Royal Mail Pilots 3D Printing Service

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Royal Mail Pilots 3D Printing Service

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 9, 2014 @07:25AM from the poorly-fitting-imitation-legos-for-all dept.

New submitter MRothenberg writes: Just in time for the holidays, the UK's postal service is testing out a 3D printing service at its central London delivery center. Customers can order "ready-to-print" objects (including shoes, soap dishes and phone cases) or bring in their own originals to duplicate and send via Royal Mail. The postal company's COO predicts consumer demand for 3D printing will grow 95 percent by 2017.

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Shape DRM by TechyImmigrant · 2014-12-09 07:27 · Score: 4, Interesting

I can't wait to see what they come up with to add DRM to the shape of things so you can't copy them in a 3D scanner/printer.

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1. Re:Shape DRM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  Anything with internal elements that cannot be scanned by a laser, or anything with finer tolerances than the printer can produce, or anything made from materials they can't print in, etc. The vast majority of 3d printings is only for cheap crappy plastic baubles because the printers are too slow, too inaccurate, and print with crappy material.
2. Re:Shape DRM by gizmo2199 · 2014-12-09 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  In other words, 3D printer DRM is: pretty much anything that makes the product worth buying
  
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3. Re:Shape DRM by bws111 · 2014-12-09 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, 'DRM' is what is going to hold it back, not the fact that there is very little desirable stuff that can be printed (at home or locally).
4. Re:Shape DRM by RyuuzakiTetsuya · 2014-12-09 09:09 · Score: 2
  
  This is actually kind of interesting.
  I'm waiting to see what companies like Citadel Miniatures is going to do in response to gamers printing their own figures.
  It's not fair to exactly call them customers since, you know, they're printing their own figures. I guess they can try selling them 3d shape files of figs instead.
  
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  Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
5. Re:Shape DRM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 09:40 · Score: 0
  
  Well I guess they are not going to print me a 3d printer are they ?
6. Re:Shape DRM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, 3-D printed hands for children are cheap crappy plastic baubles.
  http://enablingthefuture.org/
7. Re:Shape DRM by TechyImmigrant · 2014-12-09 11:11 · Score: 1
  
  If they could, it might have to be smaller than the printer that printed it.
  
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  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
8. Re:Shape DRM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 12:08 · Score: 0
  
  Well, one of the first open source 3D printers aimed exactly at that:
  "RepRapPro: the home of open source 3D printing, providing self replicating 3D printer kits and accessories." - https://reprappro.com/
9. Re:Shape DRM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 12:09 · Score: 0
  
  Well they could flat pack it and save on postal rates - they have gone through the roof since being introduced to the free market cartel.
Why ? by itzly · 2014-12-09 07:28 · Score: 1

Why does a postal service think it can make money off of 3D printed stuff better than others ? Sounds very desperate.
1. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 07:36 · Score: 0
  
  Because they will be able to make more money off it since THEY deliver it AND get 100% of the money from said delivery.
  Other delivery services will too.
  But companies that use said delivery services won't get nearly as much money as they could.
2. Re:Why ? by TechyImmigrant · 2014-12-09 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  Why does a postal service think it can make money off of 3D printed stuff better than others ? Sounds very desperate.
  The Royal Mail is still upset about losing the phone service. This is their way of fighting back.
  
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  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
3. Re:Why ? by Russ1642 · 2014-12-09 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  Why don't they start selling groceries? Or getting into the adult webcam business? Or, hell, why not ANYTHING? 3D printing has nothing to do with the postal service and makes as much sense as any of my suggestions.
4. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 07:39 · Score: 0
  
  Why does a postal service think it can make money off of 3D printed stuff better than others ? Sounds very desperate.
  Because they are seeing their traditional business model die and are trying to get in on the "future". Can you imagine if you don't need things shipped anymore, rather you just print it out? The entire shipping industry would collapse.
5. Re:Why ? by itzly · 2014-12-09 07:45 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they should also drill their own off-shore oil wells, and set up their own plastic manufacturing business, so they can make even more money on these things.
6. Re:Why ? by Russ1642 · 2014-12-09 08:00 · Score: 2
  
  But someone's going to make a fortune shipping printing medium.
7. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe they should also drill their own off-shore oil wells, and set up their own plastic manufacturing business, so they can make even more money on these things.
  Maybe they should 3d print their own oil wells and plastic factories.
8. Re:Why ? by parkinglot777 · 2014-12-09 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  Because they are seeing their traditional business model die and are trying to get in on the "future". Can you imagine if you don't need things shipped anymore, rather you just print it out? The entire shipping industry would collapse.
  There are still many things (i.e. legal documents, art object, etc.) that will never be digitalized. These things need to be physically delivered. The delivery industrial may be shrunk, but it will never go away or collapse.
9. Re:Why ? by ArcadeMan · 2014-12-09 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  I think they should skip the whole process and 3D-print their own oil.
  
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10. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 08:36 · Score: 0
  
  Do you have a high-grade 3D printer in your home? I don't, and frankly I have no expectation of getting one.
  It follows that if I'm going to get a 3D printed object, someone is going to have to deliver it to me. A mail service of some sort, perhaps.
11. Re:Why ? by bws111 · 2014-12-09 08:40 · Score: 1
  
  When it comes right down to it, what CAN be printed (in home or at least locally) that is desirable and makes up a significant part of shipped things? It can't really think of anything.
12. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 08:45 · Score: 0
  
  Wait. What?
13. Re:Why ? by TechyImmigrant · 2014-12-09 08:52 · Score: 2
  
  Wait. What?
  British phone service used to be run by the Royal Mail. It got split out as British Telecom in 1980 and then it got sold off by the government in 1984.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...
  
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  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
14. Re:Why ? by Connie_Lingus · 2014-12-09 09:03 · Score: 1
  
  i think they are calling that delivery service "Amazon" these days.
  
  --
  never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
15. Re:Why ? by 14erCleaner · 2014-12-09 10:07 · Score: 1
  
  Also pointless. Unless you can personalize the printed thingy somehow, it just sounds like a more-expensive way to make cheap plastic trinkets, which are currently available by the truckload at any dollar store.
  
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16. Re:Why ? by Hognoxious · 2014-12-09 10:33 · Score: 1
  
  A DeVry MBA on the site. That's a first!
  
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  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
17. Re:Why ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 22:54 · Score: 0
  
  Uhm, the 3D printed objects need to be delivered to people somehow. Yes it very much makes sense, if it's profitable enough. Sure they could start some kind of online shop, if they don't already have one. They already sell stuff that postal offices like letters and stamps and tape and pens etc. atleast where i live they do.
18. Re:Why ? by tehcyder · 2014-12-10 01:25 · Score: 1
  
  Why does a postal service think it can make money off of 3D printed stuff better than others ? Sounds very desperate.
  Because they are seeing their traditional business model die and are trying to get in on the "future". Can you imagine if you don't need things shipped anymore, rather you just print it out? The entire shipping industry would collapse.
  Not everything can be replaced by a coloured plastic equivalent, and I seriously doubt that home 3D printers are going to be capable of printing out mobile phones, leather shoes, engine cylinders, diamond rings, hardback books, chocolates, telescopes, or laptops any time soon.
  
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Demand is probably tiny by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 07:38 · Score: 0

Demand is probably tiny. It probably wouldn't take much to make it grow 95%.
1. Re:Demand is probably tiny by MobyDisk · 2014-12-09 08:04 · Score: 1
  
  By 2017, they anticipate 1.95 customers.
WTF by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 07:38 · Score: 0

Why would I want to 3D print shoes? Royal Mail needs to immediately apologize and announce bankruptcy.
Punctuation? by I4ko · 2014-12-09 07:46 · Score: 0

So Royal Mail put in place a service that 3D printing pilots for their par avion delivery? Gee I wonder if they will start printing the airplanes for the printed pilots to fly. I guess that would be fun.
hrm... by Charliemopps · 2014-12-09 07:47 · Score: 1

The postal company's COO predicts consumer demand for 3D printing will grow 95 percent by 2017.
So 95% of 0 is...
Their 3D is special.. by ThatsDrDangerToYou · 2014-12-09 07:57 · Score: 1

Only there will you be able to order from the ROYAL 3-D printing service. Accept no substitutes!
Copyright? by argStyopa · 2014-12-09 07:58 · Score: 1

If the MafiAA have objections to anytime someone vaguely considers making a safety backup of a piece of digital media, I have to imagine companies across the world are going to unite in objecting to a non-digital "bring us your thing and you can make a copy of it" policy?

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-Styopa
Unsustainable business model by MobyDisk · 2014-12-09 08:03 · Score: 2

Who are the customers of this? I am skeptical of the business model for 3D printing as a service.
There are 2 kinds of people who want to 3D print:
- Makers
- Gimmick lovers
The makers won't use this service. 3 years ago every hackerspace had a 3D printer, and it was a cool reason to join up. Now, the makers just buy their own printer. The cost has gone down, and designing a 3D object is an iterative interactive process.
The gimmick lovers could use the service. There are two types of gimmicks:
- Stock gimmicks that are all the same
- Custom gimmicks
If there is significant demand for a stock gimmick, then it is cheaper and faster to mass produce the item and sell it. This is how we have done it for decades. Popular items on Thingiverse and are now sold on Amazon.
That leaves custom gimmicks and low-demand stock items for 3D printing. Does the royal mail have a system for customizing gimmicks? If not, then the pool grows yet smaller. I don't know if that customer base is big enough to be profitable. Maybe someone who wants a custom or rare gimmick can find a friend with a 3D printer. That's how it was with 2D printing back in the 80s. You always had a friend with a computer and a color dot-matrix printer, and they could make those "Happy Birthday" banners for you. I suspect that might be the way this really works.
How many places offer CNC routing as a service? That seems like the most equivalent thing to 3D printing. It has been around for decades, but I don't know of the post-office offering that service.
1. Re:Unsustainable business model by user.aaaaa · 2014-12-09 08:06 · Score: 1
  
  there is no any single ROYAL CNC routing service
2. Re:Unsustainable business model by jeffmeden · 2014-12-09 08:32 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The makers won't use this service. 3 years ago every hackerspace had a 3D printer, and it was a cool reason to join up. Now, the makers just buy their own printer. The cost has gone down, and designing a 3D object is an iterative interactive process.
  There was, and is, and will continue to be, a huge difference in what you can do with a 3d printer that costs a few hundred (currency units) and one that costs a few thousand or tens of thousands of (currency units). A Maker who is not interested in mass producing things but instead wants to create a few interesting objects at a time will probably see a huge benefit to being able to just order up the object (instead of outlaying a huge amount for a printer) from a service that has both a very high quality printer, and a delivery chain to get it to them very fast. How many Makers like that are there? Who knows.
3. Re:Unsustainable business model by ArcadeMan · 2014-12-09 08:34 · Score: 1
  
  What about the CNC services from King Roland?
  
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4. Re:Unsustainable business model by itzly · 2014-12-09 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  You can even do small mass production using 3D printers. For a few hundred/thousand pieces, it's likely cheaper to buy 3D printed stuff than to invest in injection molds.
5. Re:Unsustainable business model by ArcadeMan · 2014-12-09 09:30 · Score: 1
  
  A few hundreds, maybe. When you reach thousands of units, there's already specialized companies offering their services such as Protomold.
  
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6. Re:Unsustainable business model by Ogi_UnixNut · 2014-12-09 11:11 · Score: 2
  
  I don't know, it sounds somewhat interesting for me. You see, In London, space is expensive. I barely have the space in my tiny flat for a desk, bed and TV. Even having the computers on overnight is annoying because I can hear the fans when I try to sleep.
  Much as I would like a 3D printer, I don't have the space for it. Nor could I deal with the noise (and most likely smell) while it spends hours printing.
  The only hackerspace is clear across the city for me, so it isn't really convenient to go there to use their 3D printer. The idea that I can send a STL file to Royal mail, and get the printed part back in the mail after a week or so is actually not a bad idea. Especially if (due to their ability to have larger capital expendeture) they go for one of the proper 3D printers, that are normally out of reach of mortals.
  We have to see what they come up with, and if it would suit my needs, but the idea ain't that far fetched.
7. Re:Unsustainable business model by richard.cs · 2014-12-09 11:49 · Score: 1
  
  You can even do small mass production using 3D printers. For a few hundred/thousand pieces, it's likely cheaper to buy 3D printed stuff than to invest in injection molds.
  There are moulding processes that are economical from a few tens of units. Mostly these involve making soft moulds from 3D printed forms and the moulds are good for perhaps 50 units each. They are slower though so if you want a hundred units quickly it might be better to print, and just contract out to multiple printing places if you need extra capacity to speed it up.
Been done before by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 08:29 · Score: 0

FedEx thought they would cash in on faxing documents for their customers and delivering them via courier, look how well that effort turned out for them. The Diamond Age is just around the corner, more homes will have 3D Printers than ever had fax machines.
1. Re:Been done before by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 08:58 · Score: 0
  
  > more homes will have 3D Printers than ever had fax machines.
  If most homes are like mine, we have a fax machines in our multi-function printer/copier/scanner/fax.
  In my case it's a fax machine that I never use, but if you're counting on there being more 3D printers than fax machines, there's a steep hill to climb.
95% growth by aglider · 2014-12-09 08:40 · Score: 1

For something that is barely measurable can still be barely relevant!
Just a little bit more.

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$40 pencil holder by AndyKron · 2014-12-09 09:03 · Score: 1

Shitty plastic pencil holder is $40. FAIL!
Do your basic job rather than pander new crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 09:07 · Score: 0

It would be better if Royal Mail concentrated on delivering the parcels and letters on time, to the correct address rather than coming up with bogus services that nobody wants.
"The postal company's COO predicts consumer demand for 3D printing will grow 95 percent by 2017."
Yeah right, from 1 person, to nearly 2 people!
Now if only by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 09:45 · Score: 0

Now if only they could work out they'd get more business deleiving things when people are likely to be in rather than at work...
Royal Mail Pilots 3D Printing Service by carrier+lost · 2014-12-09 10:09 · Score: 1

"There's your widget, sir!"
*Drops plastic piece out of airplane window*

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Poor Demand by pubwvj · 2014-12-09 11:18 · Score: 1

"The postal company's COO predicts consumer demand for 3D printing will grow 95 percent by 2017."
That's rather limited vision. I would expect more like 10,000% growth. After all, right now it is teeny-tiny.
Achtung Achtung! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 16:39 · Score: 0

...or bring in their own originals to duplicate
COPYRIGHT TROLLS INCOMING! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
captcha: copying (they already know :O)
Already up & running in Paris, for a year by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 21:17 · Score: 0

La Poste has been doing this at three post offices (and remotely), for close to a year already.
When I visited that on a Saturday, could really not say the office was busy...
"bring in their own originals to duplicate" by Skylinux · 2014-12-09 21:27 · Score: 0

And they have the nerve calling us thieves for downloading duplicated computer files.
As soon as a government agency does the same thing - gawd we are innovating and offering a great service to the public.
Fuck You!

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1. Re:"bring in their own originals to duplicate" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-09 21:42 · Score: 0
  
  Getting a shitty plastic replica of anything is really not like downloading a car.
Royal Mail spending spree by danknight48 · 2014-12-09 21:47 · Score: 1

Clearly, the Purchasing/IT department went a bit crazy with this years budget. Purchasing a crap load of 3D printers to play with.
The CEO found out about the order and asked the marketing department how they could recoup the costs of the printers, whilst making some profit at the same time.
Say hello to "3d printing by a company that delivers mail".
I want a 3d printed gun made by UK post! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-10 05:37 · Score: 0

I want a 3d printed gun made by UK post!
Will they keep histories of the parts I have them make?
There must be a better way by marciot · 2014-12-10 09:15 · Score: 1

So you 3D print an object at one location, thereby converting it from bits to atoms, and then you send the result via the post to another location?
I think there is a more efficient way to do this, but I can’t quite put my finger on it...