Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Snabes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Samantha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We’re a spin-off of Engineers without Borders- NASA Johnson Space Center.
As a proudly open-source hardware company committed to making 3D printing accessible, we’ve created the world’s largest affordable industrial 3D printers and are now working to 3D print from plastic waste.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As a bootstrapped company, we’ve had to work hard to remain independent and focused on our social mission. Funding R&D to 3D print from plastic waste was especially hard and we could not have done it without Kickstarter, the many organizations that supported us in pitch competitions, the WeWork Creator and an NSF- SBIR Phase I grant.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the re:3D story. Tell us more about the business.
re:3D® Inc. is committed to decimating the cost & scale barriers to industrial 3D printing. After pioneering the world’s first affordable, human-scale industrial 3D printer, re:3D is now enabling 3D printing from reclaimed plastic via direct drive pellet extrusion.
While the $7B 3D printing market has become increasingly competitive, concentration within the industry remains low. This fragmentation implies a compelling market opportunity for new entrants such as re:3D. Four limiting factors constrain the market potential of industrial 3D printing: cost, printer size, printing speed & access to input material. re:3D is actively addressing all of these limitations through their research in pellet extrusion.
Gigabot®, re:3D’s flagship technology is cost/scale the most affordable industrial 3D printer on the market and is distinguished by a modular frame and a commitment to owners that all improvements & re-designs will be offered as retrofit kits. Loyal customers thus become accounts, continuously purchasing enhancements and consumables as the technology evolves. This platform can now be modified to 3D printing with filament or pellets.
We are most proud that we maintain a 1 donation for 100 sales program (the Gigaprize) for groups and individuals working to make a difference in their community.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
We launched Gigabot in 2013 at the Start-Up Chile booth of SXSW, while simultaneously launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund commercial development. We were honored to immediately be cited in several tech publications and receive funding in 27 hours. During the campaign we raised over $250k, which allowed us to begin bootstrapping a factory in Houston.
Pricing:
- Gigabot starts at a 2ft cubed build volume for <$9K and we can go much bigger!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1100 Hercules Ste 220 Houston TX 77058
- Website: re3d.org
- Phone: 5127300033
- Email: info@re3d.org
- Instagram: @re3dprinting
- Facebook: @re3dprinting
- Twitter: @re3dprinting
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