3D printing is now at UPS stores

[Tom]

Hello all-

 

I just saw a news article that says a UPS store here in San Diego (Kearny Mesa) is now having a 3D printer on the premises. People will be able to walk in with a file and print out their work as a 3D prototype. The 3D printers seem high end, meaning they are a cut above what the lowest pro-sumer models presently are.

 

Don't know what the cost will be but the fact that you can walk in with a flash drive and walk out with your creation is pretty cool.

 

If you don't live near San Diego, you might check the UPS store website and see if they are planning a 3D printer for a store near you.

 

Best,

 

Tom

[robcat2075]

Here's their press release on it...

 

http://www.theupsstore.com/about/media-roo...accessible.aspx

[pixelplucker]

Reminds me when FedEx bought up Kinkos and many printers and ad agencies stopped using them. Shipping companies should ship products. When they stray off their target base then are they in some sort of trouble financially?

 

In any case it looks like they are using a fusion deposit machine similar to the Makerbots but they say they have a water soluble support material? Wonder if the material will work with a maker bot?

Makerbots are capable of a thinner layer .0039" vs .010" so the prints would be smoother.

 

My luck with service bureaus has not been good. Most of the shops will print at a low resolution to save time, gang jobs up on build platforms rather than print in the correct orientation (quantity over quality). I used to be a big advocate of send it out rather than buy your own but as prices drop on these machines it is worth it to take a look at buying one.

 

Alternatively you can also get a Roland CNC machine in similar price ranges as many of the mid ranged printers and they offer much higher precision and part quality.

 

For myself I modified a CO2 laser and have been carving with that for many of my low profile stuff. Resolution is about double of any polyjet 3d printer and layer thickness is .00075"