Meet Parallel Goods, a Chicago-based design company started by Joe Carpita and Craig Stover, who believe that good design and 3D printing go hand-in-hand. Parallel Goods is producing their own original, digital designs and, instead of manufacturing them on their own, are putting the 3D files up for sale. The two award-winning designers hold a strong belief that high-quality designs should be accessible and convenient to the ever-growing number of desktop 3D printer owners. And, so, Carpita and Stover have come together to create 3D modeled designs that are aesthetically pleasing and reliable additions to the home or office.
“Everyday there’s new consumer desktop 3D printers being announced, and as prices get lower and lower, we’re already starting to see them in more and more homes,” says co-founder Joe Carpita. Low and behold, the two designers created Parallel Goods as a platform to sell their designs and allow consumers to shop, print, and assemble the products themselves. Although there are many 3D printing communities that offer users the ability to download and print 3D-based projects, Parallel Goods is more focused on the high-quality and reliability of their product then anything else, offering more of what they like to call “good design”. The idea behind selling “good design” is what will help make them a staple in the network of free platforms that may offer lesser quality (but nonetheless free) 3D designs.
This past July, Parallel Goods tested their “good design” out on the free 3D printing marketplace Thingiverse, releasing the Self-Watering Planter design free of charge. The 3D printed planter was engineered to help automate the process of watering house plants, and was just a sneak peak of the Parallel Goods Desk Collection that they have just recently released for sale on their website. The designs cost just $1.99, and feature projects including a more sizable Self-Watering Planter, a Push-Pin Organizer, and a Sawhorse Bracket. These sturdily designed projects are meant to be both reliable and affordable, offering makers of all experience levels to 3D print and build their own workspace appliances in a DIY fashion.
This seems to be an indicator of a new direction for desktop 3D printing, which initially rose in popularity alongside free 3D design communities like Thingiverse, websites where anyone could upload their projects regardless of theme or quality. But, now that designers such as Carpita and Stover are getting involved with the 3D printing industry, we may see more 3D designed projects that are so refined that they’re actually worth paying for.
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