Over the past few months I have been intrigued by the rising popularity of 3D printing. This young technology is getting a lot of mentions in the media and on the web. I was put in touch with Conor McCormack, Co-Founder and CEO or Mcor, a developing player in the industry. They design and manufacture 3D Printers and we had a chance to chat about the amazing new developments Mcor is working on as well as the state 3D Printing as an industry.
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| Mcor’s Matrix300 Plus machine that prints 3D paper products |
This is Part 2 of the discussion with Conor. In Part one we spoke about his history and the development of Mcor and there new product launch. After launching someone must buy the printer though. Most 3D Printers are expensive enough that they require a capital expenditure, which often requires an understanding of the ROI. A corporate financial officer may have to justify the spend by reducing the budget to a design group for model making. Home hobbyists are also concerned about the true cost of a machine once the consumables cost(the material used per print) are factored in. A new model that the Matrix and Iris printers are being sold under is a 3 year all inclusive plan for a fixed fee. Conor spoke about what prompted Mcor to adopt this pricing model.
Conor: We wanted to lower the barrier of entry so we did a combination where we bundle in our consumables. We’ll lock down the consumables price and we’ll give you enough to use it (the 3D Printer) and run 24/7 you just put more paper in and we guarantee we keep you supplied. It struck a chord with people, when you start buying a machine like this you don’t know when you start how much you’ll spend by the end of the year since it depends on how much you use it. It also encourages people to use it more.. Using the school analogy (read the noted analogy in Part 1 of the Mcor Interview), we want EVERY student to be able to print and every designer to be able to use. We don’t want a designer thinking, I better not print this part because it costs $100
With such a relatively young company, working in a high tech sector it is interesting to learn about the roles people play. Mcor is really just still a startup (albeit a quickly growing one) and Conor spoke about organizational development.
Conor: At any time we have around 20 people that could be working on development, we have a very clear roadmap for development. When we first came out with the technology people were blown away by it and we’re expecting that for new things. Our team is highly focused here on the R&D side and marketing here in Ireland. There is a lot of turmoil with the channel networks and the dealers, as other companies, giants, merge and it’s an opportunity for us to pick up distributors.
On the current product line and new upcoming releases Conor had this to say:
Conor: We have the matrix 300 and in September we launched the Matrix 300plus, which is 3 times faster and has stronger parts. Mcor Iris is coming out in November, and the big difference is the full color capability.
He also expanded on the focus of Mcor’s marketing: Media, Trade shows and Events:
Conor: We’re focusing on awareness campaigns in the US. There is one on today (Gary, our sales guy) is giving a talk with one of our new resellers at Arizona University. Solidworks World we’re planning on going to that. We’re probably doing 10-15 shows in the next 6 months
The shows sound like they have been engaging so far. The interactions were described as pure surprise.
Conor: Someone is walking past, they see the parts. They wonder is it powder or plastic. Then they feel it and we tell them and they go, “Wait, it’s paper?!”. Then you show parts that have been dipped, we can treat it and make it waterproof. I have one in my pocket that is a bottle opened. Once you press it very hard, we have a one ton press, and once you dip them it’s almost like a wood like texture. They’re not as delicate as you might think.
The video below shows how the Iris really works and what the output in paper looks like.
I am now even more excited to get a chance to feel the actual part. Hopefully with such a packed Trade show schedule there is something I will be able to make it to. I asked Conor one last question to really see how Mcor is sticking to their mantra.
3DEngr: You about page says Mcor was formed to found a set of tools. Are there other products that you are looking to develop to add to the tool box?
Conor: For the near future it’s 3D printing. We’ll look for partners in scanning and making the closed loop, but we see ourselves as technologists.
Thanks to Conor Maccormack for his time. It was fascinating to hear more and I look forward to watching Mcor develop new technologies.
Read Part 1 of the Interview with Conor.
Check out more articles about 3D Printing.