Oct 9, 2017 | By Tess
Pittsburgh-based retail 3D printing company PieceMaker, known best for its 3D printed toy partnerships, is re-launching its business as a B2B 3D printing service and solutions provider.
The shift is in response to the changing 3D printing landscape, as companies move beyond novel uses for the technology into more serious production applications.
Since its founding in 2013, PieceMaker has made a name for itself in the toy-making world, partnering with companies like Ford Motors, Nickelodeon, and the now-bankrupt toy giant Toys”R”Us to produce child-safe 3D printed toys.
Notably, PieceMaker was responsible for launching the first retail 3D printing kiosks which were developed for an individual client (Nickelodeon, for instance) and which offered personalized, on-demand 3D printed figurines and toys.
You may have even come across one of its 3D printing kiosks, as they were installed at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, the National Building Museum, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and Toys”R”Us’ former flagship location in Times Square, NYC. The company also claims such accolades as the “Best of Toy Fair” award from Popular Science in 2016.
Now, however, PieceMaker will be moving its business away from the toy market and putting its 3D printing expertise to use as a business-to-business 3D printing service bureau.
3D printed toy kiosk made my PieceMaker for Nickelodeon
“We have always believed that mass customization, powered by on-demand AM supply chains, represents the next industrial revolution,” commented PieceMaker CEO Arden Rosenblatt. “One that not only empowers consumers to become co-creators in the products they buy, but also a revolution that stands to localize production, labor, and profit again for the first time in a century.
“The challenge is that making this vision a reality requires large-scale investment and leadership from major players across the market spectrum."
Evidently aiming to take its place among the major players in the industrial 3D printing world, PieceMaker now has a varied offering that includes AM content management, educational software development for makership curriculums, beauty care product personalization experiences, on-site printing for promotional products, consumer kiosks for customizing fine jewelry, and more.
PieceMaker breaks down its new business offering into three sections: software solutions, 3D technology, and support services. The first, software solutions, will encompass anything from interactive customization experiences, to AM content management, to custom software applications.
3D technology, for its part, will consist of hardware solutions such as hardware design and integration, strategy and analysis, and printable product design, while supporting services will offer businesses kiosk or exhibit designs, development of 3D model catalogues, IP compliance, and more.
The company says its overall goal is to enable companies of all sizes and from many sectors to better integrate and adopt customized and interactive 3D printing solutions in order to improve their own product offerings.
3D printed toy kiosk made by PieceMaker for Ford Motors
“For the first time we’re seeing all kinds of companies putting substantial resources behind incorporating AM & interactive 3D technology into their supply chains and customer experiences in meaningful and exciting new ways,” said Rosenblatt. “Importantly, they have also learned that hardware is just the first step. That’s where PieceMaker comes in.
“We’ve spent the last four years building the solutions, applications and networks that make AM work. Now we’re thrilled to bring this expertise to some of the best companies in the world, powering the AM revolution through end-to-end, enterprise-level solutions that are proven, profitable and scalable."
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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