If you catch Mark Trageser’s presentation or get a chance to speak with him at 3D printing events, such as New York’s 3D Print Week, you’re in for a treat. I had a chance to to meet with him in front of his booth, which is full of his fun and unique, 3D printed toys. His presentation style is smooth and hyper, fluidly presenting and showcasing a seemingly endless array of toys like the Leafspring Buggy, Doubleshock Car and CheetahBot, which are available on the Insanitoys store on Shapeways. One of my favorites was the nano-cheetah (seen in the feature image), which prints out at 2mm in length!
Besides presenting his work like a seasoned and passionate magician, he revealed a great deal of experience and knowledge about how major toy companies operate, and specifically how they adopt and manufacture new toys. Mark talked about his experience presenting his prototyped toy creations to major toy companies, such as Mattel and Fisher Price. Before 3D printing, when Mark had a finished toy prototype, he was very cautious when showing it to people because it was easy to mishandle and damage, which would undo a lot of careful and hard work. When a toy company he was working for introduced him to a 3D printer, Mark was off to the races, embracing design complexity and pursuing his own unique creations with less fear about protecting the prototype, since it could easily be re-printed.
Presenting me with a very cool toy that somehow combined a Rubik’s Cube and Connect Four and would work in zero gravity, Mark told me his plans for Insanitoy. His goal for the company is to make it unique and competitive medium-sized 3D printed toy company, which struck me as a really cool goal. For all his presentational spontaneity, and though he’s moving fast, Mark is taking a cautious and careful approach to launching his business, making strategic partnerships and keeping an eye where the industry is heading. He indicated a collaboration with Hasbro was in the works, but we won’t know anymore details until 2016.
I asked Mark to sum up his thoughts about his business and on the state of 3D printing, and he said, “It has never been a better time to be an inventor or small business. The new magic tools and internet connectivity let any idea be shared worldwide. This only the beginning of a technology tsunami that I believe will effect everything, and I encourage everyone to come play as hard as they can. I’ve been doing my job for 20+ years, including working with 3D printers. The day I got one in my shop, everything about my business changed – for the better. The potential across all fields is amazing, from printing DNA to houses. Every few days I read a news posting and think, ‘wow, the world just changed again.'”
