By: Karissa C. – Marketing Coordinator
Welcome back to the GROWit blog! We are proud to announce the launch of our new and improved blog. The timing is perfect as we recently celebrated GROWit’s 4 Year Anniversary!
My name is Karissa Campbell and I’m the marketing coordinator here at GROWit. In the upcoming posts I will be bringing you the latest and most relevant news and developments in the world of rapid prototyping, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and 3D design.
The capabilities of 3D design and engineering enable new opportunities for customization, improvements in product performance, multi-functionality, and lower overall manufacturing costs.
If you are familiar with the industry you know that 3D printing is a phenomenal technology that has the power to change the way we live, think, and function. The best part is that it’s not a thought for the future. It’s here right now, right in front of you.
The market for additive manufacturing isn’t as new as some might think. It has been in existence since the mid 80’s and has been growing in the double digits almost every year since. In an annual global study on additive manufacutring and 3D printing, Wohlers Associates Inc. found that, “The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of revenues produced by all additive manufacturing products and services in 2010 was 24.1%. In 2009, the industry declined by 9.7%. The CAGR for the industry’s 23-year history is an impressive 26.2%.” They also forcasted industry-wide growth to be $3.1 billion by 2016 and $5.2 billion by 2020. Today, we have reached a point where 3D printing is beginning to reach further into the mainstream market which is the inspiration for this blog!
Every week in this blog, my fellow GROWit team members and I will be bringing examples of what’s driving this new mainstream growth. We will bring you stories from our customers, modern uses for 3D printers, and examples of different fields from the toy industry to the medical industry.
In the meantime I would like to officially wish GROWit a Happy 4th Birthday!!! To celebrate this huge accomplishment, our team decided to take a break from work, grab our bowling balls, and dive in to a seriously competitive bowling tournament at Lake Forest Lanes!

Jason Bowling!

David bowling at lake forest lanes!

Ken Bowling!
In honor of GROWit’s birthday, we’d like to share with you a few of GROWit’s greatest achievements over the last 4 years.
In September of 2007 GROWit purchased its first 3D printer, the Spectrum Z510. This is where it all began!

David with GROWit's first 3D printer, the Spectrum Z510!
Z-Corp 3D printers are well-known for their capability to print multicolored parts. The full color 3D printing process involves jetting colored liquid binder on each thin, plaster based layer infusing the model with a full spectrum of color, one layer at a time. The addition of color distinguishes each component of a large assembly without having to build each in a different material. The Spectrum Z510 was a great first purchase for GROWit and it is still used on a regular basis for rapid prototyping in multiple colors.
On January 25th of 2008 Objet announced our purchase of the Connex500 in a press release. This was a huge achievement because we purchased the world’s first system capable of printing parts and assemblies made of multiple materials in a single build.
This purchase gave us the ability to offer our customers unprecedented speed and flexibility in creating complex parts that require multiple materials, which are usually, produced using over molding techniques.

GROWit team member displays the ability of the Connex500 to build multiple parts in one build tray
The Connex500 printer can print models made of up to 14 different materials, in single print job, saving a great deal of time and cost!
In June of 2010 GROWit moved from Anaheim to Lake Forest, CA. As we continued to grow, space got a little cramped pushing us to move into a larger building in Lake Forest! This move was a huge step and accomplishment for GROWit because as a small business it gave us more workspace and the ability to hire on more employees to keep our lead times down.
We have now been located in Lake Forest for a little over a year and we are doing better than ever and continuously growing! We now have eleven additive machines and three 3D scanners that we use in house. We are excited to continue to grow and be successful while maintaining the humbleness of a small business! Check out this security snap shot taken of one of the rooms in our new office.

With the addition of ten additive machines and our move to a larger building in Lake Forest, I can say that we have come a LONG way in just 4 years! We plan to continue to improve and grow year after year, and all of us here at GROWit are happy to be a part of that!