Rapid Ready Roundup: 3D Systems, ExOne, 3D Printing Conference and Crayon Creatures

In the course of my diligent efforts to keep you good people up to date on the state of additive manufacturing (AM), I come across many interesting news items. I’ll gather them up every so often and present them in a Rapid Ready Roundup (like this one). You can find the last Roundup here.

Another CES has come and gone, with Rapid Ready watching the festivities to bring you AM news. We have one final note from the conference to begin this Roundup. 3D Systems’ (company profile) CubeX has won CNET’s Best of CES Award for Hottest Emerging Tech. 

The controversy surrounding CNET’s overall Best of CES awards didn’t seem to dampen the company’s pride in the win.

Next, we have news that ExOne (company profile) hopes to raise $75 million from an IPO of an undisclosed number of shares. ExOne hopes to use the money to expand its production, pay off a $9.6 million line of credit and retain a $3 million lease on production equipment. This IPO adds another company to the mix of publicly traded AM manufacturers, along with 3D Systems and Stratasys.

Moving on, WebMediaBrands has announced it will be hosting the first annual Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo this year. The conference will be held April 22 and 23 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. A second event will be held for the West Coast in September in Santa Clara.

“Inside 3D Printing is the first event to delve into the present and future of the business impact of 3D printing,” said Alan M. Meckler, chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands. “3D printing has become the next great technological disruptive force in the field of ‘making things’ and according to a recent article in The Economist, 3D printing ‘could well rewrite the rules of manufacturing in much the same way as the PC trashed the traditional world of computing.’”

Finally, every parent loves the crayon drawings their kids make for them. You hang them on the fridge and tuck them away as keepsakes. Now, a 3D printing service is offering a new way to enjoy the fruits of your budding artists. Crayon Creatures takes a drawing (or a copy), maps it in 3D, and adds color to match the original. The file is then sent to Shapeways to be printed out. Each creation costs around $132 plus shipping.

Below you’ll find some bonus content. Sciaky has produced a new video about its direct manufacturing process.

Sources: Crayon Creatures, 3D Systems, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Web Pro News