SYNCFAB is a service that lets you community source custom conventional or 3D designs for your concepts with the option to showcase the finished designs. Then you can have your designs 3D printed or specialty manufactured for delivery to you. Utilizing a growing network of talented local designers, engineers and specialty fabricators along with a custom design management tool, CADSYNC, we’re bringing you the convenience of custom concept rendering and localized specialty fabrication. SYNC your concept from design to fabrication!
SYNCFAB is an abbreviated term for Synchronized Fabrication referring to the hybridization of 3D printing (additive) with traditional (subtractive) manufacturing methods. SYNCFAB is also a reference to the evolution of the design and production processes using today's technology whereby it is now more possible than ever to match streamlined custom design solutions with specialty fabrication methods producing the highest quality product locally! SyncFab will allow users of all skill and interest levels to graduate from mass consumer to custom creator.
SYNCFAB was first established in early 2013 as 3D Lab Works to research the advantages of 3D printing (additive) manufacturing over traditional (subtractive) manufacturing methods and whether they could revive the US manufacturing industry and create jobs. It was discovered that 3D printing was unlikely to replace conventional manufacturing altogether. However, the practical efficiencies of hybridizing the two methods should result in the greatest overall efficiencies for high quality, strong, property rich, low or high volume, small or large, uniquely customized and specialty fabricated products. The USA quietly and humbly maintains a global competitive advantage in hybrid specialty manufacturing. 3D Lab Works then became SYNCFAB.
SYNCFAB will fulfill your custom design needs through our growing community of academic and professional artists, industrial designers and product engineers. California has the highest concentration of and serves as the Mecca for Globally Competitive Creative Talent. iPhones are designed in California and soon a portion of them maybe produced domestically as well. German and Japanese luxury car companies have their global design headquarters based in California which is also home to other homegrown conventional and 3D global design powerhouses in their own right. SYNCFAB has already begun connecting with local design institutes, art collectives, talented self employed artists and engineers. Users will connect with SYNCFAB community designers for custom concept rendering via CADSYNC. Customizable scan and category specific image libraries, DIY and hand gesture design software sound very appealing, nevertheless, creators serious about accurate and authentic rendering truly representative of their concept will want custom design. SYNCFAB will subsequently also offer category image stores and libraries for users who want to fabricate with minimum to no custom design requirements.
SYNCFAB will fulfill your custom 3D Print and specialty fabrication needs while benefitting local small businesses and the self-employed. We do not aim to overbuild with excessive new add-on production facilities. SYNCFAB would like to support already existing productive capacity by offering a community-fulfillment alternative. California and Southern California in particular is frequently heralded in trade journals as having the highest concentration of manufacturing activity in the USA, and by extension, has arguably the highest concentration of specialty manufacturing in the World. This is due in large part to the legacy of US Federal Government Contracting in California from 1950 - 1990. It is also due, on the other hand, to decades of fierce global competition with low labor cost advantage import tax-free trade partners, so that only the leanest most specialized fabrication facilities remain operational in California today. When visiting a local fabrication facility it is not uncommon to hear a facility manager make the sobering statement "I am the last man standing in our domestic industry." The same facility manager will often go on to say that they receive specialty fabrication orders from savvy clients around the world including orders from China. If the quality of our specialty fabricators is good enough for China, which has served as the world's factory floorshop for the past two decades, then isn't the quality good enough for savvy US customers? US Multinational Corporations heavily invested abroad may shy away from this question. Nevertheless, this untapped local ecosystem of ultra globally competitive specialty fabrication talent is now ripe for local resurrection OR foreign acquisition. SYNCFAB has already begun connecting with this network through former members of the Made-in-LA program so that the same excellent fabrication resources can be shared with you and expanded further with your support. In parallel we would seek to foster a growing number of local eco-systems amongst new and existing communities of creative excellence around the country. 3D printing technology was created and patented domestically so let's leverage it as much as possible to benefit the self-employed and small business owners domestically!
Our growing network of designers include creative artists, industrial designers and expert engineers in the academic and professional communities who are passionate about the art and science of concept rendering. The following Illustrations - which are being printed on American-Made American Apparel Cotton T-Shirts and Cotton Blend Sweatshirts and 3D Printed on Lithographs or Laser etched on the back of iPhone Cases, as one of our backer rewards - represent the spirit of Northern and Southern California Designers uniting to resurrect the domestic specialty fabrication industry!
Our 3D Printed and Specialty Bronze Casted SyncFab Liberty Statues and Statuettes are a custom adaptation based on the highest resolution available 3D scan of an original Avoirin miniature model crafted by the artist behind the actual Statue of Liberty, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (French, 1834-1904), to promote financial support from the citizens of France in the original Statue of Liberty project.
3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing)
3D Printing is an additive manufacturing process whereby a three dimensional solid object of virtually any shape is constructed layer by layer from a 3D CAD Model and it's DPD instructions. 3D Printing technology is used primarily for rapid prototyping and distributed manufacturing with applications in aerospace, architecture, construction, dental, fashion, footwear, jewelry and medical device hardware amongst other specialized uses. 3D printing carries the advantages of material conservation and extreme customization with the disadvantages of size, volume, strength and material input limitations. Variations of the technology include, FDM, Objet, Polyjet, SLA, SLS, DMLS and EBM in plastics, metals and ceramic materials amongst others. SYNCFAB will offer a community-fulfillment alternative for these services.
Hybridized Manufacturing (Synchronized Fabrication)
Additive and Subtractive manufacturing each have their limitations on their own. Yet in combination at various points in the fabrication process - 3D Printing, casting, forging, injection molding and even injection modling can prove complimentary. Germany and Japan are already privy to this and quickly making advances. Extensive operational expertise is required to gauge which method is the most efficient at which stage of fabrication - hence, the need to synchronize the hybridization of the two fabrication processes. 3D Printing technology has existed since the 1980s where it was invented here in the USA so that the hybridization process had already been quietly occurring behind the factory doors of major US corporations for close to two decades. SYNCFAB community specialty fabricators possess the experience and seasoned know-how to follow suit whereas many have already begun.
WebGL and Computer-Aided-Design (CAD)
WebGL is a new web technology bringing hardware-accelerated 3D Graphics to Web Browsers without the need for installing additional software. CAD can be used to design 2D curves and figures or 3D curves, surfaces and solids to product specification in digital file format for print, machining or other manufacturing purposes. There are hundreds if not thousands of CAD programs and associated file formats currently available. STL is a prevalent file type for standard 3d printing. CADSYNC will be initially configured for compatibility with certain key file types such as STL, OBJ, and DAE. Additional compatibilities will follow.
Digital Product Definition (DPD)
3D CAD applications now allow for the insertion of DPD, or engineering information equivalent to geometric dimensioning and tolerances (GD&T or component specification drawings), sufficient to manufacture and inspect a product without the need for accompanying engineering specification drawings. SYNCFAB users will be given the option to request DPD or Physical GD&T's with their Custom Designs.
Computer-Aided-Manufacturing (CAM)
In spite of it's implied meaning, CAM software is used more in traditional subtractive manufacturing methods such as CNC Machining. CAM does not eliminate the need for skilled workers since machines still cannot reason optimization and variability. SYNCFAB community specialty fabricators compliment the CAM variability and optimization processes with decades of honed experience and know-how.
At SYNCFAB we are working not only to further develop technology but also to influence the direction of its development. We aim to develop technology solutions that will spur and support sustainable proactive local communities of design and fabrication excellence that will drive a resurgence in American competitiveness based on that excellence. We seek to create a model emphasizing the people behind machines as opposed to the machines alone. The main reason for the recent wave of news related to 3D Printing is precisely because it is being adopted by broader audiences of people tinkering with the "new" technology following the expiration of 30 year old patents. This has created a flurry of activity and a quiet-revolution the outcome of which is yet to be seen. Our vision includes a resurging middle class of self-employed, small businesses, hobbyist and prodigal youth creators.
Founders //
// Jeremy Goodwin http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=456716
Concept Visionary, UX Architect and Community Advocate
My career has taken me around the globe working with entrepreneurs and manufacturers from Amsterdam and Beijing to New York and Vietnam and now back to spearhead a meaningful enterprise in my native California.
// Dennis Delgado http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=47564456
Design Director, UI Architect and Community Advocate
// Nick Agid http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=16862747
3D Printer World Interview: http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/nick-agid-everything-old-made-new-again
Fabrication Design Director, Industrial Design and Specialty Fabrication Expert and Community Advocate
// Jay Ligda http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=14405706
Lead Developer, Database Architect Expert and Community Advocate
// Andy Tong http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6008149
Web Logistics Expert and Community Advocate
// Christopher Cheng http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=21285883
Medical Device Design Engineer, Rapid Prototyping Expert and Community Advocate
Contributors //
// Lauren Cheung http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=73552172
NorCal Design Concept Illustrator and Community Advocate
// Charlie Carrol http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=116205173
SoCal Design Concept Illustrator and Co-Founder of Clean Aesthetic
// Amy Woo http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=97657934
Infographic Illustrator and UX Consultant
// Xango Eyee http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=188224792
CMS, Database Architecture Consultant and Community Advocate
// Peter Rosti http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=14340866
CADSYNC Software Design Conultant
// Michael Krieger http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=106214
Technology IP, Patent, Trademark, Copyright Attorney, Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum Board Member and Community Advocate
// Dennis Hettema http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=211408
UX Workflow Consultant & Co-Founder of everywhere.is of Holland
// Dyel Kassa Koumba http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=122431632
UX Workflow Consultant & Co-Founder of everywhere.is of Holland
// Beatrice Aispuro https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatriceaispuro
Graphic Designer & Web Developer
LOCAL FABRICATORS //
We teamed up with several local fabricators to produce a unique set of rewards for you!
// CLEAN {aesthetic} PRINT SHOP: http://cleanaesthetic.com/
Printing our SoCal Design Concept American Apparel T-Shirts and Hoodies.
// TEAM PRINT SHOP: http://www.teamprintshop.com/
Printing our NorCal Designer Concept American Apparel T-Shirts and Hoodies.
On Behalf of the Team and Crew standing behind SYNCFAB - I would like to thank our parents, Otis College of Art & Design, Made-in-LA, Caltech Entrepreneur Forum, Berkeley Firehouse Art Collective, Morpheus, Moddler, Thingify, Bronze Art, Scansite, Rasa Caffe - Brainstorm Hot Spot, our Alma Maters, our Dear Friends, Lachlan Forsyth, Tom Franco and Julia Lazar, Jon Oliphant EOR, Jessica Flor, Sharon Mashal, Yasmeen Noushinfar, Andy Chou and the Kickstarter Community for your Support!
Although SYNCFAB could continue slowly plugging away in obscurity by its lonesome, however, we are eager to accelerate the pace at which we may begin sharing design and fabrication services with the broader community. Your support will allow us to go farther faster by adding important goodwill and momentum to the designer and fabricator community building process, along with a precious morale boost to the team, invaluable user insight and feedback, and greatly welcome funding to enhance technical platform development and deployment.
$25,000 Will ensure a timely deployment of our Beta Platform with the minimum required number of Designers and Fabricators to provide new users with concept to creation execution capability as currently planned.
STRETCH GOALS //
$50,000 will allow us to accelerate upgrading and further enhance general feature functionality of the CADSYNC Design Management Tool.
$75,000 will allow us to broaden the SYNCFAB designer network made available to you at launch by 25%.
$100,000 will allow us to broaden the SYNCFAB fabricator network made available to you at launch by 25%.
Risks and challenges
Where we want to offer as much functionality as quickly as possible, we also want to make sure we have sufficient chance to address critical early stage functionality requirements with as much user testing feedback as possible before we press the beta launch button. Some of our more lofty functionality ambitions will require more time to develop and roll-out.
Our plan differs from the typical corporate B-to-B or B-to-C model such that we are crafting our strategy around what we call a C-to-C or Community to Creator model which will require sufficient inter and intra-community traction. SyncFab has successfully been working to secure cooperative understandings with anchor suppliers to meet initial demand and will require more time to reach out and build alliances amongst the broader communities.
3D printing technology is quickly improving, but it also faces challenges that it is working to address. For example, stronger plastic materials are not especially detailed, and more detailed materials tend to be more fragile. The higher detail plastics are not as durable as many injection molded plastic figures. Similar to a resin model or figurine, if you drop one from high, it may very well break.
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