Pinshape

Pinshape Inc. is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based online 3D printing community and marketplace. Designers can use it to share and sell their 3D printable designs. People who own 3D printers can print the designs themselves. Lucas Matheson (CEO), Nick Schwinghamer, and Andre Yanes founded Pinshape in 2013. The website is a marketplace for digital work by 3D designers from around the world. Designers of 3D printed objects set their own prices for their design files and choose which license to offer their work under (Creative Commons or other).

Designs found on Pinshape can be downloaded directly if the designer allows it, or they can be sent directly to a user's 3D printer via browser-to-printer functionality. The browser-to-printer functionality eliminates the need to access the design source file, thereby improving intellectual property security. Designers can choose to charge per print. Pinshape also allows users to review designs and share the printing settings they used. From April to July 2014, Pinshape was accepted into and participated in the 500 Global (then 500 Startups) accelerator program in Mountain View, California as part of Batch 9. They were one of 30 businesses chosen from over 1,400 applicants to take part in the four-month program. Pinshape has an education section with some helpful guides created by its staff and Formlabs, but it's largely ignored. The majority of the articles are from before 2018. Still, a small community exists, so it's worth a look!

Website: pinshape.com