French startup company Drawn recently announced the Galatea 3-D printer, a disruptive technology that can challenge existing business models in the furniture industry. Currently, 3-D printing is mainly concerned with the printing of trinkets and small replacement parts. But Galatea is poised to revolutionize this with its capability to print large-scale products.
Unlike the furniture maker Ikea, which built its fortunes on cheap and highly diverse product lines, Drawn is pioneering a business proposition with 3-D equipment capable of printing furniture that is up to 6 feet long and 4 feet high. It uses recyclable plastic, which is then heated and used to produce any kind of furniture and design, according to Gizmodo.
The machine can print just about any shape, color, material and aesthetic style. The process is only constrained by human imagination. With Galatea, consumers are not able to only buy low-cost furniture but also have immense control in the design process because of the level of customizability available. The concept is to bring the client-producer relationship even closer with the production of custom designs that are printed on-demand, according to Design Boom. The company would be producing furniture that is exactly what the customer wants.
"Drawn was born as a result of our dream to locally produce custom-made furniture. Our goal is to make furniture differently, by keeping it simple," states the company website. Indeed, the machine is capable of churning designer-worthy furniture within two hours.
Drawn's founder Sylvian Charpiot invented Galatea from an industrial machine found in an automobile factory. The company has since started a Kickstarter campaign in its ambition to further bring Galatea to the global market. "We'll soon be offering our own exclusive line of furniture for sale, and will be ready to make your interior design projects come to life," Drawn's founders reported.
