Big Changes Coming to Shapeways this Weekend

August 17, 2012

Our VP of Engineering Josh Levine shares what’s in store for Shapeways this weekend and moving forward:

Last month, we announced that we have taken on a seemingly impossible task: to rebuild the architecture of Shapeways.com. Over the past few months, all of us at Shapeways have contributed to this massive undertaking and through hard work, determination, and a lot of listening to our customers, the time has come to reveal the fruits of our labor!

Notice the little man standing next to this massive 200 ton stone in the

temple Baalbek. This stone is a metaphor for ~60% of our current

software architecture. Most of what you’d like us to build involves moving

the “little” stones (several tons each!) laid neatly beneath the 200_

ton monster._

Tonight we are rolling out a major milestone for Shapeways – internally this project is called Inshape 2.0. Tonight, we’re moving the 200 ton monster.

Inshape 2.0 completely replaces our back-end systems for Order Placement and Order Fulfillment systems with up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology and processes.  In the past, we have had to hold off on so many great ideas from the community – 99% of that is washed away with this release. We anticipate faster turnaround times on orders, and on improvements to our systems.

You may not notice at first, but we’ve done our best to extend goodness to you guys right away.

Store Credit
With Store Credit, we take care of all your coupon codes and pack them neatly into an available balance on your account so you do not have to rummage through your email to find codes.  This will surely improve your experience, especially for folks who have purchased or received Shapeways Gift Cards.

Faster Model Processing
All uploads will be processed faster and the feedback you will get as a designer will include more appropriate and helpful content so you can get your designs ready to print.  We haven’t lifted any of the size limits just yet as we break in our new systems, but we are quickly moving towards many upload experience improvements that were not possible with our previous infrastructure.

Improved Order Tracking and Visibility
We have taken an audit of every email our system sends during the Order Placement and Fulfillment process and improved them all.  We are hoping that you find your new order updates and sales updates informative and timely, and we welcome any and all feedback on how to provide a higher level of service, especially when models cannot be printed and get rejected.

A Personal Note from Christian Arca, Senior Product Manager at Shapeways

There are moments in life when you feel proud about the work you have accomplished. To say that every one of us who have worked on Inshape 2.0 are proud of the work we’ve done would be an understatement. Without exaggerating even a little bit, it’s safe to say that with Inshape 2.0 we’re making history. This milestone is not just store credit, faster model processing, or improved order tracking and visibility. It’s a promise to you, our customers, community, colleagues, and friends and family that we will continuously work to make Shapeways the best service we possibly can. Inshape 2.0 has revealed how every one of our departments interacts with each other and ultimately ends with a better experience for you. We love you and what you have helped us to become.