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New 3-D business in the Valley
By Kalea Hall
LIBERTY
Ted Webb and Paul Palovich have worked for more than a year to find the perfect three-dimensional printer, scanner and niche for their new business, Printing 3D Parts Inc.
The company is one of the first in the Mahoning Valley to commercialize the service.
“Our primary market is rapid prototypes for the container market,” Webb said.
For a little more than 20 years, Webb’s other company, Meridian Arts and Graphics off Belmont Avenue, has done graphics and printing plates for container companies and noticed a need for companies to have access to an easier, more cost-effective way to make containers.
“I started researching 3-D printing as a support type of industry for Meridian,” he said.
After some thorough research in 3-D printing, and after he realized he was on to something, he presented his idea to Palovich, a retired Delphi engineer and longtime friend of Webb’s.
“In our business, there is a need for the packaging industry to do prototyping,” Webb said.
A prototype is an early sample or model to use as a test for a new concept. Oftentimes, container companies want to change their container options but it is costly and takes time.
The 3-D printing can change that. Production goes from weeks to days with the process Webb and Palovich have developed, and the cost substantially decreases.
“You supply us with the graphics and the shape and give it to us on Monday and you will see it on Friday,” Webb said.
Developing the concept for the business was just the beginning. The next step was finding the printer that gave the needed resolution, and the additional pieces of equipment needed to complete the process.
“It took us about 14 months,” Palovich said. “Once you got one piece of technology perfected you moved on.”
A customer can provide a 3-D design, a file of what to make, or a scan of an older model for the company to produce a prototype.
“We can scan your hand and fit it to your bottle and custom make that,” Webb said.
While the primary market for Printing 3D Parts is rapid prototypes for the container market, Webb and Palovich are continuously thinking of new markets where their offerings could be utilized.
One is the automotive restoration market, where it can be difficult to find specific parts that are in good enough shape to be used. The next market is for antique toys, and the third is the arts and crafts market.
“Let us scan your art and we will create a 3-D rendering with it,” Palovich said.
“The more we tell people, the more they think of things,” Webb said.
About $250,000 has been invested — five major pieces of equipment (including a printer, scanner, 2-D label scanner, sleeve maker, and oven that heats up the sleeve and tightens it to the bottle) plus training.
The two men are excited to take on the new business and to learn even more about the process, and members of the community are excited for them. Some key supporters include Huntington Bank and the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp.
“We would look forward to supporting them with additional financial needs as they grow and expand,” MVEDC Executive Director Mike Conway said.