We wrote about Fictiv, an unusual 3D printing startup a few weeks ago, but today we’re getting more information from their CEO.
We spoke with Fictiv CEO and co-founder Dave Evans, who has spent time working in the manufacturing industry and knows a thing or two about product design.
Fabbaloo: What is Fictiv?
Dave Evans: Fictiv is a manufacturing platform and the most efficient production of physical parts. Our platform provides manufacturing platform that provides the critical infrastructure design and engineering teams need to streamline prototyping and accelerate their development cycles.
Fictiv offers rapid fabrication of 3D printed and now CNC machined parts, through a distributed network of highly vetted manufacturing partners. This enables Fictiv to get customers 3D printed parts in 24 hoursand CNC parts – which usually takes weeks – in just 3 days. Getting prototypes sooner allows customers to develop their products more efficiently and ultimately get to market faster.
Fabbaloo: How is 3D printing technology important to Fictiv?
Dave Evans: 3D printing is where every hardware developer starts as they move their designs from digital to physical. We believe in giving engineers and designers access to the necessary tools to build hardware products, and 3D printing is the cornerstone.
Fictiv gives small businesses and enterprises alike the ability to create high-quality 3D printed and now CNC machined parts at unparalleled speed to help them iterate on designs quicker than their competitors.
Fabbaloo: Why can’t product development be done effectively with existing 3D print services and similar operations?
Dave Evans: When building a physical product, speed is of the essence. If you can reduce lead time, engineers and designers can get more revisions on their prototypes, ultimately helping build better products and getting them to market faster. Current solutions in the market involve long lead times or severe design limitations. As such, engineers and designers are often torn between using outside services and owning machines.
Fictiv gives them access to machines as if they own them, without the burden of ownership. With our easy-to-use platform, customers can upload their project files, get instant quotes on a variety of materials and processes, and get expert manufacturing feedback, all through a single single service. Our network combines software automation with the expertise of veteran manufacturers to provide consistent, quality parts at speed.
Fabbaloo: How does one participate in Fictiv’s ecosystem?
Dave Evans: We are always looking for talented 3D and CNC manufacturers to join our growing highly vetted network. If you have machines you’d like to add to the platform, you can apply to be a vendor here. It takes about two weeks to approve and onboard vendors to ensure quality, IP, and consistency.
Fabbaloo: Are there geographic limitations to your service at this time?
Dave Evans: Currently, approximately 90% of our manufacturing partners are in the Bay Area, so we have been primarily focused on helping engineers and designers in the West Coast, specifically in Silicon Valley. We are currently shipping nationwide and will continue to work to bring faster coverage to other geographic areas.
Fabbaloo: What intentions do you have to grow and expand Fictiv over time? What might we expect to see in the future?
Dave Evans: With the launch of CNC, we are one step closer to democratizing hardware development. We will continue to reduce the barriers to developing physical products, and giving hardware engineers and designers better access to tools – including other manufacturing processes, educational content, and offline events across the globe.
Via Fictiv
