Fabricating the future

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last five years, you cannot have missed the 3D print revolution. From high-heeled shoes to skateboards and jaw transplants, through to the entire skeleton of King Richard III, you name it, it has probably been 3D printed. The new technology has been working miracles in all industries, changing not only the way we manufacture products, but the way we perceive the world. 
      
This is all well and good but, as with anything, we need to get more specific. For sign-makers to even consider adopting this technology, we need to find tangible ways that 3D printing can be included in their everyday product offering or service. Yet with market search company MarketsandMarkets forecasting that the international 3D printing market could be worth as much as $8.4bn (£5bn) by 2020, one thing is for sure: this technology is not going away.

Pick your poison

So, if you do decide to take the plunge, embrace the future, and include 3D printing in your sign-making business, there will be no shortage of manufacturers and suppliers to guide you in the first step of your journey. Canon Europe is one firm to expand into this sector, signing a partnership with 3D Systems to market and sell its ProJet 1200, 3500, 4500, 6000, and 7000 series.



Jeppe Frandsen, Canon Europe’s head of production printing group, comments: “At Canon we’re continually assessing new market opportunities where we believe we can make a difference to our customers. It’s clear that, because of the potential business benefits it can deliver, 3D printing is one such opportunity.”

Another firm to take advantage of the expanding 3D print market is HP, launching its own 3D printing device in the form of the HP Multi Jet Fusion. On top of this, Paperlinx UK has joined forces with Art Systems to sell the Stratasys Ideas 3D printer range in the UK and Ireland.

While there are numerous firms quickly recognising the potential of 3D printing, one of the first companies in the sign industry to get involved in the technology was Roland DG. Giving us a brief introduction into the history of the machines, Peter Kettle, business development manager at Roland DG (UK), explains how the firm first entered the sector: “It’s interesting that 3D printing is seen as new technology. It has been around since the 1980s, but has been known previously as Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling and Rapid Manufacturing.

“Over recent years, the ending of certain patents has opened the flood-gates to many entrepreneurs and inventors who have created the 3D market as we know it today. Consequently, the cost of entry to the world of 3D printing has dropped dramatically, and this democratisation of the technology has led to an explosion of creativity and greater consumer and media interest in the possibilities 3D promises to deliver.”



He continues: “Roland DG is not new to the 3D world. Although we launched our first 3D printer, the monoFab ARM-10, in September 2014, many have known us as enablers for a number of 3D print-related innovations for nearly three decades. Roland started its journey into 3D back in 1986, with the launch of the PNC-3000—the world’s first desktop CNC milling machine. Only a few months later, an inventor in the US patented a 3D print concept, which was a modification of the PNC-3000. Since then, we have developed an extensive range of 3D technologies and have sold over 100,000 3D output devices globally—our most popular are the monoFab SRM-20 and the flagship MODELA Pro II MDX-540.”


Indeed, Roland DG has already found success in the education sector, with most secondary school DT (design and technology) departments in the UK using their technology to teach students the core concepts of computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM). Universities also use their solutions to train the next generation of engineers and product designers.



Highlighting the diverse potential of the machines, Kettle continues: “In industry, from motor racing to tele-communications, our technology is assisting the development of product improvements and innovations. More recently, Roland has become the fastest growing supplier of digital dentistry technology—with the DWX-4 and DWX-50 Dental Milling Machines, which create highly accurate and natural-looking dental restorations, crowns, bridges, and implant abutments.”

Fast futures

Returning to the sign industry, however, one company that has been observing and experimenting with 3D printing to identify opportunities for their franchise owners is Fastsigns. Indeed, in 2014, three Fastsigns centres in America committed to offering professional grade 3D printing to their local communities as part of a pilot program.

Robb Schmit, owner of Fastsigns of Glendale, Milwaukee, one of the centres participating in the pilot, comments: “3D printing technology allows us to explore and find new products and services that have the potential to increase revenue and efficiency for our customers. The prototypes and samples our 3D printer produces are durable enough to perform as functional parts, which give customers that wow factor.”

Todd Fisher, owner of Fastsigns of Lakeview, Chicago, which is also involved with the 3D print pilot, adds: “For anyone who is in the middle of the creative process who may be struggling, we can help by showing a 3D concept at an earlier stage.”


Whilst these pilots may be taking place across the pond, they demonstrate the ways in which the technology can be utilised by sign-makers, for the benefit of their customers. The industry is clearly beginning to take notice and investigate 3D print technology, but before Roland DG’s Kettle elaborates on the potential applications for sign-makers, he says it is important to highlight a significant development in 3D software.

Kettle explains: “Traditionally, 3D design software has been expensive and required a fair amount of learning to operate. As a result, designing in 3D was a relatively exclusive club for industrial designers and the occasional forward-thinking jeweller. Now, companies like Autodesk have released low cost or even free programs and Apps to create 3D objects. My young-est daughter started producing small characters for me to 3D print when she was six, using a free App on her iPad.



“Just like the reduction in hardware cost, intuitive low cost software is also democratising 3D design. Online business, Shapeways, offers a 3D printing bureau service and also acts as a shop window for designers. They are currently producing over 120,000 3D printed objects every month. Their website is a fascinating way to open your eyes to the possibilities of 3D printing.”

Diversified days
   
In fact, Kettle suggests that adopting this new technology may not be such a departure from what a lot of sign-makers are doing already. He explains: “We need to ask what defines a sign making business these days? Sure, there are businesses that only provide signs, but it is more common now for sign companies to offer a much more diverse range of products and services. And this is why UV cured technology, such our VersaUV LEF-20 flatbed printer, is so popular. The LEF-20 provides digital graphic customisation onto an extensive range of products, including corporate gifts and industrial labels, plates, and panels and as such has proved a very popular diversification tool for many sign-maker.

“So, offering a similar bureau service for 3D printed objects will not be such a stretch for the skilled and entrepreneurial sign maker. For larger organisations that require custom parts such as fixings, 3D printing provides excellent prototyping capabilities, which help to improve and accelerate communication with outsourced manufacturing facilities. 3D printing is a hot topic, so many consumers and companies are curious about the technology. Most will look for bureau production facilities before investing in their own 3D printing equipment. By offering this bureau service, sign makers will be able to find new customers—for their 3D printing services as well as their existing portfolio of products and services.

“For example, a prototype is not just a solid concept model for engineers and designers to help the, scrutinise fit, form and function. High fidelity models are also required to assess the final appearance of a new product. And, these have to be as life-like as possible. This is where Roland’s print and cut technology is particularly useful, producing realistic labels or decals for these models.”

Outsource innovation

Yet, despite assurances the 3D printing has been around for longer than we think, and despite so many trusted manufacturers and suppliers getting involved, many people will still be apprehensive about adopting the technology.

If this is indeed the case, it might be worth testing the water with an outside company, before taking the plunge. One such firm that will be only too happy to assist is 3DPrintUK. This London-based 3D printing service provides SLS Nylon prints, for those companies that are not ready to invest in their own machine.

And it is not only the initial investment that needs to be taken into account; the team at 3DPrintUK point out the importance of considering maintenance contracts. Apparently, on medium weight machines you are looking at between £1,000 and £5,000 per year, and if something goes wrong, you may have to pay over £500 for a call out, and hundreds or sometimes into the thousands for the replacement part.

Another factor to consider is ease of use. 3DPrintUK say that 80 percent of the files that they receive are not ready for 3D printing, even from the top designers. Many of the files require some form of STL correction. They do 95 percent of the STL correction for free, using a program called Magics that costs about £2,000 per year to own a single licence.

However, keen to assure us that owning and operating a 3D printer is actually very feasible is Roland’s Kettle. He explains: “3D printing is so much easier than it used to be. The design software is far more accessible, and the software which drives 3D printers, such as our ARM-10, has been designed to make it as simple and intuitive as possible. Our monoFab Player software, for example, is equivalent to our Versaworks software for 3D objects.



“For those who wish to test the market, the cost and investment in time can be quite small, and it can be a lot of fun too. There is something very appealing about a technology that effectively builds a solid object from a ‘puddle of goo’. The challenge will come when the business starts to grow and you find your initial 3D printing technology is limited in terms of output size, productivity or material suit-ability.

“With a strong heritage in the 3D market, this is something we under-stand very well at Roland and it is why we have a specific development programme to provide a number of resins for differing application needs. It is also why we often supply our ARM-10 3D printer with the SRM-20 milling machine. In the same way you don’t (or shouldn’t) bang a screw in with a hammer, you will find 3D printing is not always the best tool for certain jobs.”

The sky’s the limit

So where does the future lie for 3D printing, and how can the sign industry be part of it? Aside from the incredible scientific and medical possibilities, one prediction for a future defined by this technology is a factory in every per-son’s home—and where that will lead, who knows.

Kettle, however, suggests there will not be just one future for 3D printing. He continues: “There are many futures, the reason for this being that 3D printing is actually an umbrella term, which encompasses many additive technologies. Some of these technologies are perfectly suited to medical applications, printing cells or cell scaffolds.

O Factoid: The 3D printing industry is expected to grow by more than 31 percent per year between 2013 and 2020. O

“This is a very exciting field and could have enormous impact on our lives in many ways. In aerospace and automotive, 3D printing allows designers to create weight-saving geometries, which simply could not be produced by any conventional manufacturing processes.”

Understanding 3D printing technology is inevitably going to lead us to new possibilities and open previously unexplored markets. Returning to the sign industry, Kettle suggests that the positive impact will only be felt by the sign industry if we accept the changing world and adapt our companies to it.

He concludes: “We need to adopt the attitude that our business is about digital graphics customisation, which in turn includes sign making. Offering a 3D bureau service is the best way for a sign-maker to get customers to help pay for business development in this area. It is a win-win for both sign-maker and customer.”


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