SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — Sandboxr has announced plans to acquire enough 3D printers to effectively make it the largest 3D printing service in the US. It has launched a campaign on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter to raise initial money for the purchase of the 3D printers.
3D printing has been widely heralded as the next big thing, but the industry has yet to find a way to reach every day consumers, and the 3D printing infrastructure remains minimal. Sandboxr aims to solve both the accessibility and infrastructure problems. CEO and Founder, Berk Frei explains, "We made Sandboxr for you. We've simplified the previously complex functions of 3D design and 3D printing so that virtually anyone of any age can easily use our powerful web and mobile apps to play with and customize their favorite characters." Sandboxr has already started integrating characters from video games into their system. In a video posted online, Chris Rausch, Creative Director for game development company Super Villain Studios, said of working with Sandboxr, "The experience has been amazing. The product that comes out of it has been amazing. You know, moving forward and into the future, it can only get better, which is awesome, because it is already kick-ass."
As interest has grown, Sandboxr has realized a need for expanded capacity. Chief Operating Officer, TJ Young explains, "The challenge for Sandboxr is to keep up with the demand to 3D print content created through the Sandboxr app, simply put we need more printers. The printers that facilitate the Sandboxr experience are the world's leading commercial-grade, full color 3D printers. They are meticulous and extremely detailed... but come at an extraordinary price." The Kickstarter campaign promises printing priority, 3-inch prints as low as $25, access to the Super Villain Studios characters, and for top dollar supporters, customized characters designed by Sandboxr's own 3D artists.
Sandboxr hopes the Kickstarter campaign will raise enough money to purchase more 3D printers. Frei recently told Wired Magazine that the company is looking into purchasing an unprecedented amount of 3D printers. He further explains, "I don't know of anyone else in the country, or the world for that matter, that has that many commercial grade full-color 3D printers for consumer use, but it is what we will have to do if we want to meet the expected demand."
Beyond the Kickstarter campaign, Sandboxr courted game companies at the Game Developers Conference, March 25-29 in San Francisco. "Working with Super Villain Studios has been better than we could have expected. The characters turned out awesome. Now, we are excited to see what other game companies can do with our app," says CTO Nick Schulz, noting that the company will be providing live demonstrations of their software throughout GDC. "We are a Utah-based company, so this is really our chance to present ourselves to Silicon Valley and by extension the world."
Sandboxr is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, led by Founder/CEO Berkley Frei, Co-Founder/COO TJ Young, and CTO Nick Schulz. Sandboxr is an app experience and online community that allows users of all ages and skill levels to access vast amounts of 3D content, use an intuitive interface to mix, morph and style characters or objects and then 3D print their favorite creations. The merchandising platform is set to change the way users interact and connect to popular characters found in video games, animation, comics, art and more.