It’s no secret around here that we’re excited about 3D printing. Manufacturers are all over the world are in a constant conversation about how this revolutionary technology will impact the future of manufacturing.

The answer is that it will, but no one knows how for sure yet. Everyone from college students to the world’s greatest engineers have been playing around with these printers, and the impact will certainly be significant (and already is)!

So if we’re excited about 3D printing, just imagine the levels of excitement at NeMAC about the first commercial 3D printing shop in Omaha! On Tuesday, Silicon Prairie News in West Omaha, with a $30,000 new 3D printer and capabilities to print gaskets, prototypes, replacement parts and more.

The goal will be to work on custom jobs for entrepreneurs, inventors, and other businesses in Omaha. The company doesn’t just do printing, however: they also are capable of “3D solutions,” including 3D CAD design, 3D scanning, 3D engineering, and more. It’s a pretty incredible list of services!

The company is located inside the facilities of its parent company, Sympateco. This forward-thinking Omaha manufacturer builds cabinetry and other products for national franchises, but is interested in the potential of a 3D printing company. Dane Foster manages the business side of the 3D Kul Factory, and said that the owner of Sympateco is interested in the power and capabilities of 3D printing.

“It gives us an advantage because a lot of startups are strained by time and capital,” Foster told the Silicon Prairie News. “This gives us the freedom to find exactly where we’ll fit in, whether it’s biomedical, physical manufacturing of parts or prototypes. 3D printing is just this huge, wide, vague thing right now.”

For students studying manufacturing, this exciting field is just another reason to hone your skills. Foster tapped two freshly graduated mechanical engineering students to develop the technical side of the company. The factory has already created a few useful pieces for Sympateco, like a piece for door frames that will eventually save the company thousands of hours.

“I started playing around with it out of college and it was something that’s so interesting and powerful,” said 3D Factory employee Nathan Davis. “It’s flexible and you can quickly develop ideas, so hopefully we can provide a great service to Omahans.”

To learn more about 3D printing, check out some of our past articles on what’s been happening. The technology has come a long way since we first started writing about it, and we can’t wait to see how it will continue to change!

• What’s New in 3D Printing?
• GE and Rolls Royce: Bringing 3D Printing to the Mainstream?
• 4 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about 3D Printing
• 3D Printing in Action: Hands, Spoons, and Gold?
• What Exactly is 3D Printing, Anyways?

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