There seem to be more and more companies that are delving into the 3D printing bandwagon with their own printers. We recently mentioned how disruptive 3D printers can be for some industries that are custom-made for specific tasks, such as cosmetics.
More companies are releasing their own printers for specific tasks or to differentiate their printers for specific users. The latest company to join this bandwagon of creating a custom 3D printer is Autodesk. You may be familiar with Autodesk from enterprise software the company specializes in, such as that in the educational field. The company even has 3D software available for designers and animators creating stereoscopic 3D models.
Autodesk is not just designing its own custom-made 3D printer, but specialized software for it too. The software will be open-source and called Spark. It will go on sale sometime later on in 2014. The reason for the software's open-source nature will be so other companies can purchase it and add their own flavor for their particular needs.
"Over the coming months, we'll be working with hardware manufacturers to integrate the Spark platform with current and future 3D printers," Autodesk says on its blog. "Spark will be open and freely licensable to hardware manufacturers and others who are interested."
Autodesk also wants to make their upcoming printer hardware customizable as well.
"The design of the printer will be made publicly available to allow for further development and experimentation," the company says. "The printer will be able to use a broad range of materials, made by us and by others, and we look forward to lots of exploration into new materials."
It seems that Autodesk really wants the printer to showcase what the actual software can do, but it is the software that the company is really aiming to push onto other companies. The printer will not be cheap, as reports indicate that it will cost somewhere in the $5,000 range.
He market for 3D printing is continuing to grow and the potential is really just starting to be realized. When combining various specialized blueprints and materials, all sorts of neat things can be made with these printers. Who knows, one day brick-and-mortar stores or even manufacturing plants may disappear with everyone creating their own products from designs blueprints.
What makes the idea behind Spark and the upcoming Autodesk 3D printer stand out is its open source nature and the fact that Autodesk will be providing both hardware and software together; this way the process can work seamlessly and Autodesk can demonstrate its potential to a broader audience of manufacturers.
