Instant Quotes... and A Lot More

Stratasys continues reaching into the market with innovative moves. Today we learned of another rather interesting angle: Instant Quotes. As readers may recall, Stratasys is the company behind the renowned Dimension series of 3D printers. Their service unit, Redeye RPM is now partnering with Alibre (makers of the Alibre Design 3D CAD software) to offer instant quotes. A special version of their software will be available for free download.

How does it work? Evidently RedEye RPM supplied Alibre with a plug-in for the software that accesses the 3D model information and interacts with RedEye RPM's to not only produce an instant quote, but also can apparently upload the model directly into RedEye RPM's secret factories! This means a designer can create and order a 3D object without leaving the design software.

However, when one looks more deeply at this development, we can see how Stratasys is proceeding:

• They manufacture a series of 3D printers
• They sell said printers via a network of resellers to those who can afford them
• They offer a 3D print service to those who cannot afford them
• They link the 3D print service directly to the designers

Congratulations, Stratasys, you've made it from end to end of the design lifecycle!

Via mbtmag