“I am a builder at heart and am inspired by do it yourselfers.”

Robo 3D Printer is a team of hardworking individuals that complement each other well. Composed of two engineers and a marketing specialist, we have become a group of friends that want to share our experience with the world. We built our first 3D printer back in 2010, and we have been obsessed with the process ever since. Creativity and engineering are the skills that have gotten us this far in life, and hopefully will in the years to come.

MO: What inspired you to launch your business?

Braydon: I am a builder at heart and am inspired by do it yourselfers. One of my old hobbies was putting together 3D puzzles. I collected and built over 100 when I was growing up. The process of putting the pieces together and creating a finished product was amazing and fulfilling. After meeting my co-founders, we set a goal to build a 3D printer for ourselves. My team and I spent months getting the machine to work. It was something we wanted to share with people, so we decided to turn it into a business.

Our inspiration and drive comes from what people create with these machines. The other day, we watched a video of a gentleman building prosthetic limbs with a 3D printer. It was extremely moving to see that kind of work with machines like ours. If our 3D printers can help out people in ways like this or inspire people to build incredible things, then we have created a powerful tool for the world to use.

MO: What issue does your core product help solve and how so?

Braydon: 20 years ago, we lived in a mini industrial revolution where only large industries were manufacturing products and building things.

With desktop size 3D printers, you become the manufacturer and the things you can build in your home, office, or in the classroom is unlimited. People can take their ideas, put them into a digital model, and print them out to hold, touch, and feel. Never before have people had access to technology like this at such an affordable price. As more materials appear in the marketplace to print with, you will have the power to do more with your 3D printer- household repairs, architectural mockups, prototyping, creating jewelry, replacement car parts, building toys and games, printing shoes, the list is endless.

MO: Where do you envision your company in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

Braydon: In 5 years, I want to make the divide between 3D modeling on a computer (which is not easy to do) and 3D printing much more narrow. I think that we can find a way for the average joe to design 3D models on his computer, press print, and have an object in an hour that he just imagined and created.

In 10 years, 3D printing will be mainstream. We will be using it for all sorts of things. I think that food 3D printing will be a huge market by then. I foresee us being able to put food based powders and such into a machine and print a hamburger. Sounds crazy, but that is where it is headed! We at RoBo 3D are really looking at this industry as an opportunity to tackle what people never thought was possible with these machines.

In 20 years there will be companies using Bio-3D printing to print out human hearts, kidneys, and livers to allow for easy transplants according to one’s own genetic makeup. Imagine that!

MO: How do your competitors view you?

Braydon: I feel that they view us as another company in the space, trying to do things differently. We started in this space because we wanted to create 3D printers that are affordable, easy to use, and aesthetically pleasing. We are not here to create enemies or undercut the competition. We are here doing what we love and bringing our product to the masses so that they may experience how 3D printing can open up all kinds of opportunities in their lives.

MO: What’s the biggest risk that you’ve ever taken and how did it turn out?

Braydon: I quit my job and my only source of income, to work at RoBo 3D full time. I am not a technology guy per-say, but I fell in love with 3D printing and have put my everything into making this business into what it is right now. We started on a dining room table building our first printer out of wood and other parts we found around the internet. After successfully raising 750k on Kickstarter, we began fulfilling orders this years. It was a huge risk, but I feel that in the long run it’s riskier to NOT do something you love.