Ponoko – Your Own Factory On-Demand

This month Inc. Magazine did a feature article on Ponoko, an on-demand manufacturing platform from New Zealand. The article explains founder David ten Have’s motivation of starting a company that provided an opportunity for everyday people with a desire to make things.

The article explains ten Have’s theory that the innate desire to make things has been suppressed by our “consumer-oriented” society and the fact that we’re so used to being able to go buy whatever we want at Wal-Mart or any other store.  Ponoko is absolutely an awesome business concept.  I can upload a design for any kind of object that I can dream up and Ponoko will have it manufactured for me at a reasonable price.  No minimum quantities or any other restrictions.  If I want to sell my creation I can set my own retail price and even use their web site to start marketing it.  Plus, if I’m planning to sell I don’t have to purchase any kind of inventory.  My product is stored simply as a design file on my computer and whenever someone makes a purchase I can place another order with Ponoko to have one made.  I’m excited…this is really cool!

However, here are the problems I see with this as a major business.  How many people really understand how to use CAD (computer aided design) applications?  I don’t, and I’d consider myself pretty proficient with technology.  Ponoko has already addressed this by allowing users to request a product by working with an experienced designer.  That’s definitely helpful because then I don’t have to worry about learning the software.  But the deeper questions is how many people really have their own ideas for how a product can be made?  If I want a new table I’m probably going to go looking around a store to see what types of designs look best.  I’ll probably be able to find one that I really like.  I don’t think I need to create my own when I don’t have the slightest idea of how one should look anyways.  Have I become a victim of the consumer-oriented society that Ponoko’s founders are trying to rebel against?

Regardless of how Ponoko does as a business, I think it’s a great concept and I plan to try it out and get a product built soon.  Heck, maybe I’ll even try to sell a few.  I do hope this type of distributed manufacturing catches on because it could lead to innovation in a whole slew of product categories.  Is Ponoko something you’d like to try out?