#Road2Collision Take 2 & a Southeastern Roadtrip to Digital Now!

We still can’t believe that a year has passed since Matthew, Katy & I packed up Gigabot and embarked on an unforgettable adventure to Collision in Las Vegas. The week was a milestone for re:3D.

road2collision

Not only were we honored to win PITCH, the same evening at an afterparty we had the chance to share our vision with Local Motors in an elevator (ironic, we know:), which consequently resulted in a tour the next day of the Las Vegas Local Motors Microfactory and several partnership conversations (stay tuned for more details!). We could hardly contain our excitement when the staff allowed us to take the Varrado Electric Drift Trikes out for a spin!

During Collision, we also finalized our acceptance in indie.vc, an inaugural cohort of 8 proudly bootstrapped companies. As the program launch was in San Francisco, just a few days after Collision, we made the real-time decision to continue driving from Las Vegas to Silicon Valley while visiting customers. Safely in San Fran, Matthew flew home while Lara & Morgan joined me & Katy for the indie.vc kickoff, the Bay Area Makerpro Event (thanks to our friends at OATV), and the San Mateo Makerfaire the following weekend. Katy & I then drove quickly back to Houston where I met up with Rebecca & Ernie for 4 days of Cosplay and 3D printing at Comicpolooza.

IMG_0830

It was a crazy season for our team as we collected requests that informed Gigabot Generation 3.0 while actively engaging with the community (which was well overdue!).  We learned a ton and grew a lot internally, while taking in the beauty of natural parks and inspiring Gigabot use cases our customers shared along the way.

IMG_0741

The journey revealed the importance of listening to those outside of our factory, and the value of sharing our experiences with friends & partners who can support our goals. For this reason, we are thrilled to announce a second roadtrip, this time throughout the Southeast United States as we return to Collision, cheer on this year’s winners, and also attend the Digital Now Conference in Orlando. Once again, we’re hoping to squeeze in a few customer visits and parks along the way.  Most importantly, we hope to catch up with new friends & old, and to possibly see you. We’ll be updating the itinerary below as the next two weeks evolve. Please email marketing@re3d.org if you’d like to set up time for coffee, a demo, some soul food or a beer! Also, to anyone looking to hitch a ride post Collision to TX, we’ll have a couple seats available if you don’t mind squeezing in with our large 3D prints!

TX Library Association

  • When: April 19th-22nd
  • Where: Houston, TX
  • More Info: http://www.txla.org/annual-conference
    • (The Austin team is enroute to do setup with Todd now who will remain in Hou with the gang!)
  • Follow Online: #txla16

Digital Now

  • When: April 21-23
  • Where: Orlando FL
    • Samantha Speaks at the Technology Showcase at 4:05pm on 04/21 with a Gigabot demo afterwards
    • A second Gigabot demo will take place at 9:55 on 04/22
  • More Information: https://www.fusionproductions.com/fusionnews/four-extraordinary-association-stories
  • Follow Online: #diginow

Collision

  • When: April 26-28th
  • Where: New Orleans LA
    • Samantha & Matthew exhibit Gigabot live at the START display: April 26 Booth S118
    • Hardware demo time: TBA
    • Matthew & Samantha will also be at the morning jogs and at night summit all week!
  • More information: https://collisionconf.com/
  • Follow online: @collisionHQ, #collisionconf, #road2collision

Forever Humbled,

Samantha, Katy, Matthew and the entire re:3D team

Katy, Sam & Matthew drive from Houston to San Fran demoing Gigabot & visiting customers (and a few national parks)

Q&A With the re:3D Team (The Original Gigabots)

Recently, our Resident Blogger Sunny took the time to interview a few folk at re:3D. Below is what they had to say.

Lara

Lara Jeremko, FinanceBot

Three words to describe yourself.

optimistic, goal-oriented, resourceful

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

NY fashion week runway prints

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)
A hospital & medical equipment

What is your filament of choice?

Ninja Flex

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

I would give a Gigabot to build bio domes on Mars!

saminsantiago

Samantha Snabes, Catalyst 

Three words to describe yourself.

Work In Progress

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

Printing a urinal for a slum in Chile in 2013

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)

Temporary housing for refugees

What is your filament of choice?

Plastic trash and food waste (especially pineapple!)

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Henry Ford- would love to get his feedback and see how it might have further influenced manufacturing in Detroit

Matthew

Matthew Fielder, Chief Hacker

Three words to describe yourself.

Working Working Working

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

Printing check sockets for lower limb amputee

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)

Rainwater collection barrels

What is your filament of choice?

High strength and blended materials

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Mother Teresa

Erik

Erik Hausmann, Technology Innovation Officer (Innovation Ninja)

Three words to describe yourself.

Passionate. Fun. Pineapple.

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

My favorite 3D printing project was printing a large rendition of the front face of the Notre Dame de Reims Cathedral in Reims, France for Disney Imagineering. My second favorite was a fully working printed-as-one-piece foot-wide planetary gearset. I then broke the gearset by demonstrating its durability by dropping it on concrete 20+ times from head height at Engadget Live. Luckily, I just printed another one.

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000?

Given that size, I’d say printing a football field would be a nice start. After that, I’d probably print a spaceship.

What is your filament of choice? (3mm PLA, string cheese…does not have to be realistic)

Unicorns.

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Sam Snabes. She started the company and still doesn’t have one yet.  After Sam, probably Norman Borlaug in 1937. He saved about a billion people by creating dwarf wheat. I think he’d probably be able to save a lot more with a 3D printer. Oh yeah, and once he found Texas in 1984, he never left.

Katy

Katy Jeremko, Creative Director

Three words to describe yourself.

Curious, insightful, zany.

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

Our first project on Gigabot – a series of 3D printed vases. They demonstrated the limitations and advantages of printing at a large scale and it was exciting to see something bigger than a breadbox made before our eyes. That was an exciting time for us and gave us the opportunity to explore, plant nuggets of inspiration, and easily distribute design.

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)

Without fail, a new space shuttle for Virgin Airlines, SpaceX, and NASA. Exploration is what keeps us going forward — and we can’t let failure hold us back.

What is your filament of choice?

Copper Alloys are some of the most precious and interesting materials on our planet. They exhibit a high resistance to corrosion, are highly conductive, make delightful music, are natural anti-septics, and have a shine like no-other. That is an ideal material I would be honored to design with on Gigabot someday.

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Well, if we’re speaking hypothetically and involving time machines, Walt Disney himself. The man was a true visionary and has helped us believe bigger for generations. At the heart of it, we’re all still kids and we all still want to experience magic. 3D printing has that potential for entire communities.

Patrick Finucane, R+D

Three words to describe yourself.

Mr. Squeaker’s best friend

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

Printing a new printer on an old printer

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)

A 35ft statue of Mr Squeakers to put in my front yard

What is your filament of choice?

PLA-  my wife has a nose for ABS and outlawed it…

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Someone in need

mikedone

Mike Battaglia, Customer Support Manager

Three words to describe yourself.

excited, resourceful, creative

What is your favorite 3D printing project that you’ve done or seen done in the past?

Extremely inspired by the 3d printed backyard castle from Andrey Rudenko. His next step is to design and print a contemporary home. Hope to one day be a part of 3d printed housing myself.

What would you print with super large-format Gigabot+10,000? (10m cubed–it’s bigger than a football field)

Replace the slums of india with safe and modular 3d printed housing!

What is your filament of choice?

Bamboo!

It’s the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway Time Machine Edition–if you could give the 1000th Gigabot to anyone in any epoch, who would you give it to and why?

Leonardo Davinci – Can’t imagine what he could have designed with the ability to rapidly iterate.

Katy Jeremko

Blog Post Author