The guys at PersonaliZe have made me an offer I can’t refuse! Essentially this comes down to an invitation to work with them on PersonaliZe for the next few months and air my views on the world of 3D printing in this exciting new forum. So here I am, and will be for a while.  Just to be clear, I am here as me — Rachel Park (or as some of you may know me, RPES12), freelance writer, blogger and advocate of 3D printing — not as an employee. I have minimal constraints on content (my only real stipulation for accepting this gig) and will give my opinion, controversial or otherwise, sometimes a little over-excited and sometimes with a raised brow, as is my tendency.

But I do have a really good feeling about this.

I am liking what the guys are creating here at PersonaliZe very much — an open and informative platform for users and consumers of 3D printing technologies and services. Having a media background, I have also been offered the opportunity to get involved with some ideas for the PersonaliZe site and the new PersonaliZe Pavilion, and I’m okay with that, and intend to contribute my views and experience as far as possible. But for me it is more about taking 3D printing further and deeper into mainstream consciousness, keeping it real in the here and now in terms of tech and apps, with one eye on what is coming in the medium and longer terms.

As the TCT Magazine continues to focus on the industrial applications of 3D printing for prototyping and manufacturing (or as Jim and Duncan would call it, additive manufacturing), PersonliZe aims to bring together the still embryonic and somewhat fractured elements of 3D printing for a much wider audience. This is not an easy ask. But with the experience, network and knowledge the team has; it is a natural progression and there are few, if any, better equipped to get this right, IMHO.

The 3D Printing space is an amazing place to be right now — whether as an industrial user, a maker, a consumer or a commentator. Excitement, not to mention expectation, is pretty high. As someone that has had to learn to balance these emotions, and be in no doubt, emotions play a really important part in this sector irrespective of what the number crunchers tell you, balance is what it is all about.

The number crunching is important, of course it is, because the business of 3D printing is what is allowing the sector to grow. The business opportunities afforded by 3D printing are attracting investors and government funding that are helping to drive the industry forward. But I am a big fan of the other drivers for this industry, the emotional drivers, namely the passion and the excitement that exists around this technology base. This is because these emotions are what stimulate the creativity and the innovation both in terms of the technology itself and what it can do. Having just seen the TCT Top 20 people in AM and 3DP in the latest digital issue of the TCT Magazine I challenge you to go through that list and find a single one that does not have passion for or create excitement about 3D printing on a daily basis.

These emotional drivers are an essential ingredient for PersonliZe too I think. A forum that provides the consumer and the maker with the how, why, when and where to engage with 3D printing — it is not, primarily anyway, just about business. It is about getting personal, getting creative and sharing the passion! 

That’s why I’m here!!