As I drive around town, I notice a lot of things. First, there seem to be a lot more cars in driveways throughout the day today than a couple of years ago. Tells me that either a lot more people have gone into business out of their home, or more likely, they are out of work.

Another observation is all of the vacant stores. From small corner stores to abandoned big box stores. There is a lot of unused square footage out there.

Well, I’ve had some ideas developing that would help alleviate some of these issues. Additive manufacturing is an integral part of the idea.

Today, much manufacturing is performed in industrial areas where the noise, traffic and environmental issues don’t conflict with other residential or retail areas.

Many versions of additive manufacturing are so clean, that the one that we chose to start Alchemy Models with was placed it in our kitchen. Outside of a little dust, it wasn’t an issue. Besides, it was a big hit when we had company over. How many other people had a 3D printer in their kitchen five years ago?

Basically, my thoughts here center around implementing clean additive manufacturing facilities in vacant store locations. The rationale is that this will bring jobs directly into or very near neighborhoods and the blight of vacant stores would be elliminated.

Challenges do abound with this idea. First and foremost for me is the capacities of today’s additive manufacturing equipment. Speed and size specifically. Details.

More to come. The ideas flow.

Great story.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.  Actually, we’re all innocent, but we are bound by client confidentiality.  So, here’s the story.

We received an email at the end of the day on Tuesday, August 25.  The caller said that he had some questions about rapid prototyping.  The following morning, I called him back.  His company is developing a small device that will fit in a pocket or purse.  His company specializes in electronics, but not product design.  They did have artists renderings, but no 3D file.  They needed some models to share with others in their company, as well as prospective clients.

Shortly after lunch on Tuesday, Alchemy Models received the artists renderings.  By the end of the day, Alchemy Models had created color 3D solid models of the devices (two versions), submitted renderings for approval, and kicked off the builds.

The next morning, five copies of each model were delivered to the client.  Each model even had the client’s logo printed on the backside.  They were extremely pleased.  When the customer first contacted us, they were hoping to have something within a week or two.  Completing the project in less than 24 hours exceeded their expectations.

Alchemy Models Inc., was recently certified by the National Women Business Owners Corporation, the nation’s first WBE certifier, as a woman-owned business.  The certification, called Woman Business Enterprise Certification, ensures that a private, for-profit company is owned and controlled by a woman.  The certification is a national level certification.

To receive certification, a company must complete an extensive application and undergo an onsite evaluation and interview process.  The stringent requirements ensure that purchasing agents for government entities and large corporations are truly doing business with a woman-owned firm.

Stay tuned for an ongoing example of how to save money and time by prototyping in America.  Labor is not the only cost when you’re looking at a new product roll out.  Time is often more expensive.  The longer it takes to bring a new product to market, the more lost revenue you will experience.  Examples and photos to come this month.

Let’s face it, additive manufacturing for the masses is right around the corner. Kinkos anyone? Machine costs are coming down, and 3D modelers are more and more common. Does this spell the end of service bureaus though?

Hardly. As an example, anyone can purchase an all in one office machine for around $100 today. It faxes, copies and prints. Sounds like doom for Kinkos, right? Not even close. These all in one machines meet some needs, but at the end of the day, professional copy services are still in demand. I believe the same will hold true for additive manufacturing.

Now, Kinkos has yet to adopt additive manufacturing (or 3D printing, as I think they’d call it), but even when they do, the need for professionals in this space will continue, and possibly grow.

Clients rarely send a perfect solids file to us. They need to be inspected and fixed before we can kick off the model. This is an area that will potentially grow when the masses begin having models made. I know, there are automated tools that will fix a model. Well, sometimes they work, but often times, they distort geometry, requiring an undo, and manual fix.

We’ve worked hard to develop a new website that will provide a source of information and inspiration for our customers. We’ve added a section called the Knowledge Center where we’ll continue to develop an information repository for additive manufacturing. Our goal here is not to provided graduate level details, but rather a more practical level of information that everyone will be able to understand and action.

This blog is yet another new piece of Alchemy Model’s web presence. Here, you might find little details on new additive manufacturing technologies, information on projects that we’re working on, or maybe a great recipe. The blog will be a kind of free for all, if you will.

Finally, we’d like to invite you, our clients, to provide feedback and ideas on what you’d like to see here. Just send us an email with your ideas!