While UPS has already begun rolling out in-store 3D printing services and the US Postal Service has at least begun considering the technology, today, iMakr and Royal Mail in the UK have announced a pilot program to experiment with 3D printing at one Royal Mail location.
From now until January at the New Cavendish Street delivery office in London, users will be able to purchase and print digital items from MyMiniFactory.com and royalmail.com to be delivered by Royal Mail, or picked up from the iMakr Store. Additionally, the partners will print customers’ own designs, as well. If the pilot indicates great interest in the technology and the program, there is the possibility that it will be expanded to other Royal Mail locations.
Chief Customer Officer of Royal Mail, Mike Newnham, said of the pilot, “3D printing is an emerging technology that has many applications and offers an innovative way to create unique or personalised objects. It can be prohibitively expensive for consumers or small businesses to invest in a 3D printer, so we are launching a pilot to gauge interest in 3D printing to sit alongside Royal Mail’s e-commerce and delivery capability.”
CEO of the iMakr Group, Romain Kidd, added, “iMakr is excited to bring to Royal Mail its expertise in 3D printing by offering customers an introduction into 3D printing through one if its Central London delivery offices and a selection of objects from MyMiniFactory.com. Royal Mail customers will find unique objects created by the best community of designers for 3D printing, a market in rapid development for which MyMiniFactory.com is delivering key 3D printable content and products like MyMiniFactory TV.”
An iMakr spokesperson tells me that most of the items will be printed on Zortrax M200 3D printers located at the Royal Mail and iMakr locations, as well as at a Royal Mail/iMakr pop-up store in central London. Though the printing will not be limited to the M200, as other machines will be used too, including the Ultimaker 2. If Royal Mail continues with the program, the delivery company to get in on the ground floor of a technology that I’m sure will ultimately revolutionize product delivery in the long term.
