Inside 3D Printing Conference: Day 2

Day 2 of the Inside 3D Printing Conference was exciting and informative. Below are the top stories from the day. (If you haven’t read it yet, here is our recap of Day 1.)

Topology Optimization in Additive Manufacturing: 3D Printing Conference (Part 5)

Topology optimization, a process inspired by bone structure research done over a century ago, is explained by solidThinking designers.

Shapeways Funding: $30 Million from Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon to Join Board

New Shapeways funding! Shapeways announced a new round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Partner Chris Dixon will join the Shapeways board.

Sculpteo Cloud 3D Printing, iPhone Cases, and More – 3D Printing Conference (Part 6)

Sculpteo is a 3D printing marketplace that is innovating on 3D printing services. We spoke with them at the Inside 3D Printing conference in NYC.

3D Printing in K-12 Education: Virginia Leads the Way – 3D Printing Conference (Part 7)

The Commonwealth Engineering and Design Academy in Virginia looks to integrate 3D printing to revolutionize K-12 education.

Shapeways CEO: Become a Creator of the Products You Care About – 3D Printing Conference (Part 8)

Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen delivers an update on his company at the Inside 3D Printing Conference, fresh off of a new round of funding.

Shapeways Funding Grows by $30 Million

Shapeways, a leading 3D printing marketplace, has just announced a new round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Partner Chris Dixon will join the Shapeways board of directors.

CEO Peter Weijmarshausen revealed the news on the Shapeways blog:

Today marks a milestone for Shapeways. On behalf of the Shapeways team, we are truly excited to announce a new round of financing of $30 million led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Chris Dixon joining our executive board. Our existing investors – Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, and Lux Capital – also participated in this round.

All of our investors believe, like us, that 3D printing has the potential to completely change the world. With this funding, we will grow our team, build more factories around the world, and solve challenging technology problems. Though many people have heard about 3D printing, we have a ways to come. We will make our service much easier to use. We will explore the frontiers of 3D printing materials, enabling YOU to make and purchase any product imaginable.

Shapeways also published this infographic.

A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from February 25 to March 3:

Monday, February 25

• Nokia and MakerBot Showcase 3D Printing at Mobile World Congress

Tuesday, February 26

• 3D Printing Pen 3Doodler Raises $1.8M on Kickstarter from 20K Backers

Chris Dixon is a serial entrepreneur and currently an investor with venture capital firm Andreesson Horowitz. In his personal blog, he writes that what the smartest people are working on as a hobby today will be what defines industry in 10 years. 3D printing is among the few industries he selects.

What the smartest people do on the weekend is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years?

Many breakthrough technologies were hatched by hobbyists in garages and dorm rooms. Prominent examples include the PC, the web, blogs, and most open source software.

The fact that flip-flop wearing hobbyists spawn large industries is commonly viewed as an amusing eccentricity of the technology industry. But there is a reason why hobbies are so important.

Business people vote with their dollars, and are mostly trying to create near-term financial returns. Engineers vote with their time, and are mostly trying to invent interesting new things. Hobbies are what the smartest people spend their time on when they aren’t constrained by near-term financial goals.

Today, the tech hobbies with momentum include: math-based currencies like Bitcoin, new software development tools like NoSQL databases, the internet of things, 3D printing, touch-free human/computer interfaces, and “artisanal” hardware like the kind you find on Kickstarter.

It’s a good bet these present-day hobbies will seed future industries. What the smartest people do on the weekends is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years.

It probably goes without saying that we very much agree!