*Okay, it's a press release. But it's also about printing glass.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SHAPEWAYS.COM IS FIRST GLOBALLY TO OFFER
ANYONE THE ABILITY TO 3D PRINT OBJECTS IN GLASS
Shapeways Online Marketplace Allows 3D Modelers to Turn Designs Into Glass, Empowering Consumers to Customize and Purchase Unique Glass Items
Eindhoven, The Netherlands – April 14, 2010 — Shapeways (www.Shapeways.com), the online marketplace that offers affordable access to the latest 3D printing technologies, today announced the addition of Milky White Matte Glass to its suite of materials available for personal production. Shapeways is the first commercial service that will allow 3D designers to manufacture glass objects for both their personal use and to be sold in the Shapeways shops. As a result, consumers will be able to purchase and customize unique glass giftware.
“At Shapeways.com, you can become a sculptor, product designer, and inventor with nothing more than a computer and your imagination,” says Bathsheba Grossman, designer and Shapeways shop owner. “With its online marketplace, Shapeways is changing the way 3D printing technology is used—it’s now worthwhile to develop beautiful, useful materials for artists and designers, as well as functional ones for engineers. Adding glass, a completely new, art-quality, archival 3D-printing material, is reason to celebrate!”
Applications for Milky White Matte Glass include jewelry, figurines and decorative objects. Produced from recycled bottle and plate glass, Milky White Matte Glass has a greenish tint and is 100 percent recyclable. Also, as with most 3D printing processes, there is no solid waste in the process — all glass powder can be recycled.
“We are very excited to add glass to our production capabilities and we cannot wait to see what our community is going to do with this new possibility,” said Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO of Shapeways. “It is yet another step in Shapeways’ continued commitment to deliver personalized manufacturing capabilities to everyone in the world in the widest range of materials.”
Items 3D printed in Milky White Matte Glass are very affordable, not only for designers who eliminate the much more costly traditional manufacturing process, but also for consumers. For example, glass 3D printed jewelry such as pendants or charms would range in price from about $15-40. An intricate, palm-size home décor item would cost approximately $100-200 to create in glass. These prices also include free shipping to anywhere in the world.
Milky White Matte Glass has a production lead time of 21 working days. Tiny spherical glass particles are bound together with an organic binder, and cured in an oven. Click here to watch a video of the glass 3D printing process.
Shapeways community members can also easily and affordably produce objects in Full Color Sandstone; Stainless Steel; White, Strong & Flexible (dyed options include Bright White, Night Black, Blue Jeans, Limestone and Terracotta), a nylon-based plastic; Grey Robust, a strong ABS plastic; as well as White Detail, Transparent Detail and Black Detail, acrylic-based plastics. For additional information about current Shapeways materials, please visit http://www.shapeways.com/materials/.
Comparatively, 3D printing in glass costs half the price of printing in stainless steel, and is about two to three times the price of printing in various plastics.
About Shapeways
Shapeways is an online marketplace where consumers can create a wide range of customized, affordable products, from personalized cufflinks and jewelry to puzzles, home décor and more. As a leading marketplace for unique printed items, Shapeways’ latest 3D printing technology allows consumers to co-create, print and buy custom-made products.
The personalized designs found on Shapeways have been created by a diverse community of artists and enthusiasts, who engage in everything from collaborative creation to selling their 3D designs as products through the unique Shapeways Shops, an international marketplace for consumer created 3D printed products. As the Shapeways community continues to grown, more and more one-of-a-kind designs become available to consumers.
Shapeways is a venture spinning out from the Lifestyle Incubator of Royal Philips Electronics, located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
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