A proposal from Russia and EU to build a lunar base at the south pole of our moon suggests heavy use of 3D printing. But is this really required?
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What MakerBot Really Did To The Smart Extruder
During my recent conversation with MakerBot CEO Jonathan Jaglom, he told us their new SmartExtruder+ had been redesigned and tested extensively. I had no idea how much until now.
Is The Olo For You? Perhaps Not…
A spectacularly successful Kickstarter campaign by the new Olo 3D printer illustrates a division between buyers in the 3D printer market.
The Most Unusual 3D Printing Patent Yet Seen
Researchers at Boeing have published a patent describing a bizarre method of 3D printing that involves levitation. I am skeptical.
Design of the Week: Bomb Lamp
This week’s selection is the not-quite-explosive Bomb Lamp by Shapeways designer Urbano Rodriguez.
Interesting: 3D Systems Culinary Survives
Last fall 3D Systems performed a kind of “housecleaning” to optimize their operations, cutting out unprofitable divisions and products. But one seems to have survived.
MEDICREA’s Real Time Spinal Support Team
A lab service assists physicians in real-time to prepare implantable spinal rods, demonstrating how 3D printing must get much closer to application areas.
Volumetrick Provides A Free 3D Print Quoting Service
You might have made your 3D printer available for hire, but are you able to provide accurate and rapid quotes for your services?
Prosthetic Limbs: 3D Printing for Athletes with Disabilities
3D printing is helping many individuals to lead fulfilling lives through their use of prosthetics.
YSoft’s 3D Printer Management System To Supercharge Education Adoption
This is something I’ve not seen before: a usage management system that’s integrated into a 3D printer.
Your Quick Answers Could Help Additive Manufacturing Research
A survey is underway seeking answers from professionals using 3D printing / additive manufacturing processes.
Filapack Offers A 3D Printer Material Sampling Service
Startup company Filapack has launched a new service the enables inexpensive testing of popular 3D printer filaments.
Student 3D Prints His Own Dental Appliance: Good Or Bad Idea?
Amos Dudley has somehow managed to design and 3D print a custom dental appliance for correcting his teeth, but is this really a good idea?
New Minority Report-Style 3D Modeling Service Coming: 3DGxPAINT?
I stumbled onto a new, apparently not-yet-launched 3D modeling service that could be extremely interesting: 3DGxPAINT.
Design of the Week: Spirograph
This week’s selection is the Spirograph by MyMiniFactory user Valois Torms.
An Unsolvable Challenge Facing Every 3D Designer
The recent controversy over misuse of Thingiverse 3D models highlights an ongoing issue facing all 3D designers: theft.
3D Scanning Sculptures: One More Thing!
You may have read our recent series on how to properly 3D scan museum sculptures. If so, you’ll want to read the final step I forgot to include!
Arevo Labs’ Fascinating Materials and Software
In the middle of Silicon Valley lies the headquarters of an advanced 3D printing company: Arevo Labs, who produce some extremely interesting materials and software.
Capassity’s Cloudy Twist On 3D Scanning
A new 3D scanning option is available, but it’s not the kind of scanning system you’re used to.
Tomorrow, Manufacturing Changes Forever
Tomorrow, Tuesday, is the scheduled date for the launch of AMF, Made In Space’s orbital manufacturing facility.
Afinia Drastically Drops Price Of A Primary 3D Printer
Minnesota-based Afinia has abruptly dropped the price of their former flagship 3D printer, the H480 by almost 40%. But why?
Celebrity 3D Models: Useful, Silly or Just Out of Control?
I’ve encountered several 3D models based on celebrities recently and wondered whether this is a good or bad thing, and for whom.
Two Years Are Up, Which Companies Will Fail?
I’m expecting some big changes in the 3D printing startup community this year.
Sharebot’s New “Q” 3D Printer
Italy-based Sharebot has announced a rather large professional 3D printer, the “Sharebot Q”.
3Digify Offers An Unusual 3D Scan Proposition For Pros And Hobbyists
A new startup offers a 3D scanning solution that has some interesting characteristics.
3D Systems Announces 2015 Results: Is It Enough?
As expected, 3D Systems announced their quarterly and annual results yesterday, and the results were indicative of the 3D printing industry today.
Design of the Week: NYC Cityscape
This week’s selection is designer Troy Haung’s incredible 3D printed cityscape of his home, New York City.
3D Systems’ Latest Announcement Confirms Shift To Medical Applications
3D Systems announced the opening of a new center of excellence dedicated to 3D healthcare.
Speeding Up Any Resin 3D Printer With Autodesk’s Ember Tuning
Autodesk has found a method to dramatically speed up certain types of 3D prints on their Ember resin-based 3D printer – and these adjustments might work on other resin 3D printers, too.
Autodesk’s Project Escher Attempts To Combine 3D Printing With Other Manufacturing Processes
This could be a very big deal: Autodesk has taken up the challenge of opening up 3D printing to a much wider audience with Project Escher.
Is Stratasys Becoming More Interested In Desktop 3D Printing?
Recently I responded to a survey from Stratasys regarding their operations, but it was entirely focused on desktop 3D printing.
Carbon: It’s About The Materials, Silly!
Carbon’s latest move suggests their real ambition could be materials, not 3D printing.
Confusion In Analysis of 3D Printing Stocks!
It’s a weird time to be tracking 3D print-related stocks these days.
The Secret To 3D Printing Graphene: Freeze It!
It’s been quite problematic to 3D print graphene, but researchers at the University of Buffalo have come up with a very cool solution.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 5, Fixing The Models
This is part five of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 4, Processing Your Scans
This is part four of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 3, Performing The Scans
This is part three of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 2, Selecting Subjects
This is part two of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 1
This is part one of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
Considering The True Biodegradability of PLA
Hackaday’s recent story about PLA biodegradability got me thinking more about PLA’s characteristics.
Under Armour’s 3D Printed Shoe Experiment
Footwear maker Under Armour announced a small experiment in 3D printing, but it isn’t what you might think.
Peasl For 3D Printing?
I ran across an unusual material called Peasl. Could it be used for – or with – 3D printing?
An Inexpensive All-Metal Delta 3D Printer: Trium
A very interesting delta 3D printer has been launched on Kickstarter, the Trium 3D printer.
Secrets Of 3D Scanning Museum Sculptures: Part 6, Printing The Scans and Beyond
This is part six of a series describing practical methods of capturing 3D scans of museum sculptures.
AVOC 3D’s Really Inexpensive 3D Printer
AVOC 3D is working on an incredibly cheap 3D printer that might fit into many budgets.
The MODECLIX Project — A 3D Printed Fashion Collection from UH
The fashion industry has seen its fair share of 3D printed innovation, which has hit catwalks all over the world and been incorporated into the collections of designers such as Iris van Herpen, Chanel and Noa Raviv, among others.
Stratasys Releases 2015 Financials, And A Strange Thing Happened
As scheduled, Stratasys released their 2015 financial results, and while they’re not exactly pretty, some interesting outcomes occurred.
Something Every 3D Printer Owner Should Have: A Foundry
Many people have 3D printers capable of producing plastic objects, but very few have a metal 3D printer. But with your own foundry, it’s almost as if you did.
Audio Capture of 3D Print Security Fears Overblown
Researchers at the University of California at Irvine have found a potential security issue with 3D printers, but I believe fears expressed are overreactions.
How To Make An Air-Tight Dry Box For 3D Printer Filament
There’s a very useful Instructable describing how to keep your 3D printer filament from getting spoiled by humidity.
MADE Shows How To Capture Your Feet In 3D
A crowdfunding project has demonstrated a method of producing custom-fit shoes using 3D scanning that could be adapted for 3D printing.
Design of the Week: Kinematic Petals Dress
This week’s selection is the innovative Kinematic Petals Dress by Nervous System.
A Glimpse Into Personal Fashion Design With 3D Printing
A recent TED talk by Danit Peleg shows how a designer can use 3D printing to create their own fashions.
Watch Out For The MakerX Box
There’s going to be another option for 3D print streaming: The MakerX box.
3D Printed Lock Key Actually Works!
A designer has been able to recreate a physical lock key with 3D technologies and a handy hardware store.
Stratasys Discovers Another Key Use For 3D Printing: Audio
Stratasys described how they partnered with an audio designer to create a new type of speaker using 3D printing, but this could trigger an entirely new set of use cases for the technology.
Proven: Metal Additive Manufacturing Can Optimize Building Structure
A research paper by engineers from Netherlands-based Arup suggests that 3D printed building elements could provide significant benefit when designing particular structural styles.
3D Printing Gives a Dog a Bone
3D printing is currently changing the human healthcare industry. Could veterinary medicine be next?
Metal 3D Printer Manufacturer XJET Announces Huge Investment
Israel-based XJET announced a huge USD$25M investment to bolster their progress in developing an incredibly innovative metal 3D printer.
Materialise Hopes To Open Path To Increased 3D Printing In Hospitals
Belgium-based Materialise announced new software that should enable medical professionals to make significantly greater use of 3D printing technologies.
Bowden Style 3D Printing’s Critical Element: The Tube
We’ve been working on some Bowden-style equipment recently and realized an important design aspect.
colorFabb Announces A Mystery High-Temperature 3D Printer Filament
Dutch filament manufacturer colorFabb announced they’re working on a new high temperature filament.
3D Platform Improves Their Massive 3D Printer
3D Platform just launched their new “3DP Workbench”, a very large format 3D printer.
The RoVa3D Desktop 3D Printer And Its FIVE Nozzles!
Most 3D printers have but a single nozzle, or perhaps two. But the RoVa3D has up to FIVE nozzles.
3D Systems Announces the ProJet MJP 3600 Series
3D Systems may be taking a battering by the investment community recently, but that’s not stopping their technology: they’ve announced a major new series of 3D printing gear.
Pinshape’s 3D Printing Design Guide Is Very Useful
Pinshape has published an enormous, 10,000 word design guide for their contributors. I think it’s pretty good, even if you are not a Pinshape contributor.
Design of the Week: Flying Toaster SD Card Holder
This week’s selection is the eclectic After Dark Flying Toaster SD Card Holder by Swiss Thingiverse contributor Erich Styger.
It’s A New Version Of 3D Slash!
3D Slash has announced version 2.0 of their powerful, but easy-to-use web-based 3D modeler.
WI3DP: Mariel Diaz Castro
I am a Maker, an entrepreneur, a geek, a DIY and OpenSource lover.
WI3DP: Mary Visser
Prof. Mary Visser, Holder of the Herman Brown Chair teaches sculpture and 3D modeling at Southwestern University.
Gizmo 3D Printers Pre-Ordering Now Open
Readers may recall a series of stories we wrote earlier this year on Gizmo 3D Printers, an Australian startup with a stupefyingly fast 3D printer. Now you can order one.
Carbon Renamed & Rolling CLIP Out to More Early Adopters
Since the announcement a year ago (almost to the day) introducing the world to the CLIP 3D printing process, from the company that was then called Carbon3D, much has been made of the speed of this process and the high levels of funding it has garnered.
3D Systems Unexpectedly Delays Tax Filing
Industry giant 3D Systems announced they were delaying the filing of their 2015 10-K tax form to the US government. What does this mean?
Design of the Week: Pretend Missile Attachment for Minidrones
This week’s selection is the strange “Pretend Missile Attachment for Minidrones” by MyMiniFactory contributor Savik K., which portends some very interesting future designs.
The Most Bizarre 3D Printer Promo Yet: A Free 3D Printer, With One Big Catch
Zortrax has launched a very unusual sales campaign to promote their popular M200 desktop 3D printer.
MyMiniFactory’s Response To The Thingiverse Controversy
Designers and artists have increased concerns since a rogue entrepreneur began reselling designs from Thingiverse, but MyMiniFactory has a partial solution.
3DPrintClean Introduces An Affordable Filtration Enclosure
3DPrintClean has been producing professional filtration solutions for a while now, but they’ve just launched a new low-cost version.
ISIS-Destroyed Artifacts Begin To Digitally Resurrect
A project to digitally recover ancient artifacts destroyed by ISIS fanatics has begun to bear fruit.
Arcam To Develop German Market
Sweden-based Arcam seems to be setting up a German subsidiary.
Standards Still Lacking For Industrial 3D Printing
I’m reading an article by Robert Grace discussing the state of standardization of 3D printing within the industrial space.
Push Vs. Pull 3D Printer Marketing
BEEVERYCREATIVE posted a tale of how their 3D printer is being used, and it illustrates a change in how 3D printers are marketed.
A Chat With Ultimaker’s Leaders, Part 2
Earlier this year we sat down for a direct chat with the two top executives at Ultimaker to find out what they’re up to.
Ultimaker Partners With The University of Illinois and Coursera, Filling A Big 3D Gap
Ultimaker, the University of Illinois and Coursera announced a partnership in which Ultimaker will assist the development of a series of online courses on 3D printing.
US Congress To Examine 3D Printing Advances
A special hearing will be held this month at the US government to highlight recent innovations in 3D printing technologies.
Unique Method of 3D Printing Bone Joints
Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a method of 3D printing custom, bio-absorbable bone joints.
MakerBot Reacts To Thingiverse Controversy
Today MakerBot issued a statement regarding their position on the ridiculous actions by 3D print service company Just 3D Print.
We Have A New Contributor: Rachel Park!
I am very pleased to announce that longtime 3D print writer Rachel Park will now be contributing stories to Fabbaloo.
The REVOCaster Is Now Live
Back in 2014 I wrote on the REVOcaster, a rotational casting device that could complement any 3D printer operation. Now it’s available for order.
Interest In 3D Printing Has Flattened – Literally
Over the past year or so, a number of 3D print-related companies have stumbled, and it could be due to a flattening of interest in the technology.
voxeljet And The Service Centre Business Model
voxeljet, like many industrially focused 3D printer manufacturers, offers an industrial service to its client base.
The 3D Nefertiti Hack
A clandestine group has secretly 3D scanned the famous Nefertiti sculpture at the Neues Museum in Berlin – and released the scan publicly!
A Chat With Ultimaker’s Leaders, Part 1
Earlier this year we sat down for a direct chat with the two top executives at Ultimaker to find out what they’re up to.
Ultrafast 3D Printed SuperCapacitors Produced: Could Change Many Things
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a method of 3D printing graphene electrodes that could revolutionize the way we power mobile devices.
Design of the Week: Ötzi
This week’s selection is the incredible 3D printed reproduction of Ötzi, by Materialise, DNALC and artist Gary Staab.
Stratasys Attempts A Breakthrough In 3D Printed Fashion
Stratasys announced a fascinating set of 3D printed dresses that use unique methods that could attract more designers to their services.