3D+Me Will Turn You Into a 3D Printed Major League Baseball Player At Sam’s Club

There is no doubt that 3D printing is a terrific way to draw the attention of a crowd. Set a 3D printer up in the middle of a crowded shopping mall, and surely within minutes that printer will be surrounded by curious onlookers. Have that 3D printer fabricating figurines of those onlookers, and you have a recipe for sheer excitement.

Walmart subsidiary, Sam’s Club has been opening a lot of new stores as of late. As a way for them to provide a little something extra to those making their way through these new Sam’s Club stores, as well as draw in some extra potential club members, they have teamed with a company called 3D+Me. 3DP+Me representatives will be making the rounds, going from one Sam’s Club grand opening to the next, providing an interactive 3D printing and scanning experience to customers. Last month we did a story about the Marvel 3D printing figurine booth that 3D+Me had brought into a new Sam’s Club store in Fort Worth, TX. It was quite the hit we were told.

This past week, another brand new store opened in Moline, IL, and 3D+Me was on hand. This time they weren’t turning customers into Marvel super heroes, but instead opted for something a little different, Major League Baseball players.

The way the booth works is quite simple. Customers have their faces scanned with a high resolution mobile face scanner. That 3D data is then fed into a computer which places a customer’s face onto the body of a baseball player. Customers can then choose the MLB uniform of their favorite team, put their name on the back of the jersey, and even choose their favorite jersey number. Once the model is customized, it is 3D printed for the customer.

“This is Sam’s Club’s way of giving people a chance to see the very very cutting edge of what’s coming in the future with 3D scanning and 3D printing, “stated 3D+Me CIO Mike Dodson.

3D+Me, founded in 2012, offers a variety of mobile scanning and printing options. They have taken their mobile booths to trade shows, sporting events, gaming conventions, and retail stores. They will be visiting other new Sam’s Club stores with their machines, staying for a short amount of time before moving onto the next location. Their next stop will be at the Salt Lake ComicCon on Sept 4th-6th with their Marvel mobile scanner.

Have you been fortunate enough to get to use one of 3D+Me’s mobile booths? Let’s hear your thoughts on the experience in the 3D+Me forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video of the the MLB themed 3D scanning/printing booth below.