{"id":42554,"date":"2022-06-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=42554"},"modified":"2022-08-09T16:44:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T20:44:30","slug":"streamlining-additive-manufacturing-processes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/streamlining-additive-manufacturing-processes","title":{"rendered":"Marketiger: Encouraging Innovation while Streamlining the Additive Manufacturing Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Armed with an extensive background in technology and marketing, Maikel de Wit founded Marketiger in 2016. Quickly moving up from a Dutch startup to a full-scale operation, Marketiger began with and continues to specialize in full-color additive manufacturing processes<\/a>; however, their current success is compounded by the ability to handle a large volume of orders and streamline production too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been inspired by tech and wanted to find a way to have marketing and 3D printing fit together,\u201d said de Wit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transforming Full-Color Additive Manufacturing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Initially, de Wit made note of a gap in the additive manufacturing market in terms of full-color, where so many products are made out of sandstone, a material that is useful in many cases for models and visual aids; however, sandstone lacks value over the long term for handling as it tends to be weak and brittle and generally does best when sitting up on a shelf, looked at from afar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf people want a keepsake or a memory of themselves with a 3D printed miniature, that\u2019s fine, but sandstone is not going to be an everlasting memory,\u201d said de Wit. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to make that clear in the market for the past two years and now I feel like people are finally starting to understand more about the solutions within full-color printing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe longer you can make a memory last with your product, the better. Essentially, that was my argument as to why people should transition away from sandstone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Wit was pushing the boundaries years ago upon buying into full-color 3D printing, offering advanced services when almost no one else was. It wasn\u2019t exactly easy in the beginning either, as de Wit pointed out: he and his team were immersed in the learning curve with the Mimaki DUJ-553 for about a year, mastering what it takes to offer 3D prints in over ten million colors. It wasn\u2019t too long, however, before they realized they would have to master an extremely efficient additive manufacturing process workflow too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3D Printing Orders Grew and It Was Time to Streamline Production<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A long-time, verified partner and participant in the Shapeways additive process chain, Marketiger founder Maikel de Wit knows what it is like to take a passion and grow it into a full-time business. He also knows what it is like to wake up in the morning, see thousands of orders in the queue, and realize it\u2019s time to reach out for a more streamlined system in keeping up with orders, production, and delivery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal was to get orders out the door,\u201d said de Wit. \u201cWe knew that was essential.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch manufacturer was quickly seeing the need for a variety of features to smooth out daily workflow with the ongoing influx of orders, eventually adding all of the following for his customers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n