Not your father's CNC machine. Roland DG's 3D products are not an easy sell. First of all, there's so much buzz about 3D printing technology, that there's little discussion room left for the older CNC technology. Second, the market is so diverse, literally a hundred different types of customers in a variety of market niches. Trust me, from a marketing perspective, selling CNC is tough. But we believe in what we're doing. Unlike previous CNC machines that demanded that you know programming.
We believe. We know the "Why" we make these types of products, to borrow a phrase from Simon Sinek, "we just happen to make:" 3D mills, engravers, photo impact printers, vinyl cutters, trimmers, inkjet printers and inkjet printers/cutters. In the 3D category, we think that there is a better way to make prototypes, in the actual materials you want to build the final design in, to check function as parts snap together with tight tolerances or to simulate the actual surface finish, at a fraction of the cost of a 3D printer from a TCO perspective. Not to replace 3D printing mind you, but as the design process progresses, to simply build a more refined functional prototype than an early design comp. Better. Faster. Cheaper.
Here's a great video testimonial in a real customer's words as to why Subtractive Rapid Prototyping is better for their prototype design work.
As you’ve probably already seen from Dede’s recent post, that we were recently at SGIA – which turned out to be a fantastic show. While there we heard from some Roland DG fans about why they love their Roland DG printer. Again, they get our “why” and it’s so gratifying to be a part of that.
PS: A funny side note is that we also believe that there is a better way to build packaging prototypes. The trick seems to be getting customers who believe what we believe and have invested in an VersaUV to help them make better prototypes talk about it. They really don't want us to tell anyone else about it. It ruins their competitive advantage. It's a dichotomy – frustrating and completely understandable at the same time.
Thanks for reading,
Rick
