Retail chain Officeworks will offer 3D printing services, starting with the opening of its “3D
Experience Centre” in Melbourne this week.
Business Insider reports that the office supplies business, which is part of the Wesfarmers group,
will open a 3D printing and scanning service on June 15 at the Officeworks
Russell Street store.
According to
the report, construction of an in-store scanning booth began last week.
Officeworks’
printing bureau service will provide delivery or in-store pick up, available two weeks
after a customer hands over their design files.
Officeworks
follows the example of US companies such as Staples and UPS in adding in-store
printing services to their business, notes 3DPrint.com.
The news
also follows Officeworks’ decision to offer retail 3D printers to consumers, starting in January last year with 3D Systems’ Cube machines, which print in
ABS and PLA.
Backend
support with 3D printing will be provided by Keech 3D Advanced Manufacturing.
K3D is a subsidiary of Keech Australia, best known as a business that creates castings for the mining industry, but which has been aggressively promoting its newer 3D printing
offerings in the last two years.
Keech
renamed its former patternmaking subsidiary as Keech 3D Advanced Manufacturing last year, and announced an agreement in March for access to the CSIRO’s metal additive manufacturing capabilities.
Image: http://spark.autodesk.com/