Sep 30, 2015 | By Alec
As an entire generation is growing up with a selfie obsession, it’s hardly surprising that the 3D printing industry is eyeing that juicy market. Several initiatives have therefore already been started to open ‘selfie booths’, where you can make a 3D scan of yourself and let it be 3D printed at a high quality. But now it looks like Shapeways is trying to make this concept more widely available, as they have just opened ten 3D scanning booths for 3D printed selfies at ten different locations spread out through The Netherlands.
Shapeways, of course, is a giant of the professional 3D printing industry, and though headquartered in New York, their European branch is stationed in Eindhoven, in The Netherlands. It’s therefore hardly surprising that they chose this little country to expand this very accessible form of 3D printing technology, which could potentially introduce a very large market to their services.
As Shapeways’ Pieter Limburg explains, this initative grew out of a very commonly asked question. ‘When I started working at Shapeways, I was constantly asked jokingly by friends: “Do you also 3D print people?” I finally have an answer to that question: Yes! I’ve already had myself 3D scanned and printed, and did the same for my girlfriend who lives in the Netherlands (I live in New York). Having a 3D print of her brings good memories to life,’ he explains.
What’s more, they have streamlined the 3D scanning process to become quick, easy and of a very high quality. The Shapeways booths take just a single minute to scan a person, with the Shapeways services being used to 3D print the selfie – which will then be shipped to your home. A variety of materials are already available, including Full Color Sandstone, Steel, Brass, Silver and Gold. In the future, this process could become even quicker, Limburg adds. ‘Google is working to equip its future phones with a 3D scanner built in and in the Shapeways factory in Eindhoven we are building a massive walk-in-3D-scanner which creates a scan in 0.1 seconds,’ he writes.
The service itself is outsourced to several photography stores across the Netherlands, which is the first time this service is offered in stores anywhere. The full list of stores where this service is available can be found below, with the one standing out the most is Madurodam – a theme park in The Hague filled with miniature cities, iconic buildings and people. Prices are expected to start at €30 (or about $35 USD) but can obviously rise very steeply depending on the size and material you select.
Aside from Madurodam in The Hague, the scanning booths can be found in the following locations, conveniently spread out across the country:
- Maker Point, Arnhem, Rijnstraat 13, 6811 EV Arnhem
- Maker Point, Eindhoven, Torenallee 22-04 (Yksi Winkel/Expo)
- Maker Point, Maastricht, Boschstraat 75a, 6211 AV Maastricht
- Maker Point, Harlingen, Zuiderhaven 73, 8861 CM Harlingen
- Foto Herder, Amstelveen, Rembrandtweg 104, 1181 GW Amstelveen
- Foto Ben Hofland, Rijswijk, Prins Willem Alexander Promenade 4
- Foto Ben Hofland, Naaldwijk, Molenstraat 38 Naaldwijk
- Foto Filippo, Leiderdorp, Winkelhof 42, 2353 TT Leiderdorp
- Foto de Bock, Hoofddorp, Kruisweg 985B, 2132 CE Hoofddorp
Posted in 3D Printing Services
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I hear they're using a handheld scanner that takes 3-4 minutes for each scan. Why not set up an instant system like the Twinstant 3D body scanner from Twindom? Saw it at http://web.twindom.com/twinstant/
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