We are super happy to see the April 2011 issue of Wired Magazine has just hit the newsstands with a cover story of How To Make Stuff.  Shapeways was featured in a few places including visual assets such as the 3D printed 'How To Make' text for the contents page and a spread on Shapeways community member Stony Smith.

 

It is awesome to see a Shapeways community member get some exposure and their chance to tell their story of how they use Shapeways and 3D printing as a viable production method (not just prototyping).  This is an important distinction the most Shapeways users already realize, but that the history of 3D printing is rooted in the term 'rapid prototyping' still creates a stigma in the minds who dealt with the earlier incarnation of 3D printed parts.  We now need to move away from the term 'rapid prototyping' and continue to adopt 3D printing or additive manufacture as a more accurate description of what Shapeways offers.   

The more articles that appear in mainstream print press such as Wired Magazine, The Economist and the New York Times that bring 3D Printing and the Maker Movement into the awareness of the broader public, the greater the opportunity we have to encourage more people to make, sell and buy 3D printed items from your Shapeways shops. The more users we have, the cheaper we can make 3D printing for everyone.