A CLOUD FOR MANUFACTURING

I’ve just heard from an interesting outfit—CloudFab—that promises to hook up folks who have designs but no manufacturing capability (meaning 3D printers and the like) with manufacturing shops with spare time available on their machines.

There’s a need for such services, at least among small businesses whose people have the design skills to generate CAD/CAM files. Some hobbyists fit that description, but even though I think 3D printers will be in every home in a few years, I don’t think very many people will be generating CAD/CAM files.

They’ll be downloading them and printing them. And one big business opportunity will lie with generating, customizing, tweaking, and selling those files. Ponoko is reportedly doing something along these lines with a nascent partnership--100kgarages--with ShopBot, makers of inexpensive computer-controlled routers. “The idea is that designers (or shoppers) on Ponoko who find a great design now have the option of having the item built locally by any one of (eventually) 100,000 garages equipped with ShopBot tooling.”

So where does that put CloudFab? They say they are “all about increasing access to fabbing technology.“

“We aggregate many shops together to expand the process types available. In the beginning, we're concentrating on all 3D printing processes (FDM, SLA, ZCorp, PolyJet/ProJet, SLS/M,and more), but more process types, like laser cutting/etching, will become available soon.

“Our system gives you quotes from multiple shops on the system - like Kayak.com does for travel deals. All you have to do is upload an STL file, pick which process and material you'd like, and our system sends every applicable seller an RFQ. The sellers then quote you back, and you get to pick the quote that fits you best. After the parts are shipped, the buyer leaves feedback - or they can move into arbitration if the parts aren't up to snuff.

“So far, we've found that we've saved customers about 50% by using the spare capacity that all job shops have plenty of. Often our sellers are willing to give us this surplus nearly at cost. Also, with enough demand, sellers make multiple parts per build which decreases part cost even more by reducing applied finance costs.

“It's not always about price though, most industrial designers we talk to prefer turnaround time and quality over low pricing. If you talk to hobbyists though, they'll put up with a lot for cheap parts. For ultra cheap printing, we're encouraging the MakerBot / RepRap community to sign up as sellers to serve the hobbyist market.”

At this early stage in the development of consumer-grade 3D printing technology, there is a need for this technology. But as 3D printers become more capable and affordable and penetrate the home market, there will be less and less need to send design files elsewhere for printing. If CloudFab wants to stay in business more than a decade, it is going to have to invert its business model. Right now the premise is that designs are all over the place and need to find printers. Once printers are all over the place, the problem will be finding files to print. There will be a niche for a brokerage service that helps people do that. Right now, it looks like Ponoko is setting itself up to be that broker, though once 3D printing is in every home, there will be little need for 100kgarages. The cloud will be a lot bigger than that, and it won’t be “out there” somewhere. It’ll be in the family room.