By the end of this month, 3D Printing Studios will have three stores open dedicated to the technology, with plans to open up to 30 within two years if franchise partners can be found.
CRN reports that the company plans to add to its existing store in The Rocks (Sydney CBD) on May 21 with a Parramatta (western Sydney) store opening, followed by a Fremantle (Perth) store opening on the 30th.
The Rocks store opened last year.
Co-founder Stuart Grover told
CRN, “I want to get it out to large centres, like Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, then also places like Newcastle and Wollongong as well.”
“The reason being, you need to get it out to people so they see it and hold it, then they know what they want to make with it and do with it.”
Grover’s stores offer printers ranging in price from hundreds of dollars to about $5,000, putting such printers at the hobbyist to “prosumer” levels of sophistication.
According to their website, 3D Printing Studios are open Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and offers scanning and design services as well as print-readiness finishing and basic printing services.
3D Print offers that the introduction of standalone 3D printing shops “has yet to really catch on in the United States, or anywhere else for that matter.
“MakerBot currently has 3 stores located in the Northeast, but other than that, there are very few locations where people can really get an immersive 3D printing experience. It is only a matter of time before we start seeing these hands-on 3D printing shops start popping up in all of the major cities worldwide.”
Image: airwolf3d.com