David ten Have : Ponoko
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Escape Velocity spoke with David ten Have of Ponoko, a New Zealand company that specialises in 3D printing.
Years ago, 3D printing sounded like a fantastical Sci-Fi concept. You load up a design for a table or engine components into my computer, hit print and it reproduces it for me. Sounds like the replicator from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but while I cannot yet commission my computer to make me tea, 3D printing is now accessible to consumers.
Okay, say you’re not a Trekkie, why is this big news? Well, it means that designers can prototype a design or show proof of concept without going through an expensive and lengthy manufacturing process. And while 3D printing is not quite in our homes yet, remember that 40 years ago the idea of owning your own computer seemed equally fanciful.
Iteration is an important concept in 3D printing. So it is in design and entrepreneurship. Sounds like a marriage made in heaven. Or possibly New Zealand.
