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NovaCopy launches '3D Printing University'

Jamie McGee
jmcgee@tennessean.com

Recognizing a lack of understanding and a lack of confidence when it comes to 3-D printing, Nashville-based NovaCopy is launching a solution that could help teach consumers, as well as spur sales of its high-tech printers.

NovaCopy 3D University, also called 3DU, launches Oct. 22, offering hands-on instruction to buyers and potential buyers and arming them with skills they can use to create three-dimensional products.

"There is a tremendous need on the part of the user or buyer to really understand what they're buying," said Melissa Ragsdale, NovaCopy's Knoxville-based 3-D printing president. "They are interested in it and they think it's cool, but they're a little afraid. They're not really sure they know how to use the equipment."

And, of course, more understanding of how the printers work and what users can create likely leads to more printers sold.

Novacopy President Melissa Ragsdale uses a laptop to make preparations to launch their  3-d printing classes for people with an interest in 3-d printing.
Monday Oct. 13, 2014, in Nashville, TN.

Three-D printing converts models into three-dimensional products by adding layer after layer of material. The market is expected to reach $3.8 billion this year and climb to $16.2 billion by 2018, according to analyst company Canalys.

NovaCopy sells printers, scanners and copiers in seven Southeast markets and began investing in 3-D printers about three years ago. Ragsdale said NovaCopy's annual revenue for 3-D printing is on track to reach $3 million, with a range of sectors buying the products such as education, aerospace, manufacturing and automotive. The printers are purchased by individuals, as well as corporations, and cost as much as $1 million.

When businesses or individuals buy a 3-D machine from NovaCopy, they receive software and basic instructions, and NovaCopy charges to install the machine and provide basic training. The company also offers Powerpoint seminars for people at home or in offices, but the new classes serve to provide buyers more in-depth understanding of how to apply their knowledge. Students will design a product using the software, set up a printer and leave with a printed 3-D product.

This small chess piece was produce in about 30 minutes as an example of the types of elements that Novacopy can produce with their 3-d printers  The company is  launching 3-d printing classes for people with an interest in 3-d printing.
Monday Oct. 13, 2014, in Nashville, TN.

The three-hour classes are open to anyone interested in 3-D printing, but they come with a $299 price tag — about one-third of the cost of NovaCopy's least expensive 3-D printer. Ragsdale said the cost is cheaper than classes offered at technical or community colleges where individuals could gain these skills, and it will cover the costs of the printed products.

The classes being offered are introductory classes, and Ragsdale said NovaCopy plans to add more advanced curriculum.

"I would not be surprised if we couldn't spin this off as its own business," she said. "There is a tremendous interest and a tremendous hunger for knowledge tied to this technology."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.