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A series of posts on how to do things the right way from Matt Anderson of The3dStudio.com website.


3D Systems acquires The3dStudio.com - Matt's take
Posted on Monday, May 09, 2011 @ 6:28 AM by The3dStudio.com

Finally, it’s finally here! The day I am finally able to talk about some absolutely amazing news for The3dStudio.com and all of our wonderful members. It’s a day that was 15 years in the making and well worth the wait!

So what’s the big deal? 3D System Corporation (NASDAQ:TDSC) has acquired The3dStudio.com, Inc. (press release here)

Yup, like I said, it’s a big deal. I never started The3dStudio.com with this sort of thing in mind, it was just a hobby back in the day (circa 1996) and that hobby grew out of control and turned into a full time business. A few years back that full time business then grew further out of control and I brought in several of my family members to help out.

But it never stopped growing and then one recent day the planets aligned and I received an email that turned into a phone call that turned into a meeting with the great folks at 3D Systems and the rest is sort of a beautiful blur. In no time at all we realized that we had a lot in common with 3D Systems and their “family” thinks just like our family and the rest is now history.

For any conspiracy theorists out there, please remove your tinfoil hats for a minute and allow me to explain a couple of key points to put you at ease…
  • If you sell with us on The3dStudio.com then your royalties stay the same! That’s right, nothing changes there. We’ve guaranteed that our sellers keep their royalty rate before and that’s still the case. Refreshing honesty is hard to beat and that’s been our secret sauce from day one.
  • It’s just another day at The3dStudio.com so the family (Matt, Tracy, Lisa, Beth, and Kevin) is still here and will remain here, we’re still doing what we’ve always done, and we’re still intensely focused on customer service and support. It’s truly business as usual for you and us.
  • Our core values haven’t changed and they never will and 3D Systems is one of those rare groups of people that have the same exact philosophy as us so it’s the perfect marriage. Keep in mind that we were a privately owned company and wouldn’t have made this move if it wasn’t the right thing to do. We chose to do this to improve and grow The3dStudio.com!
  • As part of this partnership with 3D Systems we will be opening up to many larger markets than we ever would have had access to before and that leads to many new sales opportunities for your products and many new products for our customers.
  • As a large and successful company with amazing leadership, 3D Systems has the resources we need to grow and expand in all areas. All of the ideas and dreams we’ve had for The3dStudio.com can now become a reality light years sooner than we had previously planned!
If you are not familiar with 3D Systems you should check out their main website. They have a lot going on but their obvious talent is in the world of 3D printing. This is that star trek world we’ve all been waiting for where you can literally print your own models, toys, parts, and so on. Take that cool 3D Model and print it into a model you can physically hold in your hand. It’s a process that will turn even the most curmudgeoned of adults into smiling kids when they see it in action. It’s the future and the future is here now…and The3dStudio.com is a big part of that future and now you are as well.

As always, we’ll all still be here to work with you and keep you updated on the future of The3dStudio.com and I’ll do my best to answer all questions and concerns as honestly and openly as I always have. There are lots of great things cooking in the oven right now so stay tuned for more! We’ve truly arrived and we couldn’t have done this without YOUR help…rest assured that is something we know very well and will never forget.

So please stay tuned for more updates as we move forward. In the meantime, feel free to leave your on-topic-comments right here in this post.

Tags / Keywords: t3ds, 3d systems, 3ds 


Reader comments:

mschmeling @ 5/9/2011 7:19 AM
Interesting. I hope it will turn out well for you and for us.
As a seller I would like to know - in the long run - if there are new opportunities to make models which are specially geared towards 3d printing. Let us know if you find something out :-)

The3dStudio.com @ 5/9/2011 8:02 AM
Absolutely, as we integrate with 3D Systems we'll get more into the printing side and keep all members updated on that. Printing is such a cool tech!

GandB @ 5/9/2011 9:06 AM
"Computer. Tea, Earl Gray" ;)

The3dStudio.com @ 5/9/2011 9:10 AM
I'm not even a trekky and I remember that :)

Plutonius @ 5/9/2011 9:22 AM
No,

Its

"Computer, Tea, Early Gray, Hot"

3D Auto Sports @ 5/9/2011 10:06 AM
Awesome, I have always hired out my 3d printing needs. Would members be able to get discounts on some of the products offered by 3D Systems? Particularly the RapMan printer?

The3dStudio.com @ 5/9/2011 10:11 AM
That's a great question but one I don't have the answer for (as far as discounts go) and I hate to throw out the "stay tuned" again but...well...stay tuned and I'll be doing my best to publish more information on all of the cool stuff that is planned as soon as I can :)

The RapMan (http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/content/rapman-31-3d-printer-kit) is pretty amazing, a personal 3D printer for $1300 USD? Blows my mind every time I think about it and reminds me of getting my first color inkjet printer many, many years ago!

3D Auto Sports @ 5/9/2011 10:47 AM
Next time you go have have a talk with them. You should suggest offering discounts to Loyalty Program members as an added incentive.

Phr0stByte @ 5/9/2011 1:18 PM
This is really cool news - the 3d printing, especially as I love modeling in NURBS. For those that are interested in gearing there models to be 3d print compatible, here are a couple tips:

1) Keep your models "air-tight" - no openings or un-welded polys on your surfaces.
2) Not strictly necessary, but it would be a good idea to provide NURBS/CAD formats for your models (.3dm, .IGS, .STL, etc...).

The3dStudio.com @ 5/9/2011 1:20 PM
It's pretty awesome stuff for sure and those are good tips. As we move forward we'll be able to provide more tips like that so models can be more "print ready".

GROOVECAB @ 5/9/2011 2:10 PM
Great stuff for sure...
It would be good if you could add a "3d print ready" feature for the product preview page.

3D Auto Sports @ 5/10/2011 8:41 AM
That is a good point GROOVECAB. We could just provide STL files that could be converted into .BFB files for the printer. But Perhaps an automatic online conversion option could be added for to this website, so it would auto convert any STL files into the BFB readable format.

GROOVECAB @ 5/10/2011 11:14 AM
Formats acceptable by 3d printer software are an option too...
What I meant was more like author stating his model is built to meet specifications like Phr0stByte already mentioned. I would also add to that... all abjects should have volume or should be made of solids...

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 1:21 PM
Once we get familiarized with the print side of the business I too see a "print ready" designation for models so that customers will know that (and be able to search by it, etc) and artists will then be able to get information on making model print ready and all of that. Great ideas, clearly we all are thinking alike here :)

Mak21 @ 5/10/2011 1:36 PM
Goood New Matt!

Simon-Pestridge @ 5/10/2011 2:05 PM
I have a few worries about this news. Does this mean that 3D Systems & Quick-Parts will have free pickings to all the models on The3dStudio to use as and when their customers need, and if so, do we get royalties from this? Also the word acquired being used instead or merged, is a little worrying. Acquired meaning that the 3d studio team no longer have the final say in things. As with many take takeovers, what’s said by mouth and what’s written in black and white with squiggly signatures at the bottom can be completely different things, one being legally binding and the other sometimes being as valuable as the air its carried on. I probably missed lots of blogs, but this is the first time I am hearing about this even though its been 15 years in the making, and many of us have joined the MLP and agreed to keep our models on The3dStudio for 5 years, so it would have been nice to be kept in the loop. What guarantees do we have that royalties will stay the same? It would be nice if we can all have some printer friendly reassurances from the new management. And god/quantum physics forbid, what happens if TurboSquid acquire 3D systems? I know this would never happen with Matt in charge, but money talks for others, which means we would be back to 40% royalties again? Its great that others have posted on the positive side of this, and made some great suggestions, but I cant be the only one here who’s spider senses are tingling a little about this? Maybe I’ve just had too much caffeine today, and this move will be a good one for all of us…

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 2:26 PM
Hi Simon, those are all valid concerns of course and it’s normal for your spidey sense to tingle a bit on news like this!

One reason you didn’t hear about this deal is because it happened very fast! As soon as I had information to go on and it was all public I made sure to get that info our here so everyone could see what it means (and doesn’t mean) to them.

I think we can call the acquiring anything we want because it was something we chose to do. It wasn’t anything hostile or negative but a major opportunity for The3dStudio.com and its members. In fact, this is one of those times where we looked at how much this will benefit our members and really made the decision based mainly on that (because we know that we only do well if YOU do well). If you sell with us then you are doing that to make money and the best way we can increase your sales is to bring your more customers and the best way to do that is to partner up with a company like 3DS. It’s all about making your future as a member of our site bigger and better. I realize it sounds like a marketing guru wrote that last line, but that’s really what I believe.

I made sure 3DS knew about royalty issues and how dropping your rates is simply not something we can do. I’ve said that before and I wrote it into this blog post again. We’ve never been about trying to nickel and dime you so that isn’t changing and I think you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that the 3DS people really do understand that treating people right is the only way to do business.

As for your models, you own them now just like you always have. The same terms and licensing process still applies so nobody gets free access to use your models however they want. Models would still have to be purchased before they can be used but the difference now is that we will have a much larger user base that can come and purchase them!

As for the squid comment…that was funny but I think that’s about the last thing you need to worry about. 3DS is publically traded (NASDAQ: TDSC) so you can jump into their financials and everything else to see why you are okay there. So, yea, maybe switch to water for the rest of today ?

Simon-Pestridge @ 5/10/2011 2:50 PM
A few gallons of H2O to clear the system and some reassuring words from Matt, and I feel better already. I have always trusted that the 3dstudio have their members interests at heart, which is why I have been promoting The3dStudio on my own website ever since that terrible SquidGuild agreement. I just had a few concerns about the “new management”. I hope like Matt, and others here that this will be a positive move for all of us, and It would be great to see one of my models turned into a real 3d object one day. And yes the comment about TS (excuse my language) was a bit funny, and probably the caffeine talking! Good luck to Matt and the 3DS team.

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 2:54 PM
Hahaha...and we appreciate that. One of the areas 3DS mentioned liking about us is the trust we were able to earn in the community over our 15 year history and the "mojo" of our team here and they have no interest in undoing any of that. So I only accepted the deal because I knew they wanted us to keep on truckin' like we always have and know that they have your best interests in mind as well because they too know that without their "customers" (that's you) they wouldn't be in business. You're in good hands!

2D-3D-Art @ 5/10/2011 5:47 PM
Hello

I'm glad for the3ds and for 3d modelers.

I wanted to write yesterday, but I felt a little silly with my question. So I dropped.
But here today, maybe I've drunk too much coffee as I write without fear of ridicule.
It's a bit difficult for me to understand everything 100% because that English is not my language, but I think I captured the whole.

My question is: how far we, photographers and designers 3D texture, we are concerned about the merger ... the print 3d ... ? Because I have the impression that it is more about the 3d models. Apart from the fact that we have more vsibilité, what else is it going to make it to those creating 3D textures? If my question is a bit ridiculous, is that while I did not understand much.

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 6:13 PM
Ah, there are never any worries about ridicule here! We're always happy to answer any question we can :)

When it comes to printing, the biggest connection is between 3d models. But, textures are used on 3d models so there is a connection there because as 3d grows so will textures.

For stock photos / images I think the connection is less obvious right now but there is a surprisingly large cross over that we see growing between the world of 3D and 2D. Especially as mainstream 2D programs like Photoshop keep adding 3D functions we are finding that more of our 2D member base is getting into 3D. At the same time, we're seeing customers that traditionally use 3D who are now buying 2D (stock images) from us as well. I see that trend continuing and growing so I think stock images will see a benefit from that.

At the same time, I think our stock image side of the business will benefit from the larger overall exposure we get, the additional people power, and specialized help in areas like marketing / advertising where we admittedly have lacked in the past. Add in the fact that we are really the only site that deals in both 2D stock and 3D and I think we'll be the one-stop-shop that many customers will really appreciate. It won't be an overnight change, but I believe this will get us to where we wanted to be much sooner than was possible before.

2D-3D-Art @ 5/10/2011 8:00 PM
Thank you for answering my question and thank you for the great respect that you know to show. Now, I feel more comfortable asking questions, thanks to your incredible sense of humanity.

Ghislaine

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 8:01 PM
Glad we could reassure you that all is well Ghislaine!

Plutonius @ 5/10/2011 9:43 PM
3D systems is big league, no question. I just found out they are the ones that developed the .STL file format. Not every model is designed for 3d printing, but I can definitely see this quite useful for those who use NURBS or model in a CAD software package.

The3dStudio.com @ 5/10/2011 10:04 PM
They are the STL inventors which is quite handy :) Also handy is the fact that they also recently acquired sycode.com which, if you aren't familiar, makes all sorts of CAD plug-in products (that we've been recommending to customers for years) that deal with mesh to solid conversions and other such fun printing related topics so there should truly be some exciting stuff ahead!

hammer88 @ 5/11/2011 2:35 AM
That's a lot of news, but just wondering... What is going to change at the3dstudio, because experience tells me that after every merger/acquisition things ALWAYS change, for better and some times for worse. So what's going to change?

The3dStudio.com @ 5/11/2011 7:23 AM
There are things that will change over time as we better integrate with 3DS but a lot of the changes that you will see are things we've had planned for months and years and we'll finally have the resources to implement them.

Other things that will change will deal with the printing side of the business as we find ways to offer more print ready models. As with most ideas that we have planned, we don't really talk about them until we are ready to release them.

It's all about making things bigger and better and adding functionality.


Tracy @ The3dStudio.com @ 5/11/2011 9:34 AM
Sort of timely after Ghislaine's question - seems that the relation between 2D and 3D gets a little closer each and every day... http://www.rdmag.com/News/2011/05/Information-Tech-Modeling-Cloud-computing-turns-thousands-of-snapshots-into-3D-models/

Rekindle @ 5/11/2011 4:44 PM
So how about 3D footage video? Might be a great time to get into that rapidly growing sector in the production of TV, video, movies and soon to be broadcast news.

The3dStudio.com @ 5/11/2011 7:38 PM
Anything is possible, we've considered adding footage for a while now and it is potentially something we'd do in the future but we want to continue focusing on stock for now so we don't spread ourselves too thin just yet. But hopefully something we'll get more into at some point.

2D-3D-Art @ 5/11/2011 9:07 PM
For replying to Tracy, "Pix4D turns your 2D aerial photographs into 3D maps on the fly..." So, it is for AERIAL photographs. What about non aerial pictures, because I do not take aerial photographs. Example, my squirrel in the tree, will not turn in a 3d or a 4d map. It exists softwares witch convert 2d to 3d, but it is not so good as a real 3d model. Also customers will buy 3d models more than maps if they need to use 3d Systems.

The best thing to do in my case is to create 3d textures ready to get fill on 3d models. Because with my photographs, I have no chance with the 3DSystem. So I started today to create my first camouflage texture in the hoping one day to see it on a 3D model. I'm going to create this product right now. Thanks Tracy for the information about Pix4d. I appreciate.


firechameleon @ 5/12/2011 1:51 AM
congrats T3ds.... as long as the royalty rate and the t3ds family doesn't change; me's happy....:D

Phr0stByte @ 5/12/2011 5:33 AM
I think this The3dStudio/3D Systems marriage is great. Not sure about others, but I have already seen a slight spike in sales - it could be coincidental, but I will remain optimistic and hope that the trend continues and grows :)

trinity23 @ 5/16/2011 8:17 AM
I'm fine with it, but I'd have a request if it's possible of course. I'd like to to see the count of sold and viewed products in a descendent way because it's very hard to search thru over 200 which is best sold or which are the most viewed from my products. I mean to have a link in Product ranking to view count and card count to arrange them in descendet way or ascendent. This would help me very much for thinking what will be the next product modelled by me. Probably will help others too.

Thank you!

The3dStudio.com @ 5/16/2011 9:59 AM
Thanks trinity23, I think you will be pleased with what we have in mind for the future. As for the report comment, we just added sorting to that one today for you :) We'll be adding more report features in the future as well.

KenH @ 5/16/2011 9:58 PM
Matt,

I was watching one of the companies that is now 3D Systems several years ago. They were having a struggle getting things going, and then merged and things took off. One interesting thing is that at Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) there is a "Dream Home" exhibit (I have the honor of having a small 3D model in a "magic mirror" there) where Disney says that the interesting futuristic items that are a part of this "home" will be in our homes in a few years. One of these is a 3D printer, one of the products of that same company I was watching that is now part of 3D Systems.

Any chance that The 3D Studio might be offering at least it sellers a service to print out their 3D models, if for no other reason than as examples of the abilities of the 3D printer products? I know you said for buyers to not even ask about buying actual real things, but now? :)

The3dStudio.com @ 5/16/2011 10:37 PM
Thanks Ken, we're all really happy about this and we're just now getting into the 3D side so I hope to have some stuff to talk about in the coming weeks and months. One of the ideas we've had here is the potential for offering printing services so anything is possible. It's certainly an area we looked into getting into before 3D Systems and now with their support it might make even more sense :)

trinity23 @ 5/16/2011 11:02 PM
Woooow! Thank you! You were so fast!!! It's a very big surprize... thank you very much!

arkviz @ 5/17/2011 12:02 AM
Little bit off topic. Adding some new options was very good idea. Now i see unbelievable - this is my most viewed car :-) http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=19517

Jack B. Erhart @ 5/17/2011 7:32 AM
It was kind of interesting.

I just discovered 3DStudio yesterday, and the day before, I had made contact with 3DSytems asking and inquiring about their small footprint printer for doing model parts in 1/8 scale.

The very first newsletter I received from 3DStudios was about this merger, which was right after I got my first follow up email from Laurie Townsend of 3DSytems.

It was a wonderful surprise, and I hope the best for all involved.


The3dStudio.com @ 5/17/2011 7:35 AM
Hi Jack and welcome! Glad you found us and thanks for the kind comments. If you end up buying a printer please consider blogging about it here (we offer free blogs) as I know many of our artists would love to hear about it and your experiences.

egardens @ 5/17/2011 8:10 AM
The majority of the files I purchased on 3Ds studio did not print well with the major 3D printer companies, despite being files formats that were accepted. Most of them had to be adjusted, meshed, shelled, etc before they would print. In the future, could you mark items that could be 3D printed? Perhaps be able to search by 3D printable models?

TheJimReaper @ 5/17/2011 9:09 AM
This sounds like really exciting times, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes. My wife already takes my work to a new level by creating birthday, anniversary, and other greetings cards, which are amazing. This 3D printing would take things even further.

Any chance of a freebie? 'hint' 'hint'

Jim

The3dStudio.com @ 5/17/2011 9:13 AM
egardens, this is a great point and an area we will be looking into as we integrate with 3D Systems. Compatibility is a big concern so rest assured we're looking into it :)

TheJimReaper, thank you! There is some huge potential here to say the least. As for that freebie, I am guessing 3D Systems won't want to give away 10k freebies to our artists :)

The3dStudio.com @ 5/17/2011 11:29 AM
Is anyone here going to the Make Faire in California on May 21-22? Info: http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2011/

I know 3D Systems will be there to show off some of their printers and is even giving one away: http://www.3dsystems.com/content/news/releases/pdf/051611-3D-Systems-Brings-Affordable-Printing-to-Bay-Area-Maker-Faire.pdf



trinity23 @ 5/18/2011 12:34 AM
By the way, when I want to upload on 3dexport.com I see a link "get data from TurboSquid and The3DStudio"... hummm I didn't know about this.

The3dStudio.com @ 5/18/2011 7:45 AM
This isn't really on-topic but... E3D used to use our affiliate program to show our models on their website so I am guessing that's what you are seeing. I can say that our models are not sold on E3D and never were, it was simply an affiliate link that any website can use. Of course, if the squid still has that in place now that they own E3D...well, that's just funny and speaks volumes to that debacle :)

FurnitureVisualizer @ 5/18/2011 7:02 PM
congratulation Matt! smart move.

however wahat is in it for us? will they invest in updating the look of the website, SEO etc?... in other words, how long until I will sell more on my preferred stock site than on turbosquid?

The3dStudio.com @ 5/18/2011 7:08 PM
Thank you!

As an author, there is a lot in it for you. 3DS brings to us a lot of expertise in areas like sales/advertising/marketing and as we integrate into their printing business more we will see increased traffic form an entirely new customer base (printing customers, a large and fast growing sector). This will translate into an all around bigger and better The3dStudio.com with more features to offer you as a seller and a wider customer base to sell your models to. So stay tuned, we have some cool stuff planned for the future of The3dStudio.com and I assure you that those who have stuck with us over the years have bet on the right horse to win this race and will be pleased with where we are headed :)


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