While once the biggest question about how to get into 3D printing was accessibility—followed by affordability—thanks to companies like 3D Hubs, you have your answer nearly anywhere you go.
With 3D Hubs, the truth of it is this: you don’t really have to go anywhere or even lift a finger–except maybe to press a few buttons. And now, if you are in the business of selling your work, it’s going to become much easier to direct your customer and fan base to a local 3D printer; in fact, all they will have to do is click on ‘The 3D Print Button of the Web.’
“We just launched our public API: Teleport,” Filemon Schoffer, Head of Community at 3D Hubs told 3DPrint.com. “You can now connect your website or App to our network of 3D printers. The API is open for anyone to use. We are launching Teleport because we want to unlock the world’s digital 3D content, making it instantly printable.”
While you might be able to hook your fan base up with a great digital design, it’s that much better if you can direct them where to have it 3D printed as well. With over 16,000 locations for having items 3D printed to choose from, the worry for a consumer of having to put out hundreds or thousands of dollars to purchase a 3D printer simply vanishes. Not only that, the consumer does not even have to download a file—and we are seeing this start to become a trend—offering ease to the user, and meaning that they are also never manipulating the designer’s source files either. With the click of the Teleport button, the 3D print goes directly to the chosen hub for production.
As the 3D Hubs team is fond of pointing out, they are most definitely ‘disrupting’ manufacturing, as well as streamlining the method for getting a 3D print easily and affordably, without having to house any equipment in the home, workshop, or office. If you aren’t a serious 3D printing operator, why bother? Why should anyone have to bother with the so-called ‘ancient supply chain?’
3D Hubs is welcoming everyone to their new way of doing things, which just got easier, and should make marketing even more enticing with the following features:
- Teleport is easily integrated into your app or your website.
- For those who own extensive 3D printing libraries, Teleport can also be integrated into your database so that users can order 3D prints from that platform easily and quickly.
- If you have your own game or app that offers digital designs for 3D printing, users can send their work directly to a hub.
Teleport is already being used by companies like:
- Autodesk
- Sketchfab
- Thingiverse
- Instructables
- Rhino
As a collective whole, not only are these well-known companies offering a huge initial boost to the 3D Hubs Teleport option, but combined they are offering over a million designs for 3D printing.
The Teleport API technically works by either uploading of model files or creating a cart with uploaded models. The customer is then directed to the 3D Hubs site and finishes checkout. This is just a continuation of the amazing and progressive access that 3D Hubs is providing to consumers and enthusiasts worldwide, proving that dipping your toes into the world of 3D printing does not have to be intimidating, cost-prohibitive, or involve purchasing lots of equipment up front—or at all.
Is the Teleport API something that interests you for offering greater ease to your customers? Share your thoughts with us in the 3D Hubs ‘Teleport’ forum over at 3DPB.com.
