NEW YORK, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Shapeways, the world's leading 3D printing marketplace and community, today announced its collaboration with Google on its new Made with Code initiative to inspire millions of girls to code and create.

Made with Code offers fun and simple projects aimed at helping girls take the first step in learning how to code. The premier project of the initiative is a coding project based on Blockly, Google's visual programming editor, in which girls can create a custom bracelet that Shapeways will 3D print in its New York City factory using EOS printers.

"We're thrilled to be working with Google on the Made with Code initiative," said Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO and co-founder of Shapeways. "Our goal has always been to give everyone access to the best technology in 3D printing, and we're now investing in that access with teenage girls – a group that has historically been underrepresented in science and technology. We're excited to be a part of a movement that teaches people from a young age that with technology, they can take the power of creativity into their own hands."                                                                 

Shapeways empowers individuals to bring amazing products to life by making 3D printing accessible to everyone. Anyone can create a digital design of any object they can imagine and upload it to Shapeways.com. Shapeways then transforms the design into a real, finished product using the best industrial 3D printing technology.

For people just getting started who might not have 3D modeling skills, the Made with Code bracelet project and other easy to use 3D printing apps available on Shapeways enable product customization. These apps are built on top of the Shapeways API, which was launched in 2013 to give developers all over the world the opportunity to make apps that make products.

Through these innovations, Shapeways gives consumers the power to shape the products in their lives – from wedding rings to rocketships, model trains to iPhone cases, and prototypes to industrial engineering parts.

As such, the Made with Code and Shapeways bracelet project is a way for girls to gain a deeper understanding of the ways technology is connected to everything around them.

"Coding gives you the power to create and invent things that could help millions of people with your ideas; ​sadly we've seen that bias and stereotypes are keeping most teenage girls from expressing interest in ​learning to code.  We're launching ​​Made with Code to inspire millions of girls to experience the power of cod​ing and to see it as a way to have fun and achieve their dreams." - Megan Smith, Vice President, Google[x]. 

Creating a Made with Code 3D printed bracelet
To create a bracelet, girls ages 13-18 should visit madewithcode.com/projects and select "Code a Bracelet" from the Projects tab. From there, they can customize a bracelet with a personal message and unique color using the coding program. Once the design is complete, the bracelet's digital file will be automatically uploaded to Shapeways.com for 3D printing. A limited amount of bracelets will be available for free from Google, and then anyone can order more bracelets by downloading the digital file from Made with Code and uploading it to Shapeways.com/madewithcode/upload.

The Made with Code bracelets are 3D printed in Shapeways' high-quality nylon plastic on 3D printers from the German printer manufacturer, EOS, which is providing extra P760 SLS 3D printers to support the initiative.

Girls who have participated in Made with Code, or anyone who wants to learn more, are invited to visit Shapeways.com/madewithcode to explore other ways in which they can get started with 3D printing.

ABOUT SHAPEWAYS
Shapeways is the leading 3D printing marketplace and community, empowering designers to bring amazing products to life. By giving anyone the ability to quickly and affordably turn ideas from digital designs into real products, Shapeways is fundamentally changing how products are made and by whom. Headquartered in Manhattan, Shapeways also has factories and offices in Eindhoven, Long Island City and Seattle.

For more information: Shapeways.com/madewithcode

Media Contact: Blair Baumwell, blair@shapeways.com

 

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC0yWzrC_iA
Photo - https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140619/119493
Logo - https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131205/NY28003LOGO-b

SOURCE Shapeways