Z Corporation 3D printing technology now utilized by Cisco

This is the story of how professional designers combined time-honoured aesthetic principles with 3D printing technology to produce some of the world’s most elegant consumer electronic equipment.

Devices like the wireless router, the media hub and the wireless home audio system create what the Cisco Consumer Business Group calls the connected life: a life that’s more personal, more social, and more visual. Constant network connectivity is a given, and the focus is on the content – the music, video, Web pages and work materials coursing through the home, office or classroom.

As these devices further infiltrate the home, networking gear becomes more central to our lives, moving from the “computer room” to the living space. Thus, like a stainless steel refrigerator, electronics must be aesthetically pleasing with sleeker, less boxy lines, while increasing connectivity, reliability, and intuitive operation. Thus, making functional objects both simple and beautiful is the challenge Cisco engineers face every day.

Challenge: upholding traditional design standards in the fast-growing consumer electronics world

Since design excellence is paramount for the Cisco Consumer Business Group, the company recently established a European Design Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here, the company continues the venerable tradition of Scandinavian design: In other words, functional, minimal, and affordable, without comprising design aesthetics.