When searching for a flight, hotel, room, or car rental for an upcoming vacation, quite a few individuals use price comparison websites such as Expedia or Priceline in hopes of discovering the most lucrative deal across the travel market. And, as there are often an abundance of airlines and hotels to choose between, the same could be applied to 3D design marketplaces, which are constantly growing in both quantity and quality. From 3D marketplaces such as Thingiverse to 3D printing service providers like Shapeways, access to 3D content is becoming increasingly available and therefore more competitive. That’s why Michael Golubev, Anja Pujic, and Charlie Leduc have created the Ottawa-based 3Dprintler.com, a price search engine strictly focused on 3D printing services.
Earlier this month at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, the 3Dprintler.com team officially launched their monetization API, which is intended to help 3D designers market and distribute their printable designs. Both designers and 3D printing service bureaus will embed a 3dprintler button on their website, which, once clicked, will immediately compare prices between 3D printing vendors such as Shapeways, Sculpteo, i.materialise, and others. While comparing prices between different vendors, 3Dprintler.com will also be informing the consumers on the estimated cost to print their selected design in over 256 materials, ranging anywhere from high-quality nylon to platinum.
Whether you wish to compare 3D printing vendors based on price, quality, or even location, 3Dprintler.com will allow users to select and browse through their own personal criteria. This new API is intended to help customers find better prices, and, thus, help designers to sell their 3D products on a much larger scale than ever before. The team is currently looking for fellow investors and 3D printing enthusiasts to help solidify their database of 3D printing service bureaus.
The ultimate goal of 3Dprintler.com seems to entail making 3D printing a more simplified and accessible process for everyone involved. In the meantime, the introduction of their API will hopefully drive up the competition and innovation for vendors and 3D designers, while simultaneously driving down the prices for the everyday consumer.
