Better Than Cheap

 

Intent Design, a UK-based design firm specializing in retail environments recently acquired a Z Corp ZPrinter 450. As readers will recall, the 450 is one of Z Corp's popular units, capable of rapidly popping out stunning colored objects according to the models fed to it.

As many other design firms have discovered, Intent Design has realized the benefits of using 3D printing in their business:

The ZPrinter(R) 450's simplicity, speed, color, quality and affordability foster fruitful design reviews and provide clients with deep insight into what we're proposing

and

ZPrinted 3D physical models give buyers a chance to touch, manipulate and scrutinize tangible objects from every angle instead of just viewing them on a flat screen. These capabilities help close deals and ensure client expectations are met.

and

For internal design review, Intent uses 3D printing to quickly and affordably create physical models of injection-molded parts - a stylish supermarket end cap, for example. These concept prototypes cost one-eighth of the money and hands-on time of CNC-milled prototypes, says Dodd, resulting in more prototypes and, ultimately, more highly refined designs.

Now this is the aspect we're interested in today. It's not just cheaper than before, although these days that might be highly desirable. It's the phrase "more highly refined designs" that grabs us.

Here's the idea: if it's cheaper to produce a model, then you can potentially make more of them. One after another. Each better than the last. A stream of incrementally improving designs lets a design firm gradually evolve the best solution.

That's how we think about it: 3D printing makes your designs better than cheap!

Via PRNewswire and Intent Design