MakeXYZ Helps People Search a 3D Printer Near Them to Place Print Orders

By: Jeff Stewart  |   February 27th, 2013   |   Business, News

The prices of 3D printers are not cheap because the emerging technology is still developing. Therefore, to deal with this issues two programmers, Nathan Tone and Chad Masso, have started a site called MakeXYZ where people who want to make 3D prints can place their orders after searching for a 3D printer close to them. Although, the duo has just opened MakeXYZ, already a huge number of 3D printers have made themselves available on the site as they wait for further instructions. Due to this reason MakeXYZ has already started making money.

 

Here is quote from the website:

 

“We help people make stuff by connecting people who need something 3D printed with makers and print shops neighborhood. You browse printers in your zip code, and after you have found one, you upload your file, choose your color, material, zip code, and checkout. They print it for you and then either ship it to you, or hold it until you can pick it up. It’s an easy way to get quality 3D prints fast.”

 

Tone said that, “We have signed up 550 printers in 1.5 months. We don’t disclose revenue or order volume data. Printing locally turns out to be a sweet deal. In comparison to 3D printing service bureaus, customers going through MakeXYZ get their 3D models for half the cost in a third of the time. And you get to meet the person who made your model… in our opinion, community beats anonymous factories.”

 

The MakeXYZ charges on square centimetre and lots of print jobs cost around $15. The minimum charges of printing at the site start from 25 cents per cm³. However, those who have a superior run rate can demand more for the print job. As far as MakeXYZ is concerned the site makes money by keeping a five percent cut from each print job. The two programmers have chosen the right path when it comes “to take up the slack in the 3D-printing world,” according to TechCrunch.

 

Tone said, “I didn’t have a 3D printer, so I shipped the CAD file to a printing-service bureau in NY. It was expensive and took over a month to arrive. Which was frustrating, in that when you’re making something you want to have it in your hands – to admire, iterate, etc. And since I’m sure that there’s gotta be one person in my building with a Makerbot.”

 

Tone also said, “Printing locally does just that – by keeping it in the community and halving the cost and turnaround time of making something awesome.”

 

Source: TechCrunch