You can't exactly reshape a field if it doesn't have a shape in the first place

Jun 18, 2014 15:02 GMT  ·  By

3D printers may have been designed as extensions of a computing system, capable of printing objects based on virtual models produced in CAD software, but they could be so much more, and gain a significant degree of self-reliance, if only they had a good enough OS.

As it happens, 3D Control Systems has set about providing such an operating system, which it has called 3DPrinterOS. It is a company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

The company is pretty young really, having been formed in May thanks to the Alchemist Accelerator, an initiative that helps startups get off the ground.

3D Control Systems hopes to essentially consolidate all 3D printers into a single ecosystem, much like Microsoft did with PCs when it revealed the first Windows operating system.

An open-source operating system, 3DPrinterOS intends to support all those hundreds of 3D printer makers and models, permitting easy collaboration between different contraptions.

You could, in theory, start a 3D print from metal, then pass it through a second printer to add some plastic parts. It's something that probably won't happen any time soon, and may be rendered redundant if multi-material, multi-color 3D printers become available before such inter-device cooperation is enabled. Still, it's something to look forward to.

The software will have a secure cloud interface, letting you stream designs directly from a cloud server to a 3D printer without exposing the source files to an unknown party.

It also reduces reliance on personal computers, and implies that 3D printing and service stores will be able to dedicate more of their financial resources to actual printers instead of auxiliary processing systems.

Users should also be able to edit designs, slice them, manage prints over multiple printers, all in the same cloud environment that we have mentioned before.

As far as centralized work goes, it's one of the more promising examples, especially when it comes to streamlined, standard figurines. You could, in theory, take the model for an action figure or statuette, use a software tool to edit it according to a customer's order (change armor color, add a weapon or remove it, etc.), then hit the print button and be on your way.

And with the likelihood of 3D printing becoming as fast as paper printing in five years or so, having such a user-friendly OS is actually necessary, not just convenient. 3D Control Systems stands to become a force on the 3D printing industry if it doesn't let some larger company eat it up first.