This Week in NYC3DP

How Do Major Institutions Remake Themselves In The Face Of The Inexorable Change Being Driven By Technical Revolutions? Hope For A Gadfly Or Skunk Works Within Your Organization…Fortunately, The USPS Has The Office of Inspector General…

The United States Postal Service (USPS) Thinks Outside The (Shipping) Box To “Print” (Via 3DP) A New Route To Its Future With Hyper-Logistics

And you thought that dusty and dark United States Post Office (USPS) in your neighborhood or town was only good for registered mail and “Wanted” posters…USPS letter carriers at your door were really magazine and junk-mail haulers…and everything else was served by FedEx, UPS, email, Facebook and Twitter.

Now—if you’re the USPS—then you’re an institution that has been around since Ben Franklin (yes, THAT Founder) was (the first) Post Master General. You are billions of dollars in debt because you’re no longer government-funded as an essential good. And, you are constrained from making needed changes in rates, operations and positioning by DCOTUS (the Dysfunctional Congress Of The United States).

Hence, you might welcome some creative destruction. Some positive Disruption of your stultified and sterile stasis. Especially if your institution is under siege by the AGIB (All Government Is Bad) Republican Party—despite the fact that you are now a quasi-private company. (Go figure…)

To paraphrase an unknown wit, being hanged in the morning focuses the mind. The status quo will be fatal. So, the USPS (actually, its Office of Inspector General—the gadfly USPSers, NOT the management) has seized on 3DP as a route to a more certain future. (WHY, exactly, this 3DP epiphany has gained traction at the USPS would make another great story.) And, institutional survival…if not renaissance.

Latest USPS Stats 2Q 2014: First Class Mail Down (4.1% Decline Yr/Yr) BUT Shipping/Package Delivery Up (7.3% Yr/Yr); Nonetheless, USPS has sustained losses in 20 or the last 22 Quarters!

Still, the USPS “delivering” 3DP—in whatever shape or form, ways or means—is truly radical thinking. If today’s USPS isn’t being vilified, it’s being laughed at. Nothing pushing the printed envelope—to pun feebly—this far has been considered by the Postal Service management since its abortive attempt to fax first-class mail.

The USPS saw “electronic mail” coming. They just thought it was faxes…not email. (This latter had not been invented—along with the Internet as transport—at the dawn of faxing.) The Postal Service vision was stationing early fax machines at Post Offices for the creation of last-mile, hand-delivered, first-class letters—with electron transport in-between POs.

With the USPS up to its Blue Corner-Mailboxes in 3DP, this dowdy institution promises to contribute mightily to the democratization of manufacturing. Think the revenge of the Maker Movement and the “re-shoring” of jobs lost to globalization—and off-shoring of the American Middle-Class.

Besides this unwonted entrepreneurial chutzpa, the USPS possesses some unbeatable assets. Chief among these is its physical, on-the-ground, hyper-local, ubiquitous network. And, the hundreds of thousands of people who man and woman it.

Nothing in logistics matches the USPS’ scale and scope. No corporation or institution matches its geographic coverage. It’s as closer and more accessible to more Americans than any other entity. It got that way because of its original (and still un-assailed) monopoly on first-class (snail-)mail delivery. (Of course—with email in ascendance for most purposes of “written” communication—many might say: “Meh.”)

The other salient logistical strength of the USPS—developed over recent decades in response to UPS and FedEx competition—is effectiveness in handling and transporting lightweight goods. A perfect match with today’s 3DP’d offerings.

Supported by these strengths, the USPS is unrivaled in serving needs covered by its “first mile” and “last mile” logistical offerings.

When it was part and parcel (stop me before I pun again) of the U.S. Government, it WAS the Government to most citizens. It still has that look and feel—and a warm institutional memory in the hearts of many Americans.

Here’s how the USPS sees it…right in an official White Paper just put out by the Office of Inspector General, USPS. It’s even got a tagline-esque and pun-ish title: “If It Prints, It Ships: 3D Printing and the Postal Service.”

Perhaps the most provocative discussion in this White Paper is around the proactive role the USPS might take in helping to (re)foster American manufacturing. This idea circles back to the democratization effect of 3DP. Think the Maker Movement on steroids as supported, coached and mentored by the Postal Service. This might include the provision of 3DP production space, warehousing, service bureau output, printing materials depot, digital security, ancillary services and—of course—3DP’d product delivery from micro business to micro business, from edge-to-edge of the USPS’ dispersed network.

In the micro biz acorn is the oak of the growing small business…still THE engine of employment in the U.S.

In its projected role as logistics engine to the renaissance in Kitchen-Table Factories, eCottage Industry and Garage Makeries, the USPS could enjoy a renaissance of its own. “In fact,” states the White Paper, “the movement, storage, and home delivery of 3D printing materials alone could become a major new sector of the logistics industry. The Postal Service has many existing assets that could help it play an expanded role in helping products move throughthe supply chain.”

The USPS might also create entirely new categories of logistics-centered business: such as the digital “middle mile.” Here’s how the White Paper describes this novel entrepreneurial prospect:

“The Postal Service could create a platform for 3D printing that uses its national retail network and last-mile capabilities. By doing so, the Postal Service would create a digital “middle mile” where, at a basic level, designs are sent to the platform and then 3D printed and shipped via same-day or next-day delivery. This could be considered a “hybrid parcel” product, similar to the concept of hybrid mail where digital communications are converted into physical letters.”(This last smacks of the faxed first-class mail of decades ago…!)

The innovative entrepreneurial positioning of the USPS is a welcome advance by an important U.S. institution. The American Postal Service (or, at least its gadfly Inspector General) seems intent on a remake of its staid and sterile reputation for slow-motion stumbles from bad to worse on its colossal scale (a scale that is still its primary advantage).

As a great American asset, the USPS organization is still positioned to serve this country’s commerce and common-good. And, 3DP may “print” the road to that success. As the White Paper concludes:

“By establishing a role in the 3D printing market, the Postal Service could put a compelling 21st century twist on its historical mission to serve citizens and facilitate commerce.”

C’mon Back!

LAND

There’s hardly anything we humans like as much as a high-public, audience-drawing, skill-spotlighting, award-presenting contest—especially if we’re among the baying contestants. Each of us with a firm belief that ours is the prize…by birthright if not pure dumb luck…

Shapeways Masters “Digi-Contest” Marketing with “Prototype to Product” Challenge

In this age of the Internet, Social Media and YouTube, any contest that can be digitally storified and glorified has the delightful opportunity of going viral (literally) at the speed of light. As a digital artifact, The Digi-Contest can draw on diverse forms of online-assembled and crowd-coalesced—and important— vectors at many levels. These vectors can be comprised of contestants; audiences; customers; partners; media-players; competitors; brand-awareness; word-of-mouth; goodwill…

Organizations of every stripe are now leveraging the Digi-Contest to further their commercial and/or common-good interests. The diversity of players in this new mode of crowd-participation, marketing and goodwill-building is broad.

At one extreme is the City of New York’s “Big App” challenges to develop mobile applications—derived from “Mayor Mike’s” [Bloomberg] new public-accessibility to City real-time Big Data—for smartphone using citizens. At an opposite extent is the X Prize Foundation that “designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind”…with a mission to bring about “radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity through incentivized competition. It fosters high-profile competitions that motivate individuals, companies and organizations across all disciplines to develop innovative ideas and technologies that help solve the grand challenges that restrict humanity’s progress.”

By comparison to such sweeping and splendid Digi-Contest programs, Shapeways’ challenges are modest—but nonetheless effective in the overall promotion of Shapeways and its brand among the loyal communities of service-bureau customers it has fostered.

The Formlabs Form 1 + Desktop 3D Printer: First Prize in Shapeways latest Digi-Contest

Shapeways of New York City (Manhattan administrative offices and Queens factory) recently announced the results of its latest competition—a set-to it entitled the “Prototype to Product Contest.” Shapeways partnered with Formlabs of Somerville, MA to offer a brand-new Formlab Form 1 + desktop printer as the Grand Prize for the one-and-only top finisher (with lesser prizes for other less-exulted finishers).

Here’s how Shapeways framed its (clever marketing) ploy: “Shapeways and Formlabs are partnering to help bring ideas to reality with the ‘Prototype to Product’ 3D Printing Contest. To enter the contest, submit a 3D model that you would prototype in high resolution on a Form 1 desktop printer and then print in one of 40 materials as a final product with Shapeways.” After drawing nearly 300 designs, the Contest ended officially on June 30, 2014 and the winners were announced on 8 July.

The Grand Prize Winner was MakeMeister for his “BritePod: Re-Hackable, Modular Mini Projector.”

MakeMeister’s BritePod: Re-Hackable, Modular Mini Projector: the Grand Prize Winner in Shapeways “Prototype to Product” Digi-Contest

Shapeways has made a competitive advantage out of its community-building. It continues to devise ways to delight its community members. Shapeways’ Digi-Contest initiatives offer a subtle means to please its populations of users without appearing to market and ultimately sell. But, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…perhaps Shapeways will 3D print it for you…

C’mon Back!

LAND

The Bits2Atoms Paradigm of 3DP—Digital Thoughts Into Directed Things—Continues To Disrupt Ever-Larger Objects In Our Personal Physical Landscapes: New Companies Are Now Trying To 3D-Printing Things In Which To Live AND Joining-In An Informal Contest To Claim “The First With The Most” 3DP’d House…

“3D Printed House 1.0″-Perspective: by American design-firm Emerging Objects Corp. of Oakland, CA.

The vision of 3D-Printed habitation seduces everyone who makes the imaginative leap from “hold” to “held.” We vault to new perspectives by scaling up the hand-cupped object—in our mind’s eye—to the object that “cups” an entire family. Voila! The 3D-printed “house.”

Alas, “house” is a word too rectilinear. It doesn’t bespeak the bespoke. The “house’s” paucity of flex in design makes it staid and sterile—and strait-jacketing.

Could it be the straight-laced containers — in which we’ve been forced to live since our loss of the cave, the wigwam and the yurt — are insanity conducive? Inamicable to human customized shapes and organic forms and fluid life-regimens that complement the human body—a supple and shape-shifting object without a single, physical, straight line.

Our first habitat—the womb—is ovoid: an infinite curve to egg on our analog desires. After that sinuous beginning, “straight” is the inorganic shortcut between to points with no algorithm for the beauty of meander.

Until habitation-scaled 3D printing, the escape from angled joins to amoebic continuities was impossible with commercial ROI.

A half dozen organizations around the world have been competing—over the last year or two—to claim the bragging rights to 3D printed-house “firsts.” (See 3DPI’s latest story on the Amsterdam Canal House—one of the leading contenders in this hotting-up, 3DP-habitation contest. Or, our earlier 3DP-housing piece on University of Southern California’s “Robotic Building Construction Using Contour Crafting.” Or, for mind—and body!—bending, check out our report on the integrated 3DP’ing of “Small Transportable Living” in a 50-foot square variation of a mobile mini-house.)

“3D Printed House 1.0″-Plan: showing organic shapes to major “rooms.”

Now, we have another Additive-Manufactured housing project—designed, managed and made for Beijing clients—by the American design-house Emerging Objects Corp. of Oakland, CA. (Perhaps it’s natural for a country with the world’s largest population and a chronic need for new ways to scale habitation-output to meet demand for housing—of whatever kind—with 3D printing.)

Addressing that Chinese housing-need head on, Emerging Objects calls itself a “MAKE-tank at the forefront of 3D printing architecture.”

The innovative Emerging Objects “house” in Beijing—“3D Printed House 1.0”— is a hybrid concept: in several creative senses of the phrase. First, it’s both right-angled and organically curved. The house plan could be seen as a group of gourds embedded in—and erupting out of—rectilinear slabs and planes. Second, the building process engages both local workers and construction management in Beijing and Emerging Objects “experts from afar” with the necessary innovative architectural designs, technological vision and new-maker/builder skill sets. And, third, the actual “house building” involves a mix of unusual building materials and “pierced-textures” treatments, e.g., cement polymers and crystallized, translucent salts.

Emerging Objects further explains that, “Our innovation lies in our unique approach to materials and sizes and our belief that 3D printing is the medium where good ideas become real. We provide 3D printing design, consultation and fabrication services and leverage our expertise in material development to help our customers create compelling designs that are unable to be achieved any other way.”

“3D Printed House 1.0″-Rooms: learning to live on the “curve.”

“3D Printed House 1.0” will ask its Beijing inhabitants to rethink how life is lived in innovative habitations. From people interaction to privacy to the practicality of furniture and closets…or not. It’s also an absolutely gorgeous art piece—and great art can be notoriously difficult to life with—let alone in. (See any number of masterpieces of architectural “art” by Frank Lloyd Wright.)

That said, Emerging Objects is advancing the art, science and habitability of 3DP’s plane- and line-breaking habitations. Humans abiding in “3D Printed House 9.0” may be able to get their minds “around” the new arc of living with a new art of habitation.

C’mon Back!

LAND