SyncFab crowdfunds a new way to bring specialty manufacturing back to the U.S.

SyncFab wants to streamline product design and bring manufacturing back to the U.S. via 3D printing technology. And the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its specialty manufacturing business.

The campaign will help the company launch its beta version of 3D printing and hybrid specialty manufacturing community in the Los Angeles area. The goal is to raise $25,000 by April 30. The idea behind the company is to use 3D manufacturing and design tools to bring specialty production of products back from overseas facilities to the U.S. They call that “reshoring.”

The creators are Jeremy Goodwin, Andy Tong, Nick Agid, Dennis Delgado, Jay Ligda, and Chris Cheng. Goodwin is the former president and chief financial officer of China Advanced Construction Materials. The founders have experience in design, manufacturing, and the arts. They got the idea after traveling around Asia investigating investment opportunities. They realized that they wanted to make something in the U.S. but there was no easy way to do it.

They are creating a service that allows you to design your product with a custom design management tool, CADSync, and specify local fabrication for it. The name SyncFab is short for Synchronized Fabrication, which refers to the combination of 3D printing with traditional manufacturing methods. With the service, product creators can community-source their 3D designs. Then they can have the designs 3D printed or specialty manufactured.

SyncFab wants to stimulate demand for self-employed product designers, recent graduates, and small businesses. They want to encourage everyone from garage inventors to larger businesses to make use of their custom manufacturing. California is an untapped goldmine for such talent, Goodwin said.

“California is the design innovation center of the global economy,” Goodwin said. “The U.S. is at the epicenter of 3D Print and Hybrid Specialty Fabrication and SyncFab is a platform bringing them together for your custom creations.”

The company hopes to launch its pilot service this summer. SyncFab has five employees and was started last year. Rivals include Shapeways, Sculpteo, CustomMade, and MakersRow. SyncFab has raised about $250,000 to date.