Pittsburgh's PieceMaker Goes Online with CMU Partnership-Project Olympus - Carnegie Mellon University

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Pittsburgh's PieceMaker Goes Online with CMU Partnership

Besides their freshly minted diplomas, 2015 Carnegie Mellon graduates now have an extra bit of memorabilia available to them.

Pittsburgh's PieceMaker Technologies, a startup that produces 3-D printing kiosks, has landed its first official license with its co-founders' alma mater, offering two limited-edition items designed for the class of 2015. According to co-founder and CEO Arden Rosenblatt, the rollout is also the company’s first test of online ordering and off-site manufacturing, and its first metal products.

PieceMaker Digital is making a steel keystone coaster and a metallic plastic "Gyro Scotty Pendant" that can hang from a rearview mirror or serve as a key chain. Both products pay tribute to CMU, where Rosenblatt and co-founder Alejandro Sklar were students when they founded the company in 2013. 

"By August, we will be adding personalization so that new students and alumni alike can tune these special-edition CMU pieces to their own class, even add initials and soon custom messages," explains Rosenblatt.

PieceMaker is also bolstering its in-store presence, returning to Pittsburgh's Robinson Mall for the summer to continue its live 3-D printing pop-up experience.

"After a great first test month in April, we have hired staff, created new content and will be deploying our next-generation printers to continue printing custom toys, jewelry, souvenirs and other gifts on-the-spot, designed by patrons of the Robinson Mall," says Rosenblatt.

The mall pop-up will also feature 3-D selfie -- patrons can take a photo on a green screen and in 30 minutes walk out with a one-of-a-kind 3-D portrait or nightlight -- and a new line-up of custom action figures.  

Rosenblatt envisions a seamless integration of online and physical retail sales, "an omni-channel personalization gateway – where items can be ordered and picked up online or in-store, blending the best of on-demand and custom manufacturing to bring our customers a full suite of personalization options in a variety of materials and technologies...Read more»

By: Elise Vider, Keystone Edge