Disqus - Latest Comments for Joseph_Flaherty

Re: The most important question to ask before taking seed money

Joseph_Flaherty — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:33:02 -0000

Great article Chris. Is this the Sequoia page you are thinking of? I used it while business planning and found it to be extremely useful:

http://www.sequoiacap.com/ideas

Re: Objet 3D printer digital materials – CMYK for plastics

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:34:08 -0000

I'm not sure the Gaskets or dogtoys would stand up to repeated use, but I'm with you on the toys. You could make some amazing RC cars with custom rubber tires and the chassis could be crazy looking due to the freedom the technology allows.

Re: The 3D Future of Product Development: The Real-Time Web or the Real Web? #DSCC09

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:23:43 -0000

"Now, here’s where we turn the whole concept of anything approaching real-time, inside out. Apply the idea of ‘instant’ and ‘real’ to product, to retail environments, to engineering, to manufacturing. Not the conversation about them, but the experience of them happening every day, in real-time, around you. That is more than real-time, that is real."

I love this section. It is hard for people in the traditional software or manufacturing worlds to see, but there is great potential for fusion of the two worlds. I think the Spore Creature Creator that ZCorp offers and companies like FigurePrints that turn WarCraft characters into statues are on the cutting edge of this world. Currently, their products are expensive, and slightly lower quality than mass manufactured objects, but for how long?

10 Years ago if you had photos printed you would stick them in an album. Now there is a Multi-billion dollar "Photobook" market of pre-printed professionally bound books. Advances in variable data printing made this possible. When you look at what 3D printer companies like Objet are doing you wonder if the next generation of kids will get Star Wars toys custom printed, rather than bought at Walmart. Exciting times!

Re: The Challenge of Customization via Genomicon

Joseph_Flaherty — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:05:24 -0000

Thanks for commenting Shelly! I agree that Nick has a unique sensibility. Your site is great as well. Have you used any custom manufacturing tools to create your art?

Re: Blue Realm Studios Slams Down Prop Building INTENSITY. Halo ODST Helmet in SolidWorks and More.

Joseph_Flaherty — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:54:06 -0000

That is an amazing job. Someone needs to get this model into a 3D printer stat!

Re: So far away and yet so close.

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:35:28 -0000

Nick,

Very well said. I think you are generally right. At this point mass customization is more novelty than real replacement for mass production. That said I think the major limitation is the lack of entrepreneurs who understand the potential rather than the potential of the machines and processes. Jewelry is a $60B business and uses custom manufacturing technology already, but it took until 2007 for Paragon Lake to form and address this massive market opportunity. Who knows how they will fare, but it is an example of an entrepreneur tackling an undeserved market. I think there are a lot of vertical markets that could be addressed in a similar fashion.

You are right that a lot of the talk about customization is just hype, blog fodder enabled by services like Ponoko and Shapeways. That hype also holds the key to the killer app as well. People like stuff. A great many people like making stuff. There are over 1MM CriCut paper cutters in homes across the world bearing that fact out. The missing piece is software that helps people with taste, but little training create. This is partly a technical challenge, but more one of product definition. I have no doubt that when ZCorp printers are roughly the same price as desktops that they kids will be printing World of WarCraft avatars at home. I'm also fairly certain we will have large companies built around customization before that time.

Re: So far away and yet so close.

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:17:42 -0000

Yeah the work of students is really impressive. the CraftRobo has a lot of potential as a platform. If the software wasn't so lame it could be a really cool creative tool. I think your doing some of the coolest stuff with it currently.

Re: So far away and yet so close.

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:16:31 -0000

Nick, I've made Christmas tree ornaments with a 3D printer as well as some knickknacks. I've made signs, funky name tags, and jewelry with the laser cutter. My CraftRobo largely sits dormant just because it is super difficult to get good cuttable images. How about you?

Re: CouldFab 3D Printing. For Those Just Hankerin’ for Distributed Manufacturing.

Joseph_Flaherty — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:23:49 -0000

This is a very cool development. It is a nice counterpart to ShapeWays in that you get access to a broader variety of 3D printers esp the Zcorp machines which are a pre-req if you want to export your Spore characters for extra large prints.

Shapeways still has an important edge with their templatized designs and their library of parts to be manufactured. Hopefully with enough scale material costs will come down a bit for the hobbyist market.

Re: The Power of Paper

Joseph_Flaherty — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:04:40 -0000

Just grind it up and use the slurry for paper mache! Totally agree that the molded paper pulp has a lot of potential. The nice thing about paper is that it is so cheap. I could imagine some kids toy based on cast pulp characters. A young me might have blown them up with fireworks and then made more. A world of possibility exists.

Re: Product Design as a Hobby?

Joseph_Flaherty — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:02:30 -0000

I'm excited to see designers able to make an impact at an earlier stage of product AND company development. I've been talking to start ups who are working on physical products and could use a designer on the founding or early team. Designers also need to step up and think of their role more broadly. More of an aesthetically sensitive business person rather than pure form and function giver.

Re: Product Design as a Hobby?

Joseph_Flaherty — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:00:03 -0000

It is certainly an exciting time. The bloggers are one analogy, but I think there will be other comparisons as the low cost web start up ethos is ported to the product world.

Re: Ponoko’s CEO is Inc. Magazine’s Coverboy

Joseph_Flaherty — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:58:30 -0000

Milk or Sugar is a cool site. A lot like the database that Frank Pillar launched a while ago. I look forward to seeing MoS grow over time.

Re: Ask the Reader: If You Could Design Anything With 3D What Would It Be? {Poll}

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:16:49 -0000

Um, yes? Containers are a little iffy, but that is a nice selection of product categories you've got going there...

Re: Desktop Factory - Closing Down

Joseph_Flaherty — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:39:20 -0000

Felix, It would be interesting to see a printer manufacturer pick it up. HP would probably have some issues since they also make the nozzles for ZCorp, but it would be a cool addition to other companies portfolios.

Re: Take the test: Are you going to get funding in a recession?

Joseph_Flaherty — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:28:06 -0000

Jude,

I think you covered all the right points. One addition, "Can you create a sense of urgency". Getting one serious offer can make subsequent ones much, much easier.

Re: Flexistuff - Customization Blog

Joseph_Flaherty — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:34:29 -0000

Thanks for the tip, I can't read German are you a manufacturer or a blog covering custom manufacturing?

Re: Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream

Joseph_Flaherty — Wed, 27 May 2009 06:40:40 -0000

Richard,

They might not go away permanently, but I think solutions like the Spore Creature Creator go a long way to mitigate them. That is a brilliantly designed CAD program that allows a total novice to create something with no training, but also allows a pro to create amazing objects that the designers of the program never imagined (http://bit.ly/10nrXs). I think all of the barriers i mentioned can be similarly addressed via design or product management.

Re: Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream

Joseph_Flaherty — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:23:33 -0000

Richard,

I think it becomes an issue of semantics at some point, though the issues still pertain to your definition of customization. Take the company ProperCloth. They are mass customizing dress shirts. They are nice shirts and the site is well designed, but are also more expensive than normal and clothing is an area most men would like to leave to pros. I don't think each problem will apply to every product category. It is just an interesting list to consider when designing customization services, however you define them!

Re: Why Isn't Paypal More Successful?

Joseph_Flaherty — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:23:55 -0000

My biggest problem with PayPal is that I use it so infrequently I forget the username/pw I used to set my account up 5 yrs ago and have to go through the longer direct payment process or request a reset. 95% of what I buy is on Amazon or the iTunes store and I imagine that is a big reason PayPal isn't bigger, most useful services have their own systems.

Re: Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream

Joseph_Flaherty — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:18:44 -0000

I think those gains and even greater ones can be achieved and made commercial, but I don't think many companies have hit the step function in terms of value creation yet. I think Shapeways and Ponoko have certainly hit that value creation level for the serious hobbyist. Access to expensive capital machines had always been a nightmare of RFQ's and you guys made it as easy as shopping at Amazon. Now the challenge is to design products that deliver the same value to mass market consumers.

Re: Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream

Joseph_Flaherty — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:22:39 -0000

I totally agree. It is sort of like when Steve Jobs returned to apple and mercilessly pruned the product portfolio. A home/pro laptop and a home/pro desktop down from dozens of hard to parse models. "The Paradox of Choice" is another great book on overwhelming choices and how they can stifle decision making.

The key is a quote from Joseph Pine who wrote the book on customization. "People don't want millions of options, they just want the exact product they want" Customizers shouldn't get caught up in the billions of options they can offer, but rather making the customer feel creative and satisfied with their product.

Re: Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream

Joseph_Flaherty — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:19:15 -0000

Joris,

I don't think piano playing would be a good comparison e.g. the tech is robust, costs are low, its a valued social skill, etc. It is intimidating and hard to learn, but otherwise different.

You are right about use cases, but there are limitations. I was talking to the founder/CEO of a customization company and he was talking about how lame the custom bag companies were and how he wanted to be able to design functionality. He had ideas of what his ideal bag would be, but he would have had to source the fabric, learn to sew (or pay a job shop), etc. It would be a huge time investment for a rather incremental gain.

Re: Next Week. Your Very Own Cupcake CNC 3D Printer. TASTY.

Joseph_Flaherty — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:29:41 -0000

Haha, I actually have had the URL Konfection.com for some time now. The original thought was to make super artistic candies, but nothing came of it. Great ideas though!

Re: Yabba Dabba 3D Printers

Joseph_Flaherty — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:27:28 -0000

Andre,

Apologies. It has been corrected.

Thanks!