UPS Store Offers 3-D as a Service

"In terms of impact on inventory and logistics," he said, "you can print on demand. You don't have to have the finished product stacked on shelves or stacked in warehouses anymore. Whenever you need a product, you just make it. And that collapses the supply chain down to its simplest parts, adding new efficiencies to the system."

SOURCE

It appears that UPS a delivery and service company is now going to start offering 3D printing services to customers in select stores. I think that this is pretty awesome I wonder what the rates are going to be for these services and I hope they start buying lots of materials to help keep costs affordable to clients. I wonder if in the near near future we are going to start seeing 3D Printing Cafes like the boom of internet cafes when it started becoming affordable. I thought that I would bring this to ATS what do you guys/ girls think about this?

reply to post by Brotherman


awesome...we could really put a crimp in china's export of aftermarket auto parts if we could make the bulk of the stuff here at home..I'm thinking that includes MOPAR parts that are made in china...

reply to post by chrismarco


Yes that would be great, I was discussing the idea of your own buisness in my other thread with a guy suggesting about starting your own company and all that. I think that this will be great as now it may become more cost effective to start your own company in the design and manufacturing department and who knows what this is going to do for R&D companies. This could get really exciting.

I wanted to ask, since it seems you guys have done some studying on the subject. Do yall know if there are 3d printers that can make plastic and metal objects?? Like for instance, Forces of Valor, a toy line owned by Unimax makes IMO the best die cast models of older and modern combat planes, gelicopters, and tanks and trucks. They are better quality because of the metal.

Are there 3d printers that can produce models similar to the quality they make using whatever cheap metal is used for things like hot wheels?

reply to post by DYepes


I think that their is, IDK for sure about toys but I do recall reading a thread on ATS a little while ago saying that 3D printing is being utilized making rocket engine components for NASA and it reduced the costs for this by a whole lot so I would imagine that you can expect quality, but this is probably also going to be dependent on the materials you choose to purchase (This is a guess)

I think one of the very positive outcomes from 3d printing is people can get back into manufacturing at the local level. What if I can spit out a line of toys not currently carried in most retailers that sell toys at a comparable price to what they are sold for in stores. a $1 hot wheel from china really only costs about a nickel to a dime to make in material and energy cost in a factory. The rest of the cost is cheap wages of factory slaves, transit to destination, customs paperwork, and markup for the retailer. Hell we could also sell online.

I put this together with the recycling business I am working on and I will have free access to the plastics and metals I need to feed the printers. I would absolutely be interested in working together with a few like minded individuals to startup our own mini-manufacturing business to begin replacing Chinese imports at the local level.

reply to post by DYepes


You may want to look into the price of induction heaters for your plastics and metals, not all just go molten cause you tell them too, you will need tanks for heating these things progressively, they are hellish expensive you may get one for 12-20,000 bucks used at and industrial auction but then to use them you need the zoning and license

I was just thinking I could melt them in my own backyard furnace that I have used to melt scrap, and then pour tem into the tanks? Does that sound feasible? I made my furnace for like less than a $100. But yea, I guess how in the hell will I enter this molten material into my printer before it hardens without damaging anything and then keep it in a liquid state. Definitely just raised more questions for myself than answers lol.

reply to post by DYepes


Metals isnt as much the issue as much as the plastics, some gubbment ppl frown upon a proactive citizen helping themselves to some pie too ya know. If you do it PM me Ill give you a hand

reply to post by Brotherman


It will be interesting to see how fast and how much this progresses into reality

vs

the reality of WW3 and collapse of society . . . which will we see first.

I don't know.

I pray WW3 is delayed as long as possible.

The 3D printing cafes could be very interesting indeed.

reply to post by BO XIAN


Maybe 3d printing could prevent ww3 if everyone printed a machine gun and belt linked ammo out the wazoo from UPS

kinda pisses on the parade of the unibombers technology thesis but hey what the hell

This is awsome for inventors. You can make your own prototypes for cheap. This will vastly increase the pace at which product ideas can be on store shelves. This is truly revolutionary. Bringing creation to the individual.