3D Printing Startup Competition Inside 3D Printing

Here we are at the 3D Printing startup competition. Here are the companies pitching their startups. It's been a very interesting 45 minutes listening to these entrepreneurs pitch their products/services:

Company 1:
3Discover:
This company solves 4 key issues:
#1 How to avoid getting ripped off? Digital Rights management
#3 How do you know the printed products are safe? Certification of suitability
#3 How can you choose where to print your item? Multiple printing service bureaus
#4 What is a Fair Price? Competition Derivative Rights.

3Discover is a marketplace connects the designers, printer owners, and end product users. The have raised the seed capital, and are now seeking $3-$5 million in round A Financing:

Company 2:
3DUnited - 3D printing of metals for advanced applications

- Founded by group of leading phd's in the field with tremendous amount of experience within industry
- received $5 million grant from Chinese Government
- Seeking 2-3 million in additional funding
- The one problem they are solving is porosity in which they have brought together experts to solve these problems
- Co-founder was the chief engineer of the Nintendo Wii, and is an M.D.
- The company is specializing in new ways of Laser melting, Cad software, Specialized surface finishing, In-situ measuring system.

Conclusing. Strong team with $5 in grant funding. Partners in Japan and China. Creating much higher laser sintering metal printers.

Company #3
3D Hubs - World's Largest 3D Print Network
- Customers select a design, search a printing location, view prices, ratings, and materials available, and then have it shipped or you can pick the product up.
- 3D Hubs believes in customization, and localize manufacturing by created a network to localize the manufacturing.
- 3800 Printers in 83 countries
- 95% of the time printers are sitting idle (Wasteful)
- Average delivery time for shipping is 1.6 days, much shorter than any other method of shipment because of locality.
- 50 materials are available in the entire network, gives customers many many options, much more than even Shapeways.
- "Mayor" powered community model

Company #4
Feetz - Revolution of Footwear
- $180 billion a year the shoe business is responsible for
- Founders have 30 years of experience in hardware and software experience
- Custom fit shoes on demand
- 3D Model of foot taken, customer chooses color, style
- Anti microbial materials, flexible, printed with FDM 3d printers. (Sizeme Footwear platform)
- Targeting the $10 billion orthodox comfort walking shoe US market.
- 600 individuals are currently Beta testing these shoes
- Will Be American Made, in Tennessee.
- Seeking $1 to launch their manufacturing facility this year

Company #5
Isencore
- Based in Montreal
- How do you know what the physical properties of your object are? Cost add up when you go through multiple iterations of reprinting an item
- Isencore will use computer simulations to allow customers to learn about their object.
- Drop the product in simulation to see where week spots are which may cause the item to break.
- Easy to use, affordable, intuitive, informative visualizations of simulations. Software will give you suggestions on design changes.
-Isencore will save time and money.

3DHubs and Feetz seem the most impressive to me. Is 3DHubs even a startup though? They have been around for quite some time, as far as I know.

Has anyone seen what that company called 'Noble 3D Printers' out of Las Vegas is doing? Absolutely going to change the game of 3D printing. I'm testing their product and I'm telling you this a game changer!! Printing in metal, real metal, no powders.

Bill, what exactly do they do that makes them such a Game Changer?

"Noble 3D Printers" went to their website and I see nothing that is a game changer to me! Russ

We joined 3D Hubs mostly to get the word out about our store, as their model is not well suited to ours. We're a retail 3D store with an established pricing and payment structure, whereas theirs is intended to address individual makers - noncommercial individuals who just want a little side business. They had us make a test model to demonstrate our capability, and we did it quick and well, but their pricing calculation would have charged the customer about $36 and ours would have been less than $6. Then they had this other project where they wanted people to build these gigantic blocks they were going to use to make a play house for kids at some public place (I forget where). Well, they said they'd pay $500 to build 20 of these interlocking pieces. They sent an STL of one of them as an example, and we estimated that it would be a $346 build for just one part.

When we explain what we do and how we do it and how we would like to utilize their program, they are unresponsive. It's basically their way or the highway. It is a shame because it would have great potential if they would exercise some flexibility.