Shapeways Announces Shorter Lead Times to Get Your 3D Prints to You Even Faster

Formnext Germany

Share this Article

shippingYesterday, Shapeways announced that they have shortened their lead times for printing production, which will certainly be welcome news for both designers and shoppers alike. The turnaround times for some of their most popular materials – a dozen different materials – has been greatly reduced. Now,  Dyed Strong & Flexible Plastic can be printed and shipped in 5 days, down from 6 days, and comes in polished pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

One of Shapeways’ most intriguing offerings, the recently released Interlocking Metals (Silver, Brass and Bronze), has seen its lead time reduced from 10 days to 9 days.While even a single day saved will be welcomed by customers and designers, some materials are seeing huge production time savings. Premium Silver, Polished Brass and Polished Bronze now can be out the door in 8 days. That’s 4 days quicker than before!

Precious Plated Metal, which comes in plated 14k Gold, 18k Gold, 14k Rose Gold, and Rhodium, is seeing one of the largest reductions from the time you order to the time they ship, going from 15 days to 9 days. Black High Definition Acrylate, often used for finely detailed miniatures, has an even faster turn around time, going 15 days to just 8 days, from printing to shipping. According to Shapeways:

shiptime“These updates are part of our continuing commitment to reducing lead times. How do we do it? We innovate in manufacturing, processing, and shipping. Whether it’s by testing new materials and processes (shaving seven days off high definition acrylate), investing in updated machinery (halving lead times for two materials), or improving manufacturing efficiency (getting cast metals to you faster), we’re always working to enhance production quality and speed.”

Shapeways is soliciting customer feedback on what other kinds of improvements they’d like to see implemented in 2017. If you have any suggestions, you can share it in the comments section of their Now, Make it Faster blog post. Several users have already chimed in with requests for error repair, a folder system that would allow them to better organize their designs, and additional printing facilities. There have also been quite a few comments from users who have already noticed the difference made by Shapeways’ new, faster shipping system.

“YES! I noticed a big difference in speed already!” enthused one commenter. “This is great news for 2017!! I am hoping quality-checks aren’t sacrificed of course, but so far so good! My last order looks perfect.”

It certainly is a good way to start off the year for 3D printing fans.

unnamed



Share this Article


Recent News

HP Webinar Explores How 3D Printing Is Restoring Mobility to Kids in Kenya

3D Printing News Briefs, July 5, 2025: Etsy Sellers, Kickstarter, Bridge Repair, & More



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Featured

Heating Up: 3D Systems’ Scott Green Discusses 3D Printing’s Potential in the Data Center Industry

The relentless rise of NVIDIA, the steadily increasing pledges of major private and public investments in national infrastructure projects around the world, and the general cultural obsession with AI have...

3DPOD 260: John Hart on VulcanForms, MIT, Desktop Metal and More

John Hart is a Professor at MIT; he´s also the director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity as well as the director of the Center for Advanced Production Technologies....

Etsy Design Rule Change Reduces Selection of 3D Printed Goods

Online marketplace Etsy has implemented a rule change requiring all 3D printed goods on the site to be original designs. The update to the site’s Creativity Standards states, ¨Items produced using...

E-Beam OEM Wayland Additive Partners with USC Racing to 3D Print Titanium Exhaust Collector

Every year, standards organization SAE International holds a competition called Formula SAE, in which students from both undergraduate and graduate programs design, build, and race small formula-style race cars. For...