Nick Bilton of the New York Times writes on the current “Wild West” state of legal affairs in the world of 3D printing. He compares the trading of digital 3D models with today’s sharing of music and video: “You think that was bad? Just wait until we can copy physical things.” We strongly agree with… Continue reading The Wild West of 3D Models
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Autodesk’s Two New Things: Catch & Make
With the success of their first web-based design tool, 123D, Autodesk has launched (at least for preview) two new apps, Catch and Make. They’re both quite different, but readers will find them both useful. Make is a 3D slicer that converts a 3D model into layers suitable for manual assembly. This is probably best… Continue reading Autodesk’s Two New Things: Catch & Make
Investing in 3D Printing?
You’ve been reading many articles about 3D printing, or perhaps you’ve seen one. You think (like us) that 3D printing is going to be a Big Thing one day. You want a piece of the action. But how do you do that? Normally you’d select one or more likely companies and simply buy their… Continue reading Investing in 3D Printing?
An End To The Dreaded STL Format?
Experiments are underway to 3D print without using STL, the standard meat and potato file format used by 3D printers worldwide. How can this be? The folks at the RepRap project are trying to use a different approach using CSG format. Ok, let’s back up a bit; there are too many acronyms fling around… Continue reading An End To The Dreaded STL Format?
Free 3D Printed Christmas Ornaments
Happen to be using i.Materialise’s 3D printing service? Plan on erecting a Christmas tree in your home? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you might qualify to receive a free 3D printed Christmas ornament from i.Materialise. Their special promotion enables any order at or exceeding €50 to receive an ornament from their… Continue reading Free 3D Printed Christmas Ornaments
Shapeways Smooths Out The Ceramics
3D print service Shapeways has re-announced their ceramic service. They’ve long been known for experimenting with different materials in their 3D printers and now offer what is probably the widest array of materials to choose from when using a 3D print service. As is their habit, they typically offer a new material experimentally so… Continue reading Shapeways Smooths Out The Ceramics
Up! Is Up!Graded!
The busy technical folks at PP3DP have just released an upgraded Up! 3D printer. The popular personal 3D printer is one of the favorites for home users due to its ease of use and very high-quality output. But what’s new on the upgraded machine? They’ve changed quite a few things, but these caught our… Continue reading Up! Is Up!Graded!
3D Printed Circuit Boards?
Ponoko’s CEO David ten Have believes 3D printers will soon be able to print actual working circuit boards, in a recent chat with Wired. According to ten Have, “most of the assembly tools are completely automated anyway”. The RepRap project’s design goal is to design a machine that can actually reproduce itself, but automated… Continue reading 3D Printed Circuit Boards?
3D Printing Event Ends, But Not Really
Unfortunately we were not able to attend the first 3D Printing Event that took place in Eindhoven on 25 October. If you couldn’t attend either don’t give up hope! The generous folks running the event have managed to post videos of all the sessions from the conference. If you have an interest – and a… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Ends, But Not Really
From iPad to Your Finger
The ubiquitous iPad is well known because the primary interface is, well, your finger. Sometimes more than one. Nevertheless, a new iPad app promises to turn the tables on the interface by permitting you to design (with your trusty iPad finger) a 3D ring. The iRing3D app by Paracloud does just that. The app… Continue reading From iPad to Your Finger
The Araldite Digitalis 3D Printer
3D Systems acquired not only a materials manufacturing operation from Huntsman the other day, but also another type of 3D printer: the Araldite Digitalis. We didn’t know much about this device and thought it would be useful to find out more. Perhaps we’ll see how it fits into 3D Systems’ product line. The Digitalis… Continue reading The Araldite Digitalis 3D Printer
DesktopFab Partners with 3D Systems
Some time ago we wrote about a small Texas-based operation called DesktopFab that resold PP3DP’s Up! personal 3D printers in the USA. We hadn’t heard much from them for quite some time. And then suddenly… They issued a press release describing their new partnership with 3D Systems. No longer are they selling PP3DP’s in… Continue reading DesktopFab Partners with 3D Systems
3D Systems Acquires Huntsman Technology
3D Systems continued its acquisition strategy this week by picking up not a company but a technology. They’ve recently been acquiring whole companies related to 3D printing, but this one is slightly different: they’ve purchased what appears to be the USD$7M/yr revenue rapid prototyping arm of Huntsman, a very large chemical conglomerate. The specifics… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires Huntsman Technology
Sculpteo Asks: 3D Printer or 3D Service?
3D print service Sculpteo poses the question, “Would you rather have a personal 3D printer or simply use a 3D print service?” Based on a column from industry consultant Terry Wohlers, it seems that Sculpteo might agree with Wohlers when he says: most people would not want to mess with an AM (additive manufacturing)… Continue reading Sculpteo Asks: 3D Printer or 3D Service?
3D Printing is a Cleantech Innovation
Pike Research, whose tagline is “Cleantech Market Intelligence” posted a report listing “Five Disruptive Cleantech Innovations”. These, we presume, are technologies that should deliver dramatic ecological benefits to future generations as they come online in force later in this century. But what was on the list of five? Energy Harvesting Energy Storage Fuel Cell… Continue reading 3D Printing is a Cleantech Innovation
My Robot Nation Lives
This past August we learned of a new specialized 3D print service under development, My Robot Nation. It specializes (obviously) in printed robots. The service works much like 2D web-based composition tools and games, where you select parts from a library to build up your robot. My Robot Nation provides a variety of stickers,… Continue reading My Robot Nation Lives
Extreme Redesign Contest Winners for 2011
The winners in Dimension’s Extreme Redesign contest for this year have been announced! As is the case every year, the contest has three major categories: College, Art & Architecture, Middle/High School. Buildings & Bridges and Puzzles & Games. You can check out all the winners at the link below, but a couple of items… Continue reading Extreme Redesign Contest Winners for 2011
3D Printed Crabs
No, we’re not talking about pretty little crab toys you can print and hand out to your 8 year old nephew. Instead we’re talking about an innovative project undertaken by one of MakerBot’s artists in residence, Miles Lightwood. The project is concerned with the fate of the lowly Hermit Crab, a crustacean currently facing… Continue reading 3D Printed Crabs
Crania Anatomica Filigre Results
KickStarter, the crowdsourced fundraising site continues to amaze us. As does this particular project, Crania Anatomica Filigre. As you can see, it’s an extremely cool 3D print of a stylized skull by Chicago-based designer Joshua Harker. Harker’s fundraising goal was to collect USD$500 and get his work seen and touched by more people. It… Continue reading Crania Anatomica Filigre Results
Modeen’s Meat and Bone Experiments
3D design dxperimenter extraordinaire Dr. Thomas Modeen continues his radical 3D printing design experiments in his “Meat and Bone” series. This technique is incredibly simple yet the results are startlingly beautiful. His approach retains the normally discarded support structures as part of the printed work. By thinking of the design in this way right… Continue reading Modeen’s Meat and Bone Experiments
3D Printing’s Great Divide
We’ve been observing some of the fantastic features offered by the major 3D printer manufacturers and realized there could be a growing problem. While all 3D printers can produce objects, some manufacturers use unique (and patented) approaches to getting that done. They also offer some great features: ZCorp’s printers can print in full… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Great Divide
Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures
At a recent seminar we were able to meet with 3D printing consultant Terry Wohlers. Terry has been a leading 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry consultant and prolific speaker for over 25 years. Each year he publishes the definitive report on the industry, available from his website. We asked his opinion on 3D printing… Continue reading Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures
The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
Pete Prodoehl of RasterWeb tells an interesting tale of his experience in making a replacement part using a home 3D printer. We’ve gone through this scenario ourselves, and you should hear this tale as it typifies the current state of affairs for home repair using 3D printers. Pete required a light switch button and… Continue reading The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
The iModela IM-01 “3D Printer”
We’ve been reading a ton of posts from various online services talking about Japan-based Roland’s new “iModela 3D Printer”. This fully assembled device is able to produce 3D objects upon command and retails for under USD$1000. The iModela IM-01 comes with software to design your objects, a travel case and there’s even an online community… Continue reading The iModela IM-01 “3D Printer”
3D Printing Event Soon
If you happen to be in Eindhoven on the 25th, you might head down to 3D Printing Event 2011. The theme of the event is something we focus on: 3D printing at home. You’ll be able to attend seminars that discuss the theme in depth, and you can also peruse the offerings of many… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Soon
3D Printed Crime
PC World takes a very deep look at some of the criminal possibilities of 3D printing in a recent article. We’ve been quite concerned about how this will play out, as have some others. When you have a machine that can create practically anything, what do you expect to happen? PC World’s article details… Continue reading 3D Printed Crime
Up!’s Platform Suit
PP3DP has introduced a possible solution to the scourge of all home 3D printer operators: ABS warping. As most 3D printer operators discover (usually catastrophically) certain shapes and sizes of ABS plastic prints tend to curl as the print proceeds. Usually thin edges are the worst. This problem actually severely limits the size of… Continue reading Up!’s Platform Suit
Finding 3D Models With Google
We’re always interested to find new ways of developing 3D models, be it through software modeling tools, capture through scanning of real objects, physical manifestation of found 3D data, or other techniques. Why? Because you can 3D print them! Now we see artist Daniel Michel of Germany has found yet another way to create digital… Continue reading Finding 3D Models With Google
Waiting For AMF
Some months ago (March actually) we wrote about a new file format for additive manufacturing that had been approved after long discussion: AMF, the Additive Manufacturing Format. This new format included a variety of key features to dramatically improve the information content found in 3D models. Meta data, materials, colors, textures and more were… Continue reading Waiting For AMF
MAKE Talks with Bre
There’s a very long interview with MakerBot Chief Bre Pettis in MAKE magazine that we encourage you to read. We went through it looking for clues to MakerBot’s future plans, especially after their recent gigantic infusion of an astonishing USD$10M from investors. Here’s what we noticed: Bre is still very pumped about MakerBot as… Continue reading MAKE Talks with Bre
Unlimited 3D Printing For Only $10K?
We’ve found out a bit more about MCOR’s intriguing free 3D printing program, called “freeDrevolution”. As we wrote earlier, the idea is to give you (literally) a free commercial 3D printer (the MCOR Matrix, of course) and then you simply pay a flat fee to cover all printing costs – including maintenance and supplies. In… Continue reading Unlimited 3D Printing For Only $10K?
More on the 3D Systems Projet 1500
We’ve obtained some additional information about 3D Systems’ new low-cost commercial color 3D printer, the Projet 1500. Priced at slightly under USD$15,000, this device has quite a few very interesting features that we noticed while perusing 3D Systems’ documentation. Here’s the highlights of our scan through their material: Front panel has a window for… Continue reading More on the 3D Systems Projet 1500
More on the Solidoodle 3D Printer
After yesterday’s post on the new Solidoodle 3D printer, we spoke with team leader Sam Cervantes, who answered some key questions were pondering. Fabbaloo: Why another 3D printer? Aren’t there several for sale already? What makes Solidoodle different? Sam Cervantes: Some people love to put complicated machines together and that’s great – it’s… Continue reading More on the Solidoodle 3D Printer
The Solidoodle 3D Printer
Yet another inexpensive 3D printer has emerged: the Solidoodle. The amusingly named device is unique because it is, as far as we can tell, the only fully assembled personal 3D printer currently available at a price under USD$1000: their price is only USD$699. But that’s their introductory price. The final price is no doubt a… Continue reading The Solidoodle 3D Printer
The Mosaic 3D Printer
MakerGear, that wonderful online source for all kinds of 3D printing goodness, launched the Mosaic 3D Printer this past summer. The Mosaic is similar to several other inexpensive 3D printer kits. This item comes in three forms: The basic kit, for USD$799 The “Plus” version for USD$999, which adds a heated build platform and… Continue reading The Mosaic 3D Printer
Free 123D T-Shirts!
Autodesk is running a promotion to raise interest in their new web-based 3D modeling tool, 123D, which we’ve written about before. You don’t get a t-shirt for nothing, though. You have to make an image of your original 3D Jack-o-lantern design and share it within their online gallery. This could be easier than you… Continue reading Free 123D T-Shirts!
Foodsafe 3D Printing
Foodsafe is one of those words we keep bumping into. What does it mean, exactly? Well, we’re pretty certain there is an official international standard, complete with a number of specifications, but basically it means you can use the produce for purposes of human consumption. You can eat with it. “But it’s just plastic… Continue reading Foodsafe 3D Printing
The Global Village Construction Set
Want to build a civilization? Sure, we all do. But now you can with the Global Village Construction Kit. It’s a set of tools you’ll need to produce and maintain an modern, industrial civilization. From their wiki: The Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) is a modular, DIY, low-cost, high-performance platform that enables fabrication of… Continue reading The Global Village Construction Set
Stratasys Expands
3D printing industry giant Stratasys has been spending some money lately – on a new 90,000 sq. ft production facility in Minnesota. The new facility, which is actually a refit of an existing building in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, actually doubles their capacity for building their line of 3D printers. Evidently Stratasys believes there’s a… Continue reading Stratasys Expands
3D Systems Acquires Kemo
Mark down another acquisition for 3D Systems, who this week announced they’ve picked up Belgian 3D print service Kemo B.V. Modelmaker. This Belgian firm adds to the significant number of 3D print services now under the vast 3D Systems umbrella. Kemo focuses on on-demand custom parts for industry, similar to other services that 3D Systems… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires Kemo
ZCorp’s On This Old House
If you’re watching the perennial PBS TV series “This Old House” you might see a 3D printed house in a couple of their October episodes. The series has used a ZCorp 3D printer to produce a model of a home being remodeled in order to show the viewing audience what the final outcome of the… Continue reading ZCorp’s On This Old House
The New ProJet 1500 From 3D Systems
3D Systems has released a new personal 3D printer, the ProJet 1500. This device is priced at under USD$15,000 and seems to compete directly with Stratasys’s popular uPrint device. The ProJet 1500 is billed as a color printer, since it is capable of using cartridges with some six different colors: White, Red, Grey, Blue,… Continue reading The New ProJet 1500 From 3D Systems
Free 3D Printers!
We wrote about a mysterious program from MCOR in which they hinted they’d be giving away 3D printers at no charge. Certainly this deserves some investigation, and it turns out it’s actually true! MCOR now no longer sells their paper-fuelled 3D printers. Instead they simply give them away! But there’s a catch, of course.… Continue reading Free 3D Printers!
More on the Origo 3D Printer For Kids
We contacted Joris Peels, one of the founders of the Origo 3D printer for Kids and also a long-time friend of Fabbaloo to find out more about this interesting venture. Here’s our interview: Fabbaloo: Why kids? Joris Peels: Artur and I both want to let anyone make anything. Making is an ability… Continue reading More on the Origo 3D Printer For Kids
Keep Up The Support
Designer Dr. Thomas Modeen, whom we’ve written about recently, has come up with another unusual design: various species of bowls and bottles. The unique aspect of this design is that he’s incorporated support material into the final object. Normally this stuff is used only to support overhangs and is swiftly removed after the print completes.… Continue reading Keep Up The Support
Making Dinosaurs
It’s been the fantasy of many kids (and adults) to recreate dinosaurs. Those almost mythical, but real beasts from prehistoric times challenge our curiosity. What were they really like. Probably they’d eat you if they had a chance, but is there a way to rebuild the dinosaurs? The late author Michael Crichton proposed doing so… Continue reading Making Dinosaurs
Objet’s Clear Bio-Material
Commercial 3D printer manufacturer Objet has released a new very interesting print material: MED610, which is a transparent bio-compatible substance. You might think that making a clear, safe substance would be easy, but it’s not. In order to qualify for such a designation numerous tests and certifications are required, and that’s the tough work that… Continue reading Objet’s Clear Bio-Material
Printing Blood Vessels
Printing solid objects is pretty easy: you just extrude/fuse/sinter/flash the layers and you’ve got your whatever-it-is-you-wanted. It’s easy because typically these 3D prints are a uniform material all the way through. Occasionally experiments are done with multiple materials and one commercial 3D printer maker (Objet) has a technology that can print mixes of two different… Continue reading Printing Blood Vessels
Digital Reality Developing 3D Print Service
We spoke at length recently with Chris Norman, head of Digital Reality Corp, a Texas-based company that knows a lot about 3D printing and product engineering. They’ve been working on a new distributed 3D print service that sounds a lot more comprehensive than those available today. We don’t know all the details yet, as Digital… Continue reading Digital Reality Developing 3D Print Service
Industrial Revolution 2.0 Held Over
What? You weren’t able to attend the London Design Festival this year and missed out seeing Murray Moss’s “Industrial Revolution 2.0” display? Well, now you can, because this exhibition has been held over at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Instead of ending now, it’s been extended until early November. Evidently the exhibition was extremely… Continue reading Industrial Revolution 2.0 Held Over
More on the 3DTouch 3D Printer
After yesterday’s announcement from 3D Systems / BFB on their new 3DTouch printer, we sought additional details. Today we’ve learned a few more things about this very interesting device, including why it’s called the “3DTouch”. Check out the much more detailed image above (click for larger view). Here’s our latest findings: The “touch”… Continue reading More on the 3DTouch 3D Printer
BFB Announces 3DTouch 3D Printer
Just as the TCT conference commences, Bits From Bytes has suddenly announced a new 3D printer for their catalog: the 3DTouch 3D Printer. Details are scarce, and we’re seeking more, but for now this printer seems to supersede the very popular BFB 3000 series. In fact, the 3DTouch appears visually very similar to… Continue reading BFB Announces 3DTouch 3D Printer
Bullish Outlook for 3D Printing
Financial analyst Andrea James of Dougherty & Co. recently upgraded their recommendations for Stratasys from “hold” to “buy”, predicting that stock could hit as much as $28 from its current $20ish level. She also predicts a 15% compound growth in 3D printing for at least five years. Um, if our math s correct, 15% compounded… Continue reading Bullish Outlook for 3D Printing
A 3D Printed Hairbrush Bowl?
Qatar-based designer Thomas Modeen has produced a very unusual fruit bowl design. Well, we suppose it could hold a lot of other things, too. The design is inspired by a hairbrush – but upside down so that the bristles support items placed on top. There are plenty more pictures of the “Hair-Brush Fruit-Bowl” at… Continue reading A 3D Printed Hairbrush Bowl?
DAVID Laser Scanner Updated
The inexpensive DAVID Laser Scanner has been updated to version 3.0 with some interesting improvements. This device can be used to capture complete digital 3D models of physical objects – which you can then print, of course. For some time the scanner has supported laser scanning, but now version 3.0 adds the ability to… Continue reading DAVID Laser Scanner Updated
3D Systems Acquires Formero
Continuing their sweep across the world acquiring 3D print services, 3D Systems has now absorbed Formero, and Australian 3D print service. Formero focuses on the Asia-Pacific market from their Melbourne base of operations. With this acquisition 3D Systems now has stretched its global reach quite a bit farther, at least in terms of 3D… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires Formero
Ponoko’s New Gelatin!
Distributed manufacturing service Ponoko has released a new material available for their 3D printers, with the self-describing name of “Durable Fine Plastic”. We think this is a pretty cool material, because it’s actually TWO materials in one! The objects themselves are printed in a rather nice ABS-like plastic that has both “durable” (strong like… Continue reading Ponoko’s New Gelatin!
Something Cooking at MCOR?
MCOR makes 3D printers that use inexpensive common paper as their print material, and they’ve been relatively successful. But we’re hearing something rather strange about a new initiative they’re about to release soon. Their new program is called “freeDrevolution” – and it supposedly involves free 3D printers from MCOR. What? *FREE* 3D printers? … Continue reading Something Cooking at MCOR?
3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?
We’re always fascinated when someone takes some raw data and somehow converts it into a printable object. Recently Thingiverse user TheNewHobbyist created a great model using the United States Electoral College. For those unfamiliar with obscure US election rituals, it is simply a quantity of votes assigned to each state for purposes of presidential voting. … Continue reading 3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?
Origo, The 3D Printer for Kids
You might think 3D printing is hard. Well, it certainly can be. But now Artur Tchoukanov and Fabbaloo friend Joris Peels’ new venture Origo attempts to change all that. They’re making Origo – a 3D printer specifically designed for children. Imagine what ten-year olds could do with a 3D printer! The question we’d immediately… Continue reading Origo, The 3D Printer for Kids
New Up! 3D Printer Software Released
PP3DP has released a new version of their very capable driver software for their flagship Up! personal 3D Printerm, version 1.14 for Windows and version 1.1. for Mac. We’ve always admired the terrific features and simplicity offered by PP3DP’s software, but there are several new features in this release we’d like to see in other… Continue reading New Up! 3D Printer Software Released
Look Out For 3D Printed Hats
.MGX, the high-end retail arm of 3D printing service Materialise, announced they’re now collaborating with notable Belgian hat designer Elvis Pompilio. He’s produced hats for many famous personages, having opened his first boutique soon after starting the business in 1987. While we’re not personally likely to wear this style, we’re quite interested to see… Continue reading Look Out For 3D Printed Hats
AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved
The new beta 6 of Autodesk’s free 3D modelling tool includes a couple of very interesting features for 3D print operators. First, there’s the ability to convert text into 3D shapes using solid creation tools. You can place vector text on any plane and then apply extrude, bend, taper or other deformations. This, we… Continue reading AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved
Tinkercad Adds Shapeways
As we suspected, another 3D print service has added Tinkercad integration into their interface. Shapeways joins i.Materialise as an option for printing your 3D models developed in Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a web-based, very easy to use 3D solid modeling tool. The addition of a Shapeways interface permits direct 3D printing capability, very similar to… Continue reading Tinkercad Adds Shapeways
Exclusive Video: 3D Printed Car Unveiled
Last night Fabbaloo attended the official unveiling of the Urbee 3D printed car, which we’ve covered previously. The Urbee is an ultra-efficient urban vehicle prototype that changes travel paradigm – and also engineering paradigms as its entire body was 3D printed using Stratasys 3D print services. Click the video above to see the unveiling, and… Continue reading Exclusive Video: 3D Printed Car Unveiled
Get a Free 3D Sample Print
3D printing is a new thing; so new that many people simply don’t believe you if you describe it to them. Blank looks, disbelief and heavy skepticism are typical reactions to “3D printing”. How then can one explain this very different concept to someone? You have to show them something – or even better, have… Continue reading Get a Free 3D Sample Print
Industrial Revolution 2.0
Industrial Revolution 2.0 is the name of a special event taking place at this year’s London Design Festival. This event is located at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as are some of the other events. It turns out that most of the items on display at Industrial Revolution 2.0 are 3D printed by 3D print… Continue reading Industrial Revolution 2.0
MakerBot Announces MK7 Extruder
Hobbyist 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot announced a brand new extruder this morning: the Stepstruder MK7. MakerBot has a habit of gradually enhancing their product line, and as the extruder is a key part of any 3D printer, this is a big deal. And just in time for the NYC MakerFaire, too. The Stepstruder MK7… Continue reading MakerBot Announces MK7 Extruder
The Hamburger Shoe
People always get excited about 3D printed food in spite of the fact there are precious few ways to do so. While we await the development of a consumer food printer, others continue to experiment. Shapeways reports on a great experiment in which their member Tristan Bethe 3D scanned his shoe, 3D printed a slightly… Continue reading The Hamburger Shoe
Urbee, The 3D Printed Car
Can you 3D print a working car? The folks making the Urbee car believe so. They’ve prototyping an ultra-efficient (300 miles per gallon, 0.8L/100Km) urban vehicle whose body is entirely 3D printed. We recently visited the Urbee shop and found it to be a very unusual vehicle: Two seater with some room for… Continue reading Urbee, The 3D Printed Car
Shapeways Teaches 3D Design
In an effort to generate more Shapeways designers, Shapeways is offering an in-class evening training class New York City on September 13th. They’re hoping to attract people new to 3D modeling who have used some of Shapeways’ unique model generators and want more. The course seems to be pretty basic, focusing on use of… Continue reading Shapeways Teaches 3D Design
New York City Ground Zero Model
An amazing three-part model of New York City’s Ground Zero is now on display at the Manhattan’s New York City Fire Museum. The three part model by artist David Munson shows a 3D cityscape of buildings in the vicinity of Ground Zero before the Sept 11th event, immediately afterwards, and finally after all is rebuilt. … Continue reading New York City Ground Zero Model
MCOR Gets a New Chair
MCOR, makers of the very unusual paper-based 3D printer, have announced they’ve appointed a new chair of their board of directors. The Irish-born Ryan has had a very long career in California in the electronics industry and now acts as an industry advisor for start-up companies – and now will provide advice and guidance to… Continue reading MCOR Gets a New Chair
The V&A Goes 3D
If you’re visiting London soon, we’d recommend you spend some time at the Victoria and Albert Museum, home of incredible deisgns of all kinds. Typically the works are historical, but at times contemporary works are displayed. That’s what’s happening now in a new exhibition called “The Power of Making” taking place at the V&A from… Continue reading The V&A Goes 3D
RepRap Price Points
Neil Underwood posted a great summary of pricing options for getting your own RepRap 3D printer. His analysis shows three different price levels, ranging from a full-on everything-you’d-possibly-want version for USD$850 to a very basic, just-enough-to-say-you-did-it USD$350 version. There’s also a more practical level at USD$550 for a “realistically cheap prusa model”. Be sure… Continue reading RepRap Price Points
Homemade Stereo Lithography
Maker Rob Hopeless developed a primitive stereo lithography 3D printer. For those unfamiliar with “SLA”, it’s a 3D printing technique involving shooting a laser beam at a vat of liquid plastic resin and gradually solidifying that resin into the desired solid object. While most hobbyists attempt to make thermal plastic extruder-based 3D printers, Rob attempted… Continue reading Homemade Stereo Lithography
3D Systems Acquires … Jim!
Jim Smith of Grass Roots Engineering has been working on 3D printing technology for quite a while, building such amazing machines as shown in the image at left. But now he’s made a big announcement: Since I started this website in December 2010, it has received a lot of attention, especially from my NPR… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires … Jim!
Ceramic 3D Printing At Ponoko
Distributed manufacturing giant Ponoko now offers a “glazed ceramic” material option for their 3D printers. This is a big development because it permits the creation of “food safe” objects. Typical extrusion-based 3D printed objects have tiny grooves corresponding to the extrusion layers that can obviously become fouled with foodstuff and be unsafe. Not so with… Continue reading Ceramic 3D Printing At Ponoko
Objet Prints a Toddler!
Most of a toddler, that is. They’ve used their unique multi-material 3D printing capability to print the upper half of a human toddler. As you can see in the image, they’ve used a clear material for most of the body, with a harder, white material for the skeleton – which is embedded within the 10Kg… Continue reading Objet Prints a Toddler!
Shapeways Reveals Production Status
3D print service Shapeways has grown much in the past few years. Now they’re so large it’s hard to keep track of all their materials offerings let alone their production status. But now you can see exactly what’s going on by checking out their brand new “Material Production Status” page. On this page you’ll… Continue reading Shapeways Reveals Production Status
Evolve Your Objects with Endless Forms
The creation of objects is often the biggest challenge to those using 3D printers, and thus we’re always interested in new ways to obtain or generate them. A new method of generation appeared that uses a Genetic Approach. Endless Forms provides an online dashboard in which you evolve objects into desired or at… Continue reading Evolve Your Objects with Endless Forms
Virtual To Physical World Bridge Reopened
Long time Fabbaloo readers may recall a distant post describing the Fabjectory service that could 3D print your Second Life avatar. Fabjectory has long since disappeared, and we’re not likely to see a similar service because Second Life’s owner, Linden Lab, now strictly limits digital capture of in-world virtual items (including avatars) due to intellectual… Continue reading Virtual To Physical World Bridge Reopened
3D Printing’s Rule 34
Charles Stross’s latest science fiction novel, Rule 34, includes a whole lot of deep thinking on the implications of widespread 3D printing. We’ve discussed some of these issues before, but Stross’s novel proposes another more aggressive solution: forbidden shapes. In other words, 3D printers could be rigged to detect and prevent the production of certain… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Rule 34
Forbes On 3D Printing
There’s been a plethora of mainstream media talking about 3D printing lately, and we’re not entirely sure why. Maybe the meme has simply spread wide enough that “normal” people are now starting to talk about it. We’ve experienced this too, where technically innocent relatives talk about something they saw. When grandmother talks about 3D printing,… Continue reading Forbes On 3D Printing
3D Printing Event Coming Soon!
We’ve learned of an important 3D printing event taking place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands this October 25th. The event is named, not surprisingly, the “3D Printing Event”. If you attend you’ll be able to listen to talks by notable 3D printing personalities and also walk through an exhibition of 3D printing vendors. We’re not sure… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Coming Soon!
MakerBot Is Hiring (Again)
MakerBot, that Brooklyn, NY-based 3D printing startup that always seems to be in the news is hiring again. We noticed a post recently in which they are trying to recruit yet another worker bee, this time a Customer Support Tech: You’ll be responsible for eloquently representing a growing DIY 3D printer and technology company… Continue reading MakerBot Is Hiring (Again)
Up! Gets A Stepper
PP3DP, makers of the popular Up! personal 3D printer announced they’re upgrading their filament feeder in a significant way. Their original feeder involved a DC motor and mechanical switch, which limits the accuracy of prints as the DC motor takes a while to start up and spin down when electricity is applied. This means you’re… Continue reading Up! Gets A Stepper
Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?
Computer geeks are all familiar with Moore’s law, which posits the idea that the number of transistors practically placed on a chip doubles every two years. Of course, more transistors means more power – and that’s exactly what we see: cheaper, more powerful computers every year. Johnny Ryan wonders whether a similar law (maybe… Continue reading Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?
The Spinscan
Thingiverse user tbuser has been working on an open source version of a 3D scanning turntable, complete with cross-platform software. While 3D printer owners are amazed at their ability to produce things, it gets a bit more tricky to create models. Scanning is obviously a great way to get great models for printing – or… Continue reading The Spinscan
Shapeways AbFab3D
A powerful new capability was announced by 3D print service Shapeways: AbFab3D. It’s a software architecture that permits the existence of “3D Creators”, which are programs that create printable 3D models based on some input parameters. In other words, on-the-fly customized models. The catch is that you need a “3D Creator” for each type… Continue reading Shapeways AbFab3D
PP3DP Updates 3D Printer Software
A new release of their 3D printing driver software (for Up! personal 3D printers) was released by PP3DP. Version 1.13 seems to have no major changes but does include some interesting tuneups that should make life a little easier for the Up! owners: The initial print sequence includes a “two line” extrusion (shown in… Continue reading PP3DP Updates 3D Printer Software
TinkerCAD Integrates with i.Materialise
You may recall the incredibly easy-to-use web-based 3D modeling tool TinkerCAD? It permitted those not trained in the big 3D tools to create useful designs at basically no cost. Once done you could export your model and print it either on your own 3D printer or send it to a 3D print service for production. … Continue reading TinkerCAD Integrates with i.Materialise
MakerBot’s $10M Challenge
MakerBot chief Bre Pettis made a very big announcement yesterday: They’re taking in the staggering amount of USD$10M in a special investment round! The sixteen listed investors, led by Foundry Group, obviously have huge confidence in MakerBot’s future. MakerBot has come a very long way from their modest start in early 2009, growing to… Continue reading MakerBot’s $10M Challenge
More on the 3D Systems’ BotMill Acquisition
We were a tiny bit surprised last week when we learned that up and coming 3D printer manufacturer and marketer BotMill was snapped up by industry giant 3D Systems. At the time there was not a lot of information available about this move, so we contacted 3D Systems VP of Global Marketing to clarify the… Continue reading More on the 3D Systems’ BotMill Acquisition
The Three Phases of Personal Data
Jordan Staniscia describes an interesting link between current developments in 3D printing and “2D media” that we’ve all been using for many years. His concept is “custom personal data”, data that can be mixed, manipulated and of course chosen by you. In the increasingly distant past, such choices were made by media execs in… Continue reading The Three Phases of Personal Data