The I Can Make Team Blog

Our first ever 3D printed thing was a wonderful FRSTEE decoration from the very smart people of RIG as part of their Datadecs. Whenever December came round we put FRSTEE on the I Can Make Christmas Tree and look forward to Radio Roundabout. 

I Can Make is a publisher of 3D printable content. We make 3D printable files. Often we’re asked why we’re doing this by people at Maker Faires so we thought we should clear it up. It’s all about the difference between the maker audience and the mass market - we’ll call them “the normals” here. We call them the normals as there are considerably more of them than there are the population that constitute the Maker Movement. 

3D printers are essentially just like any other piece of consumer technology in how they will be adopted. They are also not unlike CD players, video recorder/players or games consoles in a way, and it’s useful to see them as such to understand how “the normals” will interact with them. They are, in essence, a “digital content player” type of device. With a CD player, you put in a disk full of digital instructions and with suitable amplification and speakers, sound comes out. With a DVD player, or a games console, it’s sound and vision and you’ll need a television as well. 

With a 3D printer you put digital content in (the gcode or proprietary fileformat) and, with the input of right sort of plastic, a three-dimensional object comes out. This is the magic presented to the mass market in science fiction too - that you will simply say the name of the object you desire and the replicator generates it for you. There’s never a step where you have to design it in CAD first in science fiction.

Some have been disappointed by the slow uptake of home 3D printing. We think the cause for the slow uptake is simply that the mass market, the normals, - the majority - simply don’t know what to do with it. 

All consumer technology devices go through the same adoption cycle that was put forward by Geoffrey Moore in his book “Crossing the Chasm”. In his model, the Early Market, the early adopters are technology enthusiasts and visionaries. They are creators and are happy to tinker with devices. The Mainstream Market are where the majority of sales are made and these people are consumers. They don’t want to tinker, they don’t want to make things, they merely want to use the device they’ve bought. 

Whenever a digital playback device has crossed the chasm into the mass market it has done so partly, or largely due to mainstream content. For CD players it was when there were enough CDs that you wanted to own. The uptake in CD sales can be pretty well charted against the success of Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms” too. For the video recorder/player, VHS won over Betamax as a movie could fit on a single tape. 

At this point in the analysis people often point at the early home computer as an outlier and one more similar to a 3D printer. Early home computers such as the ZX Spectrum were indeed objects of creation, but only for the minority of users (more played games on the them than coded on them). The games also drove the adoption through the viral loops of the playgrounds (talking about games and invitations to play games at each other’s houses). In the case of the ZX Spectrum it was games such as Manic Miner. In many cases the mastery of creating the content for these machines, and the next wave of them, lies in the generation that encounters them as children. For those encounters to happen and for the children to imagine what they want to make there has to be content.

This is why we think that publishers, like ourselves, creating and selling 3D printable content is key to quickly answering the question from a normal purchaser of “what can I do with a 3D printer?”. There’s more likely to be a sale if the sales assistant can point at a range of 3D printable content than if they say “Well, anything. Once you’ve learnt CAD, you can make anything”

Tea, Earl grey, hot. Please.

So yesterday was Demo Day at Wayra UK. The culmination of nearly 10 months hard work from 23 amazing young companies whose journey we’ve been proud to see and share. From financial well being to giving sight to the blind, helping farmers in developing countries, putting better diabetes management literally in the hands of patients and their loved ones, ambient presence of those you care about, fixing the hours we spend on hold and a way to deeply connect the career hopes of young people to experienced mentors. You can’t help be inspired by these companies day in day out, to see it all in one day was almost overwhelming, especially when the founders have become friends. 

The day started with an impassioned speech from Martha Lane Fox, exhorting all in the audience to create a fairer, more compassionate, more equal web and technology industry. Her Q&A was excellent, pointing out that there were women in tech all around and calling out her discomfort at being objectivised as a founder at LastMinute.com. We have to all admit to being in awe of Martha and all she does and stands for. 

Next came the pitches. Sheldon’s story of how Mumoactive came from his children’s Diabetes is always emotional and amazing. Moment of the day had to be from State of Ambition who managed to connect an exceptional young man on their program, Carl, with Sol Campbell a guest at the event who could help him with his ambition. Sol also gave a moving and impassioned fireside chat about racism and intolerance.

We were delighted that the themes - Curiosity, Open Endedness, Playfullness whilst making resources which work within and map to the Curriculum - which run through our products were so well received by the audience. We were truly moved by the response and are now wading through the new contacts we made. We’d like to thank those who came specifically to support us, it meant so much to see you there. It was also really lovely to have for the first time most of our first wave of products displayed together on a table we’d made by scaling up Strawblox and to announce that the files for Strawblox have already been downloaded in over 30 countries.

it was a great day, with excellent discussions on diversity, incredible pitches, and aside from some ill-judged interval entertainment which could have easily been replaced with a silent slide show of the amazing year the teams had at Wayra, we had a great time. We’d love the work we all did to be the thing people remember the event for, whilst at the same time acknowledging that what happened over lunch has no place in our industry or any other industry in this day and age. The cheerleaders should be the people in the audience, there was more than enough to cheer about in the incredible work from amazing cohort.

Oh, and we let off a cola volcano mid pitch and the audience loved it. And so did we. Family friendly fun which illustrates the pent up energy in a volcano, a bottle of coke and a group of very hard working founders and teams at an accelerator demo day.

About a year ago on a rather surreal evening we were congratulated by Will.I.Am as we got off of stage after being announced as one of the Wayra 2015 cohort. 

It’s been an amazing year, hard work, challenging times and good times. We’ve added pitching to a Duke to pitching to a Sir. We hear interesting rumours of someone of title for us to pitch to at Demo Day in a week’s time.

We’ve got a lot to show, and some work to do to bring all the strands together in the next week. But this morning it was lovely to take a few moments to look back to the start of the Wayra process, the highlight of which for us was winning the first day’s pitch competition. 

Last week we were honoured to be invited to the launch of EdTechUK a new trade association for the UK EdTech sector. The launch involved senior figures from London and Partners, the Greater London Assembly, UK Trade and Industry, the Britain is Great campaign, Innovate UK, the Department for Education and many of the high growth education/technology ventures that feature on their map of Ed Tech companies in London.

One of the key things we took away from the event is that the EdTech economy is even more vibrant in the UK than we had previously believed. The report which accompanied the launch makes for some great reading. Ten out of the 20 top EdTech companies in Europe are from the UK, eight from London alone. UK schools alone spend £900M on EdTech and a recent Gartner report pegged worldwide spending at $67.8Bn.

Earlier we were kindly asked by the Duke of York’s office for our advice to those about to pitch next week. It was lovely to reflect back on the event and think about what we wished someone had told us beforehand. It’s an amazing space, a stellar group of people and an incredible experience. Our main tip is to really enjoy it and savour it, but here are a few suggested “dos” and “don’ts” from us to help you get the most out of it.

DO:

Do practice your pitch relentlessly. Nerves will alway take hold so it’s great to know it off by heart. Importantly, pitch both to people who don’t know your business well and those who know your business very well. The former will help you make your pitch more generally understandable, and the latter will help you make sure key messages come through.

Do think carefully about the dynamic of the room. If you get to the final, many of the people there will be wanting to think about how to help you, but they will also be enjoying an amazing evening themselves. Do make sure your pitch resonates with them. You’re not pitching to investors solely, you’re pitching to potential clients, mentors, partners and amazing connectors. Pitching just for money could be a very short termist move: investors are fairly common compared to collections of people like this.

Do scan the invite list relentlessly. Do it as a team. Read every single person’s LinkedIn. The people at Pitch at Palace in the audience may well have done something two or three roles ago that could unlock a market for you.

Do make the most of introduction offers from the Duke’s office. Many of the people in the audience are approached all the time and a well timed introduction is far more powerful than being pushy. Always think of the right question you want to ask; if conversation flows afterwards then great, if not just move on to the next person rather than over intrude.

DON’TS:

Don’t just treat it as another investment pitch. Investment may happen but it’s more likely you’ll meet amazing people who can connect you to other people. Keep your investment pitch for a meeting afterwards. This is your chance to make people see how amazing your company is, in a very special environment.

Don’t be nervous. These people were all in your shoes once and very smart successful people are often more humble than some of your peers! Scan the invite list for people you know there and get them to help you meet people if you’re feeling shy. 

Well… you could try to 3D print a whole desk, but we wouldn’t recommend it - you’d need a lot of filament, a large amount of time, and some pretty well-developed CAD skills to do it.

Over at I Can Make, we have a smart alternative for you: why not use the Strawblox system to design a desk of your own? By scaling up and printing out a set of the 3D printable connector blocks, we were able to quickly put together a sturdy desk frame by connecting lengths of dowel, and then add a work surface made from a cut-to-measure piece of MDF.

Because the system is completely adaptable for size, we were able to custom-design the piece so it was the exact height and width needed. Great for a desk for a child’s room, or for creating an extra table or work surface. Simple, easy and cheap, not to mention fun to put together!

When we launched Strawblox as a set of 3D printable connector blocks, we deliberately made them free to download, so that as many people as possible could print some and have a play with them. We also made the code files for them completely open source, as we knew that the ‘open’ part would appeal to the makers and creators among you.

We’ve just launched something new - you may already have read about it on the I Can Make homepage. It’s called Strawblox, and it is FREE, no price tag, totally gratis. Yes, really.

So what is Strawblox? Well essentially it’s a collection of simple, adaptable 3D-printable construction blocks, designed for use in classroom teaching and for creative freeplay. Educators and students can use the blocks to build structures, explore geometry, and to test out principles of maths and engineering, as well as using them in art and DT projects.

If you have access to a 3D printer, you can download the Strawblox files for free from the I Can Make website, and then print as many as you like.  Once you’ve printed them, you can connect them via different lengths of drinking straw to build all sorts of things, including bridges, prisms, arches, pyramids, and lots more - take a look at the examples on our site for ideas on where to start. Each block has been precision-designed to ensure your Strawblox structures are solid and sturdy, and they’re re-usable, so you can take your models apart and try different construction experiments. 

While the files are free to download, you’ll need access to a 3D printer and some printer filament to print out your Strawblox. 3D printers are rapidly becoming more affordable - some cost as little as  £500 - and we recommend that UK schools talk to the lovely people at Creat3D to explore different options and prices.

OPEN SOURCE

We’ve set out a clear set of design principles for Strawblox, and the design files are covered by a Creative Commons license, meaning that you can scale them up for larger construction projects, or adapt them to create new blocks and geometries of their own. If you’re technically minded, the code is all yours, so get tinkering!

We’d really love to see your Strawblox creations! Send your photos to [email protected], or tag photos with #strawblox on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, and we’ll put them on our blog and tweet them.

After being finallists in 2014′s Virgin Media Pitch2Rich contest, we were honoured to be invited back for the 2015 edition (dubbed #VOOM), and demonstrate what we’ve been doing in the intervening months.

2014′s event was a huge opportunity for us, giving us the chance to present directly to Sir Richard Branson, and explain I Can Make’s vision for inspiring the inventors and engineers of tomorrow. Sir Richard gave us his vote in the Start-up category, but sadly we were outvoted by the panel on the day.

However, the confidence and profile the event gave us (not least the shout-outs in interviews that Sir Richard gave us), has definitely helped our development over the last year, and we were delighted to come back. With no pitching to do, this year was a lot more relaxed for us, although Chris, who delivered our pitch to Rich last year, was experiencing the occasional flashback of nerves!

We had a generously-sized table in the foyer of the very cool Secondhome building in Shoreditch, which we soon covered with prototypes and finished models of our soon-to-launch Print Packs for teachers. We also had a printer, churning out #VOOM keyrings for all the attendees. Everybody loves a bit of event loot, and we were happy to provide.

More importantly for us, was our first in-public demo of our Colacano. A 3D printed volcano, made from actual geographic data. It screws onto a bottle of cola, and when a mint is dropped in, it erupts! While this is designed to help teachers deliver geography lessons (and for kids to play with in the garden at home), the grown-up attendees were very keen to have a go. Luckily, the eruption was a success, and minimal clean-up was required.

Just demoed our Colacano in public, for the first time at #VOOM. Went very well, with minimal clean-up required. pic.twitter.com/tw2J9EYQL5

— I Can Make (@ICanMakeHQ)

June 26, 2015

Next came the pitches themselves, and there was a great mix of businesses with great ideas – businesses with social impact, businesses with inspired uses of technology, and some real labours of love from passionate founders. Sir Richard and the rest of the panel of notable business people asked astute questions and offered useful insights. You can read about the contestants and winners here.

It was a really fun event, and we met lots of people keen to find out about what we were doing. Lots of people had never seen a 3D printer before, and it was great to explain how they work, and the possibilities we all have now they’re about to reach the mass market.

One final thing we brought, was a gift for Sir Richard, as a thank-you for inviting us back; a special version of our SpaceShipOne kit!

We’ve now posted the first I Can Make video playlist: a beginner’s guide to 3D printing for teachers, parents, children – anyone who wants to know more about the basics of 3D printing. This series of 11 short videos provides a gentle introduction to what 3D printing is, how it works, and what you need to get started. Films include What is 3D Printing? What can I make with a 3D printer? and How long does 3D printing take?

We got the idea at the BETT education show in London earlier this year. We spoke to literally hundreds of teachers at the I Can Make stand over the show’s three days - it was brilliant to see everybody’s responses to what we and other partners in 3D are doing. But it was clear to us that many teachers are still confused and a bit intimidated by 3D printing technology. While they could see its potential in the wider world of industry and manufacturing, the ‘missing piece’ for them was the beginning, how to get started and how to make it relevant and engaging for the children they teach in an everyday classroom setting.

Our talented team mate and Head of Content, James Richards worked on the concept, scripting and filming of these videos. James has worked with the BBC, Open University and Mozilla, and runs digital media agency Chromatrope, so he knows a thing or two about what makes for a clear, compelling video.

We’re really pleased with the results - please take a look and share with your teacher friends, or anyone curious about 3D printing. You can also point them to the Teachers’ section on our site to find out about our beta trial for schools.

Chris and I had a fantastic time at the Pitch @ Palace event last night, hosted by HRH The Duke of York. It was a huge opportunity to present what we do, and the response from the guests, and the other entrepreneurs was brilliant.

The setting was decidedly fancy, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that photography was allowed, so we took the odd selfie, of course.

After soundcheck for our pitch, we had time to chat about our model of Tower Bridge, with guests to the event. The enthusiasm and interest around what we had made was very heartening – when you work with 3D printing every day, it’s easy to forget what an incredible technology it is.

Then it was time for the pitches. The entrepreneurs were ushered into the throne room (yes, with an actual, real-life throne in it), to watch the stream from the main room. After a quick, live Skype call to Princess Eugenie, where the guests sang happy birthday, it was onto business. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t nervous by this point, despite having pitched to the likes of Richard Branson (and indeed the Duke of York, in the Pitch @ Palace heats). Everyone was also conscious of the danger of overrunning our three-minute time limit, as there was a trumpeter from the Scots Guards on standby to drown you out if you went over.

Before we knew it, Chris was mic’d up, and going onstage to give the pitch. I was set to walk on towards the end, carrying our Tower Bridge model. You may all think Chris had the harder job, memorising a 3-minute pitch, to be delivered to distinguished guests, but he didn’t have to walk onto a stage and not drop a moving model of a bridge. Suffice to say, I smashed it (that is to say, I did well – I didn’t smash the bridge).

After the pitch, we were quizzed by David Rowan of Wired Magazine. He asked an interesting question, about whether it’s possible to build a global brand, when you don’t make your own hardware. We think it is. It’s vital our content works on as many 3D printers as possible – film studios don’t build their own cinemas, Minecraft runs on just about any computer, and record labels don’t need to develop their own hardware. It’s all about the content.

Relieved the pitch was done, we retired to an adjoining room, to catch up on our exploding Twitter feed. It just so happened that the Duke himself was passing through, so we took the opportunity to present him with the 3D-printed version of the Pitch @ Palace logo we’d brought along. HRH seemed delighted, and there then followed a discussion about whether you could make a cookie cutter from it, and how you pronounce Nice biscuits. If this hadn’t already been one of the most surreal days at work of my career, it was now.

Tonight Dean, Chris and a 3D printed cutaway model of Tower Bridge will be at St James’ Palace for the finals of Pitch at Palace. If you’d like to vote for us, you can do so before 5pm today. Here’s our pitch below.

Thank you for visiting us at BETT 2015

We had an amazing time at BETT last week with our friends from Ultimaker GB, Fuel3D and Creat3D.

The timelapse video above gives you an idea of the show which was non-stop and full of wonderful discussions we're deep into following up on. 

Advent Calendar Day 4; The cog which lifts Tower Bridge

For a while now we've been lucky to be working with the lovely people of the Tower Bridge Education team. Since we've known how Tower Bridge worked we've been a bit in love with this cog. A small humble object which through beautiful and clever Victorian design and engineering can do so much work and lift the bridge. 

Advent Calendar Day 3: The rocket cone of Space Ship One

Whenever we've talked about what we think our icons of engineering are we've talked about "from Stephenson's Rocket to Space Ship One" so it'a appropriate that after the thing which propelled Stephenson's "Rocket" we move on to the end of the rocket which propels Space Ship One.

Space Ship One is an extraordinary achievement, culminating decades of work from Bert Rutan and the team at Scaled Composites. It is the first manned civilian spaceship and we think that would make it iconic in anyone's book.

We hope you enjoy printing out the cone of the rocket and please do share your pictures with us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We're @icanmakehq on all three. To download the stl file, just click on the Raw button on the page we've linked to.