HOW TO: Turn Your 3D Designs Into Reality (an...

HOW TO: Turn Your 3D Designs Into Reality (and Cash) with Shapeways

December 18, 2008 - 5:10 pm PDT - by Wendy Boswell Add a Comment

Shapeways is a simple yet innovative design studio and marketplace for beginning to advanced 3D designers who want to see their computer creations transformed into tangible art. Mashable readers can grab a private beta invite here (the invite code is ShapeShopsMash100).

How Shapeways Works

Basically, Shapeways is an easy way (see our previous review) for anyone who enjoys designing with 3D software to get their designs into theirs (and others!) hands, literally. You’ll have to be familiar with 3D design software to make Shapeways work for you; once you’ve drawn your masterpiece, you can use Shapeways’ uploader to get it into your Shapeways profile and share it with the 3D design community at large.

 

From Design to Reality: How Shapeways Can Save You Some Dough

Anyone who’s attempted to manufacture their 3D designs knows that it can get expensive. Shapeways is a nice way to sidestep a possible cash drain, since Shapeways can bulk process these orders and you as the customer get the benefit of a volume discount – this applies to the consumer looking for a nice 3D bargain as well (for more information on costs, check out the Shapeways pricing page.

Create a 3D Design Marketplace with Shapeways Shops

Coming soon is the next phase of Shapeways, where 3D designers will be able to embed their Shapeways profiles on any site, blog, or social networking platform. Shoppers can buy direct from the designer using PayPal, and Shapeways manages the production, payment, customer service and shipping – a pretty good deal.

 

Shapeways: A Good Deal for 3D Designers

Shapeways isn’t for everyone. However, for those 3D designers who’ve been scratching their heads on how to make some extra cash with their creations, Shapeways is definitely a good way to go.