Fabrication-on-demand service Ponoko launched a powerful new feature called Photomake today; now anyone can upload a photo of a drawn image and Ponoko will create a physical object based on that photo alone. This whole company is really fun but Photomake turns it into a generally accessible tool for those of us who aren’t designers.
After uploading a photo of a drawing, users pick which of a list of materials they’d like their design created with and then Ponoko provides a cost for fabrication. The items aren’t cheap but the experience looks fantastic. Check out the video demonstration below.
Ponoko is a relatively new startup, it launched this year, but according to a longer profile today on VentureBeat “sales are up 111 percent in the last month.” How much does it cost? Making an attractive four bottle wine rack will run you $100, for example. Complexity and materials are the primary determinants of price.
It’s hard not to love this sort of service. The read-write web is one thing, but when this same ethic spills out into tangible objects, it really gets the imagination stirring.
