J-CAD Inc Offers Free Virtual Reality 3D Printable Part Review and Inspection

Toronto-based design, prototyping and 3D printing service provider J-CAD has been offering their services to a global customer base since they launched back in 2006, and as anyone who communicates over the internet can attest, sometimes things can be missed. When you’re offering to produce parts or a product for a customer, not only is this inconvenient, but it can end up being costly and potentially end with a dissatisfied client. If J-CAD is dealing with a customer overseas who asked them to design a prototype, then their first pass is going to need to be manufactured and shipped to them for inspection.

3D printed prototype.

Not only can that get expensive for both parties, but by its very nature it is simply going to slow down the process. While the designers at J-CAD have been working with 3D designs for years and fully understand how it will translate into a real world object, that isn’t often the case for their clients. So J-CAD needed to find a new way to communicate how a customer’s prototype or part will end up looking. Typically, a solution for a problem this unique would involve thinking outside of the box, but it so happens that a company used to dealing with 3D designs and 3D models didn’t have to look very far for the answer. And that answer just happened to be one of the fastest growing trends in technology right now, virtual reality.

“We thought, why not do all of our 3D design projects in VR? The problem is a lot of our clients find it difficult to visualize their design because they are not 3D designers like we are. With VR, clients can view their design from any angle before we send it to 3D print. Our clients can point out any concern they have before 3D printing or mold making and manufacturing. Obviously this saves a lot of wasted money for our clients because we avoid 3D printing parts with design errors,” explained J-CAD CEO Jason Vander Griendt.

Just in case you’ve been living on a deserted island for the past few years, virtual reality, while still a few years off from mass adoption, is going to be one of the most important new technologies for businesses, entertainment and internet communication. The concept is pretty simple, the user simply wears a headset that shows two objects, one for each eye, that fools the brain into seeing it as a real three-dimensional object. With modern 3D rendering software, the object can be viewed from all angles, and with certain hardware peripherals even manipulated. To further their VR ambitions, J-CAD is also offering a limited deal on VR headsets.

Mouth Guard
by J – CAD Inc.
on Sketchfab

“Sometimes when we design something for a client, they receive the part and realize that they forgot to inform us about an important design aspect. We then need to change the design and 3D print another one. With VR technology, we hope to eliminate this unnecessary step! It is our goal at J-CAD Inc. to always be on the cutting edge of technology. It is important for us to be the first to offer new, more impressive and more affordable ways for our clients to conduct business so that they can also be the leaders in their industry,” Vander Griendt continued.

J-CAD converts concept drawing into 3D rendered model.

While a lot of the attention being spent on virtual reality technology is focused on video games and entertainment, VR is going to find applications in almost every business setting. Online shopping retailers will begin offering virtual reality version of products to be closely examined before purchases. Realtors and property management companies will offer 3D virtual reality walkthroughs of their properties. And of course, forward thinking companies like J-CAD will be able to eliminate expensive and time wasting prototype tests by letting their customers examine their projects virtually every step of the way. In all the ways that 3D printing is changing the way that we will be manufacturing our products, VR will have the same transformative effect on how we communicate with each other. Discuss this new service in the J-CAD Virtual Reality Review forum over at 3DPB.com.