazing out the window at the Andes as I push a 3D printed model of the Chrysler Building and a structure of the inner ear out of my way to write this.
My knowledge of 3D printing before arriving was pretty minimal, so I’ll give you the low-down on how this futuristic technology works. In contrast to traditional subtractive manufacturing, whereby objects are fabricated by removing matter from a piece of raw material, 3D printing is known as additive manufacturing: objects are created by adding layers of material to form a desired shape. You start with a 3D image on the computer – modeled with digital modeling software or downloaded from a website with open-source designs, like Thingiverse. Using a special computer program, you then slice these images into layers that are readable by the 3D printer, and – voilá! – your printer can begin dispensing the layers while your once-two dimensional object comes to 3D life before your eyes. The impact of 3d printing in supply chain is also very fascinating and definitely worth investigating further.
Sounds like something straight from the year 3000, right? Surprisingly enough, this technology has been around for almost two decades. It has even helped to spark the fourth industrial revolution, which will have huge consequences for the business world. Drawing from the process of the then-recently-invented inkjet printer, 3D printing got its start in 1984 when Charles Hull invented stereolithography, a process by which 3D objects were created from digital data. Since its birth, 3D printing has brought us a working kidney (2002), a self-replicating printer (2008), a working car (2011), and a prosthetic jaw (2012). As the technology continues to flourish, we are now beginning to see 3D printers as household items, with the breadbox-sized MakerBot Replicator leading the pack in the desktop printer market.
Right now, the marketplace is awash in desktop 3D printers – microwave-sized machines within the budget of a well-to-do hobbyist who enjoys printing handheld objects. But say you wanted to print something bigger, something like a chair? These printers don’t have the capacity to print something that large. This is where re:3D saw an opportunity. Addressing two of the main barriers to 3D printing – cost and scale – the team built their answer to this problem, and it goes by the name of Gigabot.
The Gigabot is currently the largest consumer printer on the market, boasting a build volume 30x larger than that of a standard desktop printer. The printer excelled in its Kickstarter campaign, meeting its fundraising goal in just over 24 hours and surpassing the target by more than sixfold. At $3,950 USD, it has applications in prototyping industries where the alternatives – like traditional injection molding – start in the tens of thousands of dollars. The team is already looking to become the forerunner in markets beyond the single consumer – aerospace, architecture, design, education, manufacturing, and medicine are just some of the industries where large-scale 3D printing is applicable and cost-effective.
But the team is not stopping there. The next project is already in the works at re:3D – a machine that converts plastic trash into 3D printer input material. This undertaking – a collaboration with Dr. Joshua Pearce of Michigan Tech University – will drive down costs while reducing landfill waste and global resource depletion, all while furthering the company’s vision of a future of sustainable 3D printing where individuals can have ownership over their entire supply chain. The applications range from the average consumer interested in operating a sustainable personal factory to isolated communities like Easter Island, where trash removal is a time-consuming and costly process.
So why Santiago? re:3D was accepted as one of the 103 companies in generation 6 of Startup Chile, an incubator program put on by the Chilean government. This CORFO initiative gives entrepreneurs around the world $40,000, office space, and mentorship under the condition that they move to Santiago for six months to build their companies. Gigabot is currently printing away in the ultra-cool workspace of the STGO MakerSpace (stgomakerspace.com) while the team explores the opportunities for 3D printing in the Latin American market.
While 3D printing has been hailed as the second industrial revolution many are still skeptical. But one needs to look past the knick-knacks and toys, towards the custom prosthetics and organs, the toilet in a developing country printed using the community’s plastic landfill, the astronauts fixing an unexpected breakage while on a mission. Only time will tell if 3D printing is the future, but until then I’ll be here in Santiago, somewhere between the Chrysler Building and inner ear.
Morgan Hamel
Blog Post Author
* Original post from early 2013 *
The founders of re:3D just finished probably the 50th G+ Hangout since our campaign began, just two short months ago at SxSWi. Hot topics swirled around finalizing operation plans, packaging, staffing, HW sourcing, and prototype testing, etc… as they always do. Chief Hacker reported some new successes in the workshop, machining key fixtures and writing the CNC programs for production phase of the Gigabot!
There was more determination than usual, though, as we looked at the next steps. The post-Kickstarter survey to our backers, future partnerships, and plans for our sustained online marketplace, seemed just a little more tangible and important. We’re in the homestretch of this amazing phase of re:3D – and thanks to our backers, we’re ready to start the next phase with renewed vigor, purpose… and a whole lot of hardware!!
With sincere gratitude to our backers,
The re:3D Team
* Original post from March/April 2013 *
The re:3D Team cannot express enough how much we appreciate every single backer of our young enterprise! The past week has been a monumental one as we continued writing the history of the Gigabot, one milestone at a time. We are immensly humbled and filled with thanks each time we reflect on these past 12 days.
Many of you saw the Gigabot during its debut at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, TX. Just days after packing up shop at the convention center, Chief Hacker Matthew packed himself, some tools, and the Gigabot on a commercial flight South, together with Doc Suzanne to join forces with Samantha in Santiago, Chile. After re-assembly in Samantha’s cozy apartment, we are proud to announce that we are printing LARGE in the southern hemisphere!
This success in packaging, transport, and the continuing validation of raw material sourcing for our kits has given us the confidence to “green-light” an exciting stretch goal for the Gigabot Project!
New Stretch Goal: $200K!
If we are successful in raising over $200K for our endeavor, we will integrate an LCD display into each and every Gigabot shipped to our Kickstarters. Why is this awesome? In addition to the insight that an added display provides during the build progress, this feature allows a print to occur independent of a dedicated laptop. This is useful for keeping the area clear surrounding the Gigabot, and also allows your laptop to be used for other purposes during giga-builds – like designing your next creation! Everyone who receives a kit of any level will receive the parts necessary to integrate the display – and if your Gigabot ships pre-assembled, so will the display.
Of course, we appreciate each and EVERY one of our backers, so if we meet this stretch goal of $200K, we will also throw a party in your honor during the weekend of the New York World Maker Faire! Each backer of the $5 level or more will allow you and a guest VIP entry to the Giga-Thanks Party, as we celebrate the kickoff of our shipping phase and plan for the future together as a community. There will of course be expectations of a Giga-Party to live up to its name, and we plan to deliver!
This $200K level will give us solid justification and capital to support a long-term manufacturing solution, and ensure that the best possible product is shipped to the first owners. It will also enable exciting development work on printing with recycled plastics.
This has been an amazing couple of weeks, and we can’t wait to see what we can create together by thinking globally, and printing big!
Sincerely,
The re:3D Team
* Original post from early 2013 *
In October 2012 an eclectic group of friends submitted an application to StartUp Chile, a Chilean Government program that recruits early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global.
We wanted to leverage our passion for community & innovation by introducing 3D printing to emerging markets. On November 29th, 2012 our dream became a reality when we were selected as one of 105 companies out of more than 1400 solicitations for StartUp Chile Round 6. With StartUp Chile’s support and equity from our six teammates, we have spent the past three months incorporating and preparing for two of our co-founders to move to South America. Most importantly, we began prioritizing the many opportunities we identified for the 3D printing market in Chile as well as the developing world.
re:3D is a distributed community of makers, scholars and creatives who aim to inspire 3D printed products from commercially available filament as well as other inputs such as recycled materials. These goods are being designed at the request of our mentors and partners located in the Atacama region of Northern Chile and Central Texas, where some products are already being sold.
However, we quickly learned that when you dream big, you print big!
While we draw our inspiration from the makers that have printed before us, large format objects such as composting toilets and/or large volumes of small 3D printed objects that we are piloting demand a bigger build platform than traditional printers. Unfortunately, to date, an affordable large format 3D printer has yet to be commercialized. So we decided to make our own solution.
In Jan, we unveiled our flagship technology at the Houston Mini MakerFaire. While there, we asked attendees to re:magine the possibilities they saw for our new device. Custom train sets, large quantities of brackets for electric cars, children’s museum displays, custom packaging materials, rockets, rapid prototyping of prosthetics- the opportunities are endless.
Our hope is that with your help, we can create open source experiences to re:volutionize 3D printing applications and transform the tangible world. We invite you to join our community and follow our Chilean adventures by commenting on our forums & subscribing to our email updates.
Samantha Snabes
Blog Post Author
* Original post from early 2013 *
So how did @chief_hacker design and build the printer with the help of @gerty that everyone has been waiting for?
Step 1: Gather a bunch of friends and decide you want to change the world by transforming the tangible world.
This story spans continents and oceans and starts with my upbringing in the United States of America. When I began traveling to third world and developing nations some years ago I was compelled to use my skills and abilities for the good of others.
I often introduce myself to others as a maker. I have always been one, even before sneaking out to the tractor shed with my buddy so we could teach ourselves to use the arc welder when dad wasn’t looking. I continued to display the maker tendencies driven by curiosity, creativity and determination. I gained 15 years of experience in engineering, biomechanics and technology through school, work and play. I landed myself a job working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas where I met one of my teammates and fellow re:3D co-founder@samanthasnabes. Through our shared experiences with Engineers Without Borders where we began to be that change we wanted to see.
Simultaneously, during the last couple years the consumer grade 3D printer emerged and the rise of the DIY maker movement that continues to grow in the USA and abroad. It takes time for everyone to realize how the personal digital manufacturing revolution will affect the world but it is clear that the potential is so huge it is currently beyond our imagination. And that is extremely fascinating!
So with the announcement of our acceptance into StartUp Chile it was time to put our plan into action. It was time to order parts and start the printer build. The building blocks were selected; makerslide aluminum extrusion for the frame and bearing surface, the Azteeg X3 for electronic control for future expansion, honeycomb aluminum build surface for stability and custom designed and milled aluminum bits brings it all together. We understand the printer itself will be a breakthrough offering to the home consumer but we want that to be just the beginning. The larger goal was to design a simple yet sturdy printer to serve as a platform for innovation. The future of 3D printing will be driven by better software and new feed stock materials. Our printer is the ideal platform for which to develop the future. The size of this printer opens up a world of new possibilities not previously seen with the common desktop size 3D printer.
I am very proud and excited to introduce to you the printer we have all been waiting for. We’ve created a large-format, robust, high-speed, and customizable platform for your printing needs that is both functional & aesthetic thanks to input from @KatyJeremko. Our device serves the home hobbyist, the tinkerer, the small business owner as a tool, a toy and a personal factory. We invite you to re:magine the possibilities of our device @re_3D!
Matthew Fiedler
Blog Post Author
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