Good friend Roopinder Tara, owner and publisher of Tenlinks.com, last week announced Innovate3D, a new 3D Solid Modeling service where anyone can get a 3d CAD model created for a simple $49 fee.
Right now, the service wll provide models in Inventor, Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks formats, as well as IGES, STEP and STL, based on materials you send – 2D drawings, photos, sketches etc. Customer can get the first model free, although if you indicate you read this in this blog, you can get the first three for free.
The service uses a team of 3D CAD modelers who will perform the work when the order is received, and they will be sent back when complete.
Roopinder explained why he has started this:”I started because of all the demand for 3D — a demand that has outpaced the ability of companies to keep up. Think of all the 2D drawings that need to be converted and all the downstream applications that would benefit from a solid model.”
It started me thinking of how this business model can work. We think that the service is mostly targeted at larger design teams that are trying to move legacy data from 2D to 3D. It should be attractive to overloaded designers and engineers can send out the work that is needed by his employer but is, probably, annoying to do on a day-to-day basis. However, i think that this is ideal for the ‘hobbyist’ market, where people want their innovations in 3D (maybe for prototyping and so on) but do not want to get into software purchases and learning curves until their product has been proved out.
The pricing model is straightforward – $49 per model, fixed fee. Roopinder says “It is a set amount so the
customer doesn’t have to worry about running up a big bill with an hourly labor rate.” So anybody with an hourly-billed 3D CAD model service needs to sit up straight and work out their differentiators to be able to survive.
My only queston left is how much will engineers, well known as being careful and conservative with design files, will trust this as a way of getting work completed. Even though this is fiscally wise, will it provide the quality of work that is needed? Well, I guess trying out the service for free will answer those questions and i think everyone should jump in and try it.