PlanetCAD's in Search of an On-Line RP Partner

摘要

In a sign of the dot-com times, PlanetCAD is reviewing several partnership I options for its Bits2Parts.com Web service announced last April. The site, in beta testing, is said to streamline the quotation, communication, and data flow between manufacturers and rapid prototyping (RP) service providers. The site provides private, on-line work areas for manufacturers to manage the Request for Quotation (RFQ) process, submit RFQs to RP service bureaus, and upload 3D CAD models for rapid transmission. Selected service bureaus, in turn, receive e-mail notification of new RFQs, access them and the CAD models via the Web site, and then respond. As we go to press, Bill Bates, PlanetCAD director of Business Development, explains, "We are in negotiations right now with several companies, exploring options for how best to partner to advance the technology as quickly as possible for customers with RP needs. The issue of how PlanetCAD continues to market Bits2parts.com will depend, in part, upon negotiaions currently in progress."