DIY concept key to Hamilton 3D printing venture Kickstarter campaign aims to raise money for studio where users would pay by the hour.

Max Wallace has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a do-it-yourself 3D printing studio in Hamilton.

Hamilton Spectator By Meredith MacLeod

Max Wallace wants to build pieces for his board game inventions. The software engineer needs access to good quality 3D printing and scanningequipment but jokes that he can't get his wife to agree to spending tens of thousands of dollars. So the 28-year-old Dundas native decided to launch a venture, 3D Wizards, in which people just like him will pay by the hour to use sophisticated technology to create toys, collectibles and prototypes on ado-it-yourself basis. He aims to create his studio in Hamilton. "Hamilton is a good central location. It's in the nexus of Toronto, Niagara, Brantford, Kitchener and Guelph." Wallace's studio would not be staffed. Users would book time online and be sent a code that would allow entry. He says as far as he knows, his model is unique. Other companies offer access to 3D printing, but they are staffed, which raises costs for users. The idea harks back to the pioneering days of Internet cafés. Wallace expects his studios may not be necessary at some point, when households have 3D printers and scanners to reproduce things like broken shelves for fridges, cups, plates and clothes hangers. "This is me bringing to people the ability to use equipment they will have in their homes in 10 years. It's a sneak peek into the future," he said. The studio will target serious hobbyists, inventors — anyone with a passion for creating 3D objects, he says. He will offer tutoring and instructional DVDs for those needing help with the software and hardware. 3D Wizards will include a stereolithography printer, which allows for detailed reproduction even at small sizes. It prints at about one to three centimetres in height an hour, depending on resolution. The studio will also include a high-end Nikon 3D scanner and vacuum chambers that will create rubbermoulds to produce dozens of replicas of printed objects an hour for their own use or to sell. "I think it will be the star of the show," said Wallace. Wallace says he chose the equipment that would offer precision and accuracy, ease of use and low cost for the user. The scanner, which produces a digital file out of a physical object, will cost about $47,000."3D printing is coming into its own, but 3D scanning is in its infancy. I really think scanners are holding 3D printers back … To get close to the high resolution of a 3D printer, you need to spend a lot on the scanner." Not everyone wants a physical object, but the process in reverse allows a video-game designer or modifier to scan real objects and insert them into games, for instance. Wallace, a Mohawk College grad who now develops software for a Niagara company, has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $125,000 to buy equipment and operate the studio for a year. He's offering $20 an hour access to backers at a certain level. For those investing $5,000, he will give 250 hours and a price freeze on 3D Wizards rates. He will protect his investment with GPS trackers on the equipment, surveillance cameras, security

monitoring and identity verification for those booking studio time. Under the rules of the crowdfunding site, if he hasn't reached his goal by his end date of Oct. 29, all money is returned to the backers. Wallace has just $300 raised so far but says he's not deterred. "It's not a matter of if this happens, but when or how. If the Kickstarter does not come to fruition, that will be a minor setback." Wallace says he will continue to build connections and find other ways to raise the necessary capital.

September 17/2014mmacleod@thespec.com