Oohhh, the magic of a first post on a fresh blog! After all the preparation the moment to launch U-Design has arrived. And you, as one of our initial group of users, are here too! These are exciting times for us. Welcome, welcome.

So what is it that we do? At first glance, we allow you to turn your digital 3D designs into real objects that you can hold in your hands. We'll let you share your work, questions and stories with others because we think it will inspire everyone and help you to achieve greater heights.

What we're really about though, is "the democratisation of production".

Just like the telephone and the internet put people back in charge of communication and information, we think that the new direct manufacturing technologies will give people control over the production of the objects in their own life.

It may still sound like a far-fetched dream but we're convinced that we're at the beginning of something that is going to revolutionise the industry and your homes. We believe that in ten years from now your children will be surprised that there was a time where you couldn't have that coffee machine two inches smaller to make it fit nicely on your countertop.

This is our first step. We'll keep on working to expand our options, fabrication methods and material choices. After that - who knows what the world will look like?

Well, all philosophical things aside, I also have a few practical notes:

• The name 'U-Design' and the current website design are only temporary - we're already working on our final name and on a new, polished design. After this redesign the site will largely remain to work the same way though.
• We currently have only one material available for printing, but we're working hard on extending the number of options - of course, we'd love to hear your suggestions!
• It would be cool if you could go ahead and order a model for printing. Because we are still testing U-Design,you'll be able to order at rock-bottom prices.

We're all glad you're here! Please share all your questions and comments - I'll be around to help.

Bart Veldhuizen
Community Manager

[image by JCKham, released under a Creative Commons license]