“When Craig Billings first became interested in 3-D printing, he was surprised at the expense and the low quality of the 3-D printer kit choices available.
“We took a look at it and said, ‘We think we can do better,’ ” he said of himself and business co-owners Robb Perkins and Edward Prejean, and started the process of collecting parts to create their own, higher-quality 3-D printer for less than the $10,000 asking price.
It didn’t go smoothly, at least at first.
They ended up spending about double that to get their initial printer going, but they figured it out quickly enough to start Louisiana’s first 3-D printer manufacturing business, Acadian Robotics, now headquartered in Gonzales.
Everyone from artists to entrepreneurs use the technology, Billings said, and he believes the 3-D printer is quickly becoming indispensable.”