Customized jewelry maker Paragon Lake hosted a panel on Mass Customization last Thursday and assembled an interesting group of participants

via REPLICATOR — Putting the “Custom” Back In Customer.

I highly recommend clicking the above link and exploring the many innovative ideas that Joseph describes and links to.

An interesting takeaway for me:

Sung Park started the evening off by breaking mass customization into three broad categories:

1. Digital Front End/Digital  Back End

This describes companies like Amazon that serve unique pages based on your interests in a completely digital fashion.

2. Digital Front End/Physical Customization and Assembly

Most current mass customization companies would fall into this bucket. You design something with a web based cad interface and then some factory produces it using modified traditional manufacturing processes. Think NikeID, Fashion Playtes, or Paragon Lake.

3. Sensor based Front End/CAD-CAM Back End

This is a more passive experience best illustrated by Brontes. In their case a sensor makes a model of your mouth and then automated equipment (a 3D printer) produces a physical copy of the scan. There is very little human involvement or intervention.

This Thursday, Oct 15, Metrix Create: Space will open its doors in Seattle (at 623A Broadway East). It’s hackerspace meets an indie coffee house. They’ll have tools and equipment for building projects, 3D fabbing machines, classes on various types of high-tech makery, coffee and snacks. They even have a vending machine that’ll dispense Sun Chips, M&Ms, Clif Bars, and Arduinos, breadboards, jumper wires, etc. How cool.

via Make: Online : New hacker hang out in Seattle.