3DS Bespoke Case Study
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[email protected] www.3dsystems.com www.printin3d.com © Copyright 2012 by 3D Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. TM 3D SYSTEMS CASE STUDY Extracted From The New York Times 3D Printing Spurs a Manufacturing Revolution SAN FRANCISCO - Businesses in the South Park district of San Francisco generally sell either Web technology or sandwiches and burritos. Bespoke Innovations plans to sell designer body parts. The company is using advances in a technology known as 3D printing to create prosthetic limb casings wrapped in embroidered leather, shimmering metal or whatever else someone might want. “Our efforts have been to connect additive manufacturing solutions to the people who stand to benefit from them the most. We look forward to new innovations coming from 3D Systems to further enable these developments.” Scott Summit Founder Bespoke Innovations San Francisco, California Scott Summit, a co-founder of Bespoke, and his partner, an orthopedic surgeon, are set to open a studio where they will sell the limb coverings and experiment with printing entire customized limbs that could cost a tenth of comparable artificial limbs made using traditional methods. And they will be dishwasher-safe. “I wanted to create a leg that had a level of humanity,” Mr. Summit said. “It’s unfortunate that people have had a product that’s such a major part of their lives that was so underdesigned.” The technology has been radically transformed from its origins as a tool used by manufacturers and designers to build prototypes. And 3D Systems has remained a leader and shaper of this market, providing the broadest line of 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing systems and parts solutions available. The custom prosthesis shown was printed using 3D Systems Selective Laser Sintering, SLS technology. These days the availability of 3D printing is giving rise to a string of never-before-possible businesses that are selling iPhone cases, lamps, doorknobs, jewelry, handbags, perfume bottles, clothing and architectural models. And while some wonder how successfully the technology will make the transition from manufacturing applications to producing consumer goods, its use is exploding. It is manufacturing with a mouse click instead of hammers, nails and, well, workers. Advocates of the technology say that by doing away with manual labor, 3D printing could revamp the economics of manufacturing and revive American industry as creativity and ingenuity replace labor costs as the main concern around a variety of goods. “There is nothing to be gained by going overseas except for higher shipping charges,” Mr. Summit said.
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Transcript of 3DS Bespoke Case Study
© Copyright 2012 by 3D Systems Corporation. All rights reserved.
TM
3D SYSTEMS CASE STUDYExtracted From The New York Times
3D Printing Spurs a Manufacturing RevolutionSAN FRANCISCO - Businesses in the South Park district of San Francisco generally sell either Web technology or sandwiches and burritos. Bespoke Innovations plans to sell designer body parts.The company is using advances in a technology known as 3D printing to create prosthetic limb casings wrapped in embroidered leather, shimmering metal or whatever else someone might want.
“Our efforts have been to connect additive manufacturing solutions to the people who stand to benefit from them the most. We look forward to new innovations coming from 3D Systems to further enable these developments.”
Scott SummitFounderBespoke Innovations San Francisco, California
Scott Summit, a co-founder of Bespoke, and his partner, an orthopedic surgeon, are set to open a studio where they will sell the limb coverings and experiment with printing entire customized limbs that could cost a tenth of comparable artificial limbs made using traditional methods. And they will be dishwasher-safe.
“I wanted to create a leg that had a level of humanity,” Mr. Summit said. “It’s unfortunate that people have had a product that’s such a major part of their lives that was so underdesigned.”
The technology has been radically transformed from its origins as a tool used by manufacturers and designers to build prototypes. And 3D Systems has remained a leader and shaper of this market, providing the broadest line of 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing systems and parts solutions available. The custom prosthesis shown was printed using 3D Systems Selective Laser Sintering, SLS technology.
These days the availability of 3D printing is giving rise to a string of never-before-possible businesses that are selling iPhone cases, lamps, doorknobs, jewelry, handbags, perfume bottles, clothing and architectural models. And while some wonder how successfully the technology will make the transition from manufacturing applications to producing consumer goods, its use is exploding.
It is manufacturing with a mouse click instead of hammers, nails and, well, workers. Advocates of the technology say that by doing away with manual labor, 3D printing could revamp the economics of manufacturing and revive American industry as creativity and ingenuity replace labor costs as the main concern around a variety of goods. “There is nothing to be gained by going overseas except for higher shipping charges,” Mr. Summit said.
© Copyright 2012 by 3D Systems Corporation. All rights reserved.
TM
Depending on the type of job at hand, a typical 3D printer can cost from $10,000 to more than $100,000. 3D Systems offers the broadest portfolio of 3D Printers and Production Systems extending into six figures when requirements include the rapid manufacturing of end use parts, rapid tooling, direct metal or the level of accuracy and durability only possible with SLA and SLS technologies. Today anyone may also source a single part or a complex assembly with complete design to manufacturing services through 3Dproparts™, a global network of parts solutions. Bespoke Innovations uses this service regularly.
Moving the technology beyond manufacturing does pose challenges. Customized products, for example, may be more expensive than mass-produced ones, and take longer to make. And the concept may seem out of place in a world trained to appreciate the merits of mass consumption.
At Bespoke, Mr. Summit has built a scanning contraption to examine limbs using a camera. After the scan, a detailed image is transmitted to a computer, and Mr. Summit can begin sculpting his limb art.
He uses a 3D printer to create plastic shells that fit around the prosthetic limbs, and then wraps the shells in any flexible material the customer desires, be it an old bomber jacket or a trusty boot. “We can do a midcentury modern or a Harley aesthetic if that’s what someone wants,” Mr. Summit said.
Mr. Summit and his partner, Kenneth B. Trauner, the orthopedic surgeon, have built some test models of full legs that have sophisticated features like body symmetry, locking knees and flexing ankles. One artistic design is metal-plated in some areas and leather-wrapped in others.
“It costs $5,000 to $6,000 to print one of these legs, and it has features that aren’t even found in legs that cost $60,000 today,” Mr. Summit said.
“We want the people to have input and pick out their options,” he added. “It’s about going from the Model T to something like a Mini that has 10 million permutations.”
3D Systems is pleased to have Bespoke as a customer for 3Dproparts™ and an extremely knowledgeable user of its technologies and services. It is exciting to work with Scott and his team and we are looking forward to their continued success in this critical and underserved market.
