Taiwan's 3D printer 'da Vinci' wins Nikkei excellent product award

Want China Times, CNA 2015-01-09

The da Vinci 1.0 3D printer. (Photo courtesy of XYZprinting)

A Taiwanese brand won a Nikkei Asian Review Award for Excellence for the first time at the 2014 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards on Tuesday when XYZprinting Inc. took the honor for its 3D printer.

The da Vinci 1.0 3D printer, which went on sale at stores in Japan in March 2014, won the award because of its affordable price, ease of handling and attractive exterior design, XYZprinting said in a statement on Tuesday.

XYZprinting CEO Simon Shen said his company was encouraged by winning the Nikkei award and will continue to develop products that make it easier for consumers to enjoy using 3D printers.

Nikkei has been recognizing superior new products and services every year since 1982, when it launched the "Nikkei Outstanding Product of the Year Awards." The awards name was changed to the current name in 1987.

Nominations are not based on public application or participation. Instead, Nikkei selects candidate products and services on its own every September to November and then has a panel of judges select some 40 winning products and services at the end of the year.

Prior to earning a Nikkei award, the da Vinci 1.0 was selected for an Editor's Choice Award at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2013. It also received Computex Taipei's Best Choice Award in June last year.

XYZprinting, a unit of Taiwanese electronics conglomerate Kinpo Group, told the press in November last year that it plans to ship 120,000 3D printers globally in 2015, triple an estimated 40,000 units in 2014, due to a wider offering of products.

3D printing is the automated process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape based on a digital model. The technology is already changing the design, prototyping and manufacturing processes in a wide range of industries, according to market research firm Gartner.