Royal Mail to offer 3D printing

Companies could soon be turning to Royal Mail for 3D printed prototype products, as the former state-owned postal business runs a trial offering the new technology.

Royal Mail has partnered with 3D printing specialist iMakr so that businesses and consumers can have their own designs produced at a central London delivery office.

Alternatively, a range of existing designs that can be personalised to customers’ requirements is being offered.

The products can then be either collected from the delivery centre near Oxford Street or posted to clients.

Royal Mail is running the scheme as it looks for new areas to move into that dovetail with its current business.

Mike Newnham, chief customer officer at Royal Mail, said: “3D printing is an emerging technology that has many applications and offers an innovative way to create unique or personalised objects.

“It can be prohibitively expensive for consumers or small businesses to invest in a 3D printer, so we are launching a pilot to gauge interest in 3D printing to sit alongside Royal Mail’s e-commerce and delivery capability.”

3D printing works by taking a computer design of an object, then “slicing” it up into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. The printer then makes the 3D object by printing out these layers on top of each other from the bottom up to form the final product.

3D printing is forecast to be a major growth industry, although Gartner analysts predict only 2.3m printers will be sold worldwide by 2018, as their cost limits them to large, industrial businesses.

Royal Mail hopes it can tap into demand from smaller companies unable to afford the capital investment required for a 3D printer, as well interest from consumers looking for a unique product.