CloudFab Out of Beta - eDating For Consumers & 3D Printers
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 3:03PM Exciting news! CloudFab is out of their beta period and you can now go and sign up. CloudFab is a company that puts designers/consumers in touch with manufacturers through a distributed manufacturing network. From their own site:
CloudFab basically works like this: Manufacturers list their machines and prices. Buyers can then upload STL files, and request quotes from all manufacturers that have a machine that can make their part. We've written software that analyzes the file and automatically generates a quote based on various factors, including shipping cost. That way, quotes are generated (almost) instantly. Some sellers still prefer manual quoting, and so we've provided that option as well. We also hold the money in escrow, to mitigate the risk for both parties in the transaction, and will do arbitration as necessary in the case of an unfortunate outcome.
This is, in many ways, how our exhibitor 100k Garages operates. CloudFab focuses on additive machining (3D Printing) while 100kG supports (encourages) subtractive technolgies such as those from ShopBot, Epilog, and others.
Go check them out and see how you can participate!
Reader Comments (2)
I love this concept. And I love 100k Garages but it's frustrating that they are (still) only for ShopBots... unless I'm missing something.
From here: http://100kgarages.com/fabber_requirements.html
"ShopBot MUST have you listed as the tool’s owner with the correct details like address, contact info, etc."
You're correct that 100kGarages is currently ShopBot only, but now that we have much of the infrastructure in place we're working on adding other types and manufacturers of digital tools. Our "What's Next" webpage describes our plan.
http://www.100kgarages.com/Whats_next.html