As hard as it is to believe, the end of 2008 looms large already. This year will clearly go down in history for a number of reasons. We all enjoyed, and at times endured, an historic election.
No matter what political camp you were in, history was made. We broke barriers based on gender, ethnicity and geography, to name a few. And, with so many firsts the eyes of the entire world
were trained on the US during this important chapter. I only note the historic economic challenges we are all facing as this situation is almost impossible to avoid. All of us are affected to some
degree or another but we persist, and when history repeats itself we will emerge from these doldrums even stronger and hopefully smarter than before.
Desktop Factory is also moving toward our place in history, thanks in no small part to your continued support. The team is working hard as we prepare for our launch of the first truly low cost,
easy to use 3D printer. The progress has been impressive with the new imaging subsystem performing better than our prior solution for all intents and purposes. We have encountered a few problems
along the way. However, our team is resilient and committed to placing a few 3D printers very early in the year to conclude our customer acceptance testing.
One of the steps you normally take prior to launch is the development of a special 'diagnostic' part. This object is specifically designed to test or challenge each aspect of your printing
system. We have completed the design of this part and we are printing it on a regular basis, either as an issue occurs or as the first part following a new hardware and/or software
release. This part is not particularly compelling to look at so you will never see it posted on our website. However, should you ever encounter a problem with your Desktop Factory 125ci, you
will be asked to print a part like this to insure the problem has been resolved.
Most recently we have printed many of the STL files that were submitted late last year but which we could not print either due to the level of detail or as a result of our imager issues. You
can now see a number of these objects which have been uploaded to our Gallery. Our very special 'thanks' to all
of you who supplied these creative and challenging designs. Between our part test suite, our diagnostic part and these customer submitted parts, we are feeling very comfortable with our
repeatability metrics.
We are clearly down to the wire now and reliability is our final focus. I mentioned earlier that we have encountered a few problems, two to be exact, that are the last pieces that need to fall
into place for customer beta and acceptance testing. Our problem areas are bulb life and brush cleaning. The good news is that neither of these problems are show stoppers — however, if left
unchecked they will impact the productivity of our 3D printer. So work is underway on solutions to both issues with a plan to install engineering changes by the middle of December. Once these
irritants are addressed we will be at our reliability target for the January customer placements.
Even as we look forward to the holiday season, we will keep our eye and focus on the prize — the start of customer acceptance testing in January. And remember if you have not received our
past newsletter updates, they are all posted on our website under the News tab.
MEET A MEMBER OF OUR TEAM — JOHN DUBENKO
Born to immigrant Russian parents in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district during the height of America's counterculture 'hippie' movement, John was exposed early to the tug-of-war between
"the-way-it-is" and "finding-another-way". His grandparents babysat often. At these times John was told stories of life as a Russian Cossack; adventures of fleeing the country during the Bolshevik
revolution; designing and building the first industrial graining mill in China's northwest province; traveling across China in the 14 years they lived there; adventures in the Philippines during
WW2, and finally arriving in California.
John graduated from San Francisco's college prep Lowell High School with the intentions of becoming an architect. Over the next 6 years his life would change as he got caught up in a youth
movement involved with world relief projects. He found himself teaching English in Osaka, Japan; providing relief to families of dissidents in the Soviet Union; developing an urban farming project
in Belmopan, Belize; building raised-platform homes in the jungles of the Peten, Guatemala; upgrading orphanages throughout Mexico, and working with runaway and abused kids in San Francisco's Polk
district. During this time John clearly made a difference.
Over the last 20 years, John has found himself working in a variety of industries as a mechanical engineer (cinematography, military, automation, semi-conductor, food industry, medical device,
fuel cell). Although fascinated by the technologies he was involved in, John always had one mantra on his lips, "find a better way".
John also grew up a Science Fiction junkie. The possibilities the future held were only limited by the imagination. Working here as part of our team gives him the opportunity to participate on the
ground floor of what will one day revolutionize the way society replicates inanimate objects. Having worked in a variety of industries and having been exposed to varied engineering disciplines is
invaluable, according to John, when addressing the technical risks we encounter. He truly believes that we are making a difference here at Desktop Factory.
When he can, John enjoys reading sci-fi, building model rockets or exploring the outdoors — backpacking, camping, fishing, biking — or working with kids.
WEBSITES & NEWS
Thanks to our readers who continue to recommend an array of websites, articles and blogs to stay updated on our exciting industry. Some additional sites recommended are:
Obviously many of these sites feature an article or interview regarding Desktop Factory. I think the more important message, however, is just how topical 3D printing is becoming.
Print Your Sketchup Objects
Google Sketchup, by far the most popular 3D modeling tool in the known universe, now has a great way to send your Sketchup model to a 3D printer.
Simply install the new plugin from CADspan and you'll be able to generate solid .STL files suitable for submission to most 3D print
services and printers.
Our Visit to MIT
In early November we had an opportunity to present Desktop Factory to an elite group of mass customization leaders and other interested parties at an MIT-sponsored conference in Boston. While
global brands such as Mars, Adidas, Keds and Swarovski were represented, we also had presentations by leading edge start-ups like Tikatok, Sole Envie and Proper Cloth. What everyone had in
common was the desire to take advantage of the growing market for personalized and customized consumer apparel and products. What I learned from this session was that mass customization has
finally moved beyond T-Shirts and, in doing so, begins to present another exciting opportunity for low cost 3D printing.
Student Project at Case Western Reserve University
We were recently selected by the prestigious MBA program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland as a student project this semester. A group of several students — Michael Orth,
Shawn Flowers, Adam Leiferman, Manoj Bhogireddy and Naveen Asokhan — will be reviewing our market and product to make recommendations on developing a strong and successful business. This
is quite an honor and opportunity for Desktop Factory and we are looking forward to working with this team.
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS
Our dedication to testing for repeatability is finally paying off and we are very close to achieving the reliability required to engage our local beta customers. With your continued support, we
are looking forward to the next 45 to 60 days as we press forward with our focus on reliability and preparations for entering the market.
In the past year, many of you have asked us to provide sample parts as you place your reservation for a Desktop Factory 125ci 3D printer. We have been completely surprised, however, by the growing
number of requests we receive for the printing of custom 3D objects. Therefore, after careful consideration we are planning to "test" a 3D printing service. In the next several weeks we will provide
you with information on the service — including file types, submission costs, and turn-around times. We are very excited about the opportunity to work more closely with those of you who may
not be able to justify the acquisition of a 3D printer but require 3D printed content. So please stay tuned.
The year's end and requisite holidays and celebrations are just around the corner. We hope that you plan to take time to enjoy your family and friends, reflect on the final months of 2008 and
prepare for another exciting new year. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome and we will make every effort to respond to you within 24 hours. We look forward to catching up with you again soon.
Cathy Lewis
CEO
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As hard as it is to believe, the end of 2008 looms large already. This year will clearly go down in history for a number of reasons. We all enjoyed, and at times endured, an historic election.
No matter what political camp you were in, history was made. We broke barriers based on gender, ethnicity and geography, to name a few. And, with so many firsts the eyes of the entire world
were trained on the US during this important chapter. I only note the historic economic challenges we are all facing as this situation is almost impossible to avoid. All of us are affected to some
degree or another but we persist, and when history repeats itself we will emerge from these doldrums even stronger and hopefully smarter than before.
Born to immigrant Russian parents in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district during the height of America's counterculture 'hippie' movement, John was exposed early to the tug-of-war between
"the-way-it-is" and "finding-another-way". His grandparents babysat often. At these times John was told stories of life as a Russian Cossack; adventures of fleeing the country during the Bolshevik
revolution; designing and building the first industrial graining mill in China's northwest province; traveling across China in the 14 years they lived there; adventures in the Philippines during
WW2, and finally arriving in California.
Google Sketchup, by far the most popular 3D modeling tool in the known universe, now has a great way to send your 
In early November we had an opportunity to present Desktop Factory to an elite group of mass customization leaders and other interested parties at an MIT-sponsored conference in Boston. While
global brands such as Mars, Adidas, Keds and Swarovski were represented, we also had presentations by leading edge start-ups like Tikatok, Sole Envie and Proper Cloth. What everyone had in
common was the desire to take advantage of the growing market for personalized and customized consumer apparel and products. What I learned from this session was that mass customization has
finally moved beyond T-Shirts and, in doing so, begins to present another exciting opportunity for low cost 3D printing.
Our dedication to testing for repeatability is finally paying off and we are very close to achieving the reliability required to engage our local beta customers. With your continued support, we
are looking forward to the next 45 to 60 days as we press forward with our focus on reliability and preparations for entering the market.