The results of the most recent 3D printing hype cycle are numerous and nuanced, but one obvious outcome is that consumer 3D printing has been labeled as a dying sector. While it is evident that not every home will own a printer right now, the generalization that 3D printing for consumers is an extinct prospect is not exactly true. In fact, some businesses continue to thrive, despite the deflation of the consumer 3D printing bubble. One of those businesses is WhiteClouds, a firm that has, unlike some printer manufacturers, only grown in recent time.
WhiteClouds currently maintains the world’s largest full-color 3D printing factory. The facility, located in Ogden, Utah, has over 25 full-color 3D printers relying on 3D Systems’ ColorJet Printing (CJP). In January, the company purchased 3DplusMe, a firm specializing in converting customers’ 3D scans into 3D-printable models featuring licensed assets from famous brands like Disney, Marvel and more. By having one’s face scanned at a 3DplusMe kiosk, it’s possible to get a personalized figurine of a superhero or famous athlete.
The ability to produce full-color prints at such capacity enables WhiteClouds to venture into just about any vertical market. The company’s latest proposition is called 3DyourPLAN, a product directed at the architectural market. In an interview with ENGINEERING.com, WhiteClouds CEO Jerry Ropelato described this offering, as well as his larger vision for 3D printing.
Full-Color, Detailed Architectural Models
Ropelato explained that 3DyourPLAN is a package that combines software, engineering and 3D printing to address the needs of those in architecture and construction and provide rich, scale models of their building projects. 3DyourPLAN allows customers to upload CAD models to the WhiteClouds server to be 3D printed from full-color gypsum, the sandstone material used by 3D Systems’ CJP systems.
The resulting prints can be used by architects to illustrate design ideas, builders to understand a landscape or construction project, or even geographical surveyors to look for topographical maps of a specific piece of land.
“We have found that there’s a huge lack of understanding in the architectural, builder and construction community when it comes to 3D printing architectural models. The capabilities of the technology and its applications are not well-understood,” Ropelato said.
To tackle this issue, WhiteClouds is taking a two-phase approach. To begin with, the company has invested approximately $300,000 in 3D printing full-color copies of two architectural models—a residential home and a commercial building—that truly demonstrate the advantages that the technology brings to this specific industry. WhiteClouds will be shipping these prints to the top 500 builders in the country, most of whom Ropelato said may not have seen just what this technology can do.
“We've found that, 15 years ago, the industry went from using physical models to using digital renderings. Now, they're coming full circle to the physical models again to better understand important details of a project, such as scale and other things that are difficult to perceive with a digital rendering,” Ropelato continued. “We’ve gone through a lot of case studies on how these models are saving these companies lots of money and changes made during construction.”
The second phase of the project, which will take place over the course of the next two to three months, will see WhiteClouds working with five different architectural software developers to implement 3D printing within their software. This will include plug-ins and other features that will make it easier for those in the architecture and construction industries to have models easily 3D printed by WhiteClouds.
New 3D Printing Verticals
The formal entrance into the architecture space was a natural one for WhiteClouds, which has been 3D printing models of buildings, inside and out, for the past three years or so. The firm has been doing it to such an extent that it has developed a number of tricks of the trade that facilitate the process of fabricating large-scale models.
For example, during a recent job, there were no 3D printers large enough to create a model that measured approximately 5 ft x 5 ft x 4 ft. Consequently, WhiteClouds 3D printed the model in separate pieces; however, rather than glue them together or use a snap-fit attachment system to assemble the prints, the company designed the model to have hidden gaps within its walls. This allowed the WhiteClouds team to insert magnets that would allow the building to be put together and taken apart, all without exposing the seams between prints.
After targeting the architecture market, Ropelato said that the company will formally move into the medical industry, although WhiteClouds already 3D prints medical models for clients who request them. The retail market will also continue to be a source of income for the company, given its experience 3D printing products for Hasbro, Toys“R”Us, Halo, Assassin’s Creed and many more.
Outside of consumer products, the firm has even worked with scientific agencies, such as NASA and the Idaho National Laboratory. Many readers may also recognize WhiteClouds as the company that 3D printed the arm brace for the Carolina Panthers’ Thomas Davis ahead of Super Bowl 50.
The unifying factor across all of these verticals is the fact that everything the WhiteClouds team strives to produce is an end product. As Ropelato explained, “One thing we have tried to focus on is that we try not to print prototypes. We’ll do them occasionally. There are plenty of service bureaus that focus on that area within our region, but we’re focused on end products used by consumers and business—toys, architectural models, medical models, etc.—as opposed to a one-time use in prototyping.”
Ropelato is a big believer in the use of 3D printing as a technology for manufacturing. That’s one reason the firm does not use fused deposition modeling technology, which he sees as more suited for prototyping. This does not mean that WhiteClouds will only use CJP for full-color models, but that whatever technology the company brings in house will need to be suitable for manufacturing end parts.
This may be one reason that WhiteClouds seems to be thriving, despite the relative deflation of the consumer 3D printing hype bubble. Ropelato attributes the partial failure of the consumer 3D printing market to the hype around personal 3D printers, with expectations around the technology overly inflated. This, however, does not carry over to the consumer space as a whole.
“I think the desire for personalized products is still there and is going to grow rapidly,” Ropelato said, citing a report from McKinsey & Company predicting that direct-to-consumer 3D printing will be a $100- to $300-billion industry by 2025. If the marketing research firm is correct, WhiteClouds has situated itself in the ideal place to take advantage of that industry as it grows.