When custom USB memory stick company USB Memory Direct added 3D printed flash drive covers to their list of available services, it gave customers affordable options for custom products typically only available to larger companies.
USB Memory Direct has long offered custom USB memory sticks, and many of their larger Fortune 500 company clients have taken advantage of their services. But when the company was founded about ten years ago 3D printers were not very common, so either extremely large numbers of custom flash drives would need to be ordered, or the price per piece would be higher than most companies could afford. Mainly because traditional injection moulding manufacturing methods were needed to create anything beyond the handful of available mass produced styles.
But as prices of 3D printers began to drop a few years ago they became affordable enough for many companies to purchase and operate in house. USB Memory Direct was able to offer custom shaped USB drives to anyone, and a new source of revenue was born. Although the service isn’t without it challenges, it seems to be one that they are confident that they can handle.
“When we first started, everything was outsourced. Coming across private 3D printing machines in 2004-2005, especially for flash memory molds was fairly complicated and expensive. Starting around the early 2010s however, we began integrating our own in house 3D printers and now carry out some smaller orders (quantity of 100 or less) in house,” explained USB Memory Direct’s Alex Michaels. “Offering our customers free reign to design their own custom shaped flash drives means creatively dealing with production constraints. Sometimes the customer wants a design that’s a little too intricate or looks good on paper but doesn’t fare well during the printing process. We deal with this sort of challenge all the time. But it gives us a chance to be creative and work within our physical constraints to deliver something that the customer will love.”
For small business owners and service providers like photographers and work for hire artists, memory sticks are often how their work is presented to their customers. Most anyone can get inexpensive USB sticks with a logo printed on it, but being able to offer one with a unique or eye-catching shape can help smaller businesses compete with larger companies.
The Cooper City, Florida company says that it can create a custom USB memory stick from just about any idea that you can come up with, even if all you have to show them is a simple sketch or rough drawing. They have a staff of designers and engineers who can explain what it will take to create your custom drive, and offer design advice and solutions.
