While the concept of 3D printing eyewear frames isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, new company Protos is aiming to use 3D printing as a method of final manufacture on a mass market scale. For those with tiny noses, wide faces, or anything that’s overlooked in ‘stock’ eyewear designs, this just might be the next Warby Parker for all your eyewear needs.
Based in San Francisco, the Protos team (like many startups) met in college at California College of the Arts. Consisting of designers Marc Levinson, John Mauriello, Doug Ponciano, Richart Ruddie, and James Peo, the team was set on ‘doing something’ that combined all of their individual talents. In a fortunate sequence of events that would eventually become the mission of Protos, Marc noticed Doug’s glasses slipping off the bridge of his nose during one of these brainstorming sessions and…well, the rest is history.
Today the team of young designers are using 3D scanning, parametric modeling, and selective laser sintering to create their custom final products. In terms of the custom-made component, the team has developed a fitting process that isn’t too far off from the process of getting a custom-measured suit. More recently, the team has been working on a proprietary bioplastic material that is lighter than titanium and more flexible than common acetate materials. Could new material offerings mixed with custom designs be the pushover for success against $95 Warby Parkers? We do live in a time where people are increasingly paying more to have custom experiences, so they’ve come in at a good time to offer a custom product—even in the saturated eyewear industry….
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: MicroPython v1.24.0 is here, a Halloween Wrap-up and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey