We’ve been covering 3D printing for quite some time now, perhaps six years, and in that time we’ve seen many promising developments and a gradual progression towards a mythical, ultimate personal 3D printer. We’re not close to such a Star Trek-like device by any measure, but progress continues. The public, on the other hand,… Continue reading The Public Emotions of 3D Printing
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Made In Space To Really Go To Space
They made the 3D printer, now they send it into space. Made In Space, the startup who have designed a compact 3D printer suitable for use in the weightless environment in space, now have a flight date for their machine. In August 2014 their 3D printer will be carried aloft to the International Space Station… Continue reading Made In Space To Really Go To Space
Hands On With The FinishingTouch Smoothing Station
If you’re 3D printing with plastic filament, you’ll be familiar with the layered effect, where progressive extrusions accumulate into an object. The object has the correct shape, but has unsightly ridges. What to do? You can eliminate ridges with the Acetone technique, but it’s relatively dangerous, as acetone is flammable and generally not very… Continue reading Hands On With The FinishingTouch Smoothing Station
MakerBot – Autodesk Discount Available
If you happen to be interested in purchasing a MakerBot Replicator 2 personal 3D printer and a premium membership in Autodesk’s highly useful 123D apps, you’re in luck: there’s a discount available. If you upgrade from the free version of 123D to premium level, you’ll receive a USD$40 discount on purchase of a MakerBot… Continue reading MakerBot – Autodesk Discount Available
Let Yeggi Find Your 3D Models
Unless you’re a capable 3D designer, you’ll have to find pre-made 3D models to send to your 3D printer. This can be problematic for a couple of reasons: searching for non-textual items is always difficult; there are an increasing number of 3D model repositories to search. The latter is partially solved by the strangely… Continue reading Let Yeggi Find Your 3D Models
Design of the Week: Helix Wireframe
This week’s selection is the Helix Wireframe with ball by Shapeways creator Wainstain. The design is precisely what it is named: a twirly helix with a ball inside. Here’s the trick: This is a four sided helix with a wireframe ball inside that can move freely in any direction you choose. Like… Continue reading Design of the Week: Helix Wireframe
Cubify Releases “Draw”
Yet another easy-to-use Cubify app has been released: Draw. It’s actually an iOS app where you can simply “draw” a shape with your finger. The shape drawn is a 2D trace, but the Draw app expands its thickness and extrudes it into a solid shape. You’re permitted to either email the corresponding STL file… Continue reading Cubify Releases “Draw”
A 3D Printed Smart Watch
An Indiegogo campaign by Brooklyn’s Dominic Prescod hopes to raise funds to purchase a commercial 3D printer for production of his smart watch design, the 6th Relic. The 6th Relic, so named as it is designed to fit a 6th generation Apple iPod Nano, is an integrated, multi-size wristwatch band and case that holds the… Continue reading A 3D Printed Smart Watch
Mataerial Offers a New Way to 3D Print
Virtually all 3D printers today use a layered approach, where the object being printed is “sliced” into layers, or horizontal planes, which are printed using whichever technology is at hand. But a project by researchers from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Joris Laarman Lab proves there is another way. The Mataerial… Continue reading Mataerial Offers a New Way to 3D Print
BotObjects Tells More – But Not Enough
You may recall the mysterious launch of the ProDesk30 from BotObjects the other week? It was said to be an amazing Full Color personal 3D plastic extrusion printer. Many observers were highly skeptical of this claim, particularly because little evidence or even specifications had been released by BotObjects. Now that’s changed. A bit. … Continue reading BotObjects Tells More – But Not Enough
Emerging Objects 3D Prints Architectural Materials
Oakland-based Emerging Objects isn’t your normal design firm. Rather than designing homes, interiors, furniture or products from common materials, the four-person group is trying to create materials for tomorrow’s 3D printed objects. Self-described as a “a pioneering design and research company that specializes in designing and 3D printing objects for the built environment using… Continue reading Emerging Objects 3D Prints Architectural Materials
The Zortrax M200 3D Printer
Zortrax is launching their new M200 personal 3D printer on Kickstarter, with a focus on ease of use and aesthetics. They say they “want 3D printing to be a great experience.” Unlike typical filament-based 3D printers that use ABS and PLA plastic, the M200 is specifically designed to print ABS, PC-ABS and Nylon. … Continue reading The Zortrax M200 3D Printer
Michigan Tech’s 3D Printers for Peace
The recent development of 3D printed weapons has caused others to strive for more peaceful uses of the technology.Michigan Technological University, a.k.a, Michigan Tech, has launched a new competition: 3D Printers for Peace. The contest requires you to design a 3D printable object that is peaceful. Wait, what does that mean? They explain: … Continue reading Michigan Tech’s 3D Printers for Peace
3D Hacker’s Many Services
We were contacted by Andrew Mazzotta, who, with Adam Pirie, have created “3D Hacker”, a multipurpose website serving the needs of the 3D printing community. The website acts much like a “3D Printing Kijiji”, where members can add listings in several categories, such as: parts, kits, printers, software, tools, tutorials, jobs, events, clubs and… Continue reading 3D Hacker’s Many Services
FabFabbers Opens
Yet another 3D model sharing site has opened: FabFabbers. Like many such repositories, FabFabbers permits members to upload models, showcase them in listings for download by visitors. But what differentiates this repository from the rest? There are two features we found particularly interesting: uploaded models can actually be stored on GitHub, which is a… Continue reading FabFabbers Opens
Platige Image’s Astonishing 3D Printed Sculpture: Biostagog
A collaboration of artists and technicians has created one of the most amazing 3D printed sculptures ever attempted. Polish company Platige Image required a “statement” for their headquarters in Warsaw and we believe this massive sculpture delivers. They say: The installation was supposed to be an interactive, “living” element in the building, a phenomenon… Continue reading Platige Image’s Astonishing 3D Printed Sculpture: Biostagog
3D Printed Bullets?
A new video has surfaced of experiments with 3D printed bullets. The video, produced by popular gun video enthusiasts Taofledermaus, shows three actual firings of said bullets. One firing involves 1/10 of an ounce (3g) of powder, another is 1/2 an ounce (14g) and the third shows a very unusual shape, which fails miserably.… Continue reading 3D Printed Bullets?
Voronoization
You may have seen those fascinating 3D models that seem to have replaced the normal shape with a strange, smooth skeletal networked form. The complex structures seem impossibly difficult to design with conventional 3D modeling tools, and indeed they are. Perhaps they’ve been made with mathematical 3D model generation tools operated by a PhD? Sometimes… Continue reading Voronoization
3D Printing The Enterprise
There’s more 3D printed Star Trek with a view of this video by PC Magazine, who took on the task of 3D printing the Starship Enterprise on their 3D Systems Cube personal 3D printer. It’s a time lapse video, obviously, as 3D printers simply are not fast. This shows one of the main challenges… Continue reading 3D Printing The Enterprise
CGTrader’s Massive 3D Print Competition
There’s a lot of 3D print competitions lately, but this one seems to involve more prizes than we’ve seen before. CGTrader’s “3D Printing Competition” seeks fully 3D printable models to be uploaded before June 30th, when they will be judged by CGTrader staff. What makes this competition different is the quantity and quality of… Continue reading CGTrader’s Massive 3D Print Competition
Now You Can Go Where No One Has Gone Before
Cubify launched a new dynamic 3D model service specifically for Trekkies: Personalized 3D Printed Star Trek Figurines. If you never had a chance to appear on the show (and who could have?) you now can put yourself in a Star Fleet uniform. The USD$69.99 offer requires a bit of input from you, as do… Continue reading Now You Can Go Where No One Has Gone Before
3D Systems to Acquire Arcam?
Last week 3D Systems did something unusual: they sold off 7,500,000 shares of their stock at a price of USD$40 each. Around 17.5% of these shares were held by “certain selling stockholders”, while the rest were owned by 3D Systems itself. This raised company coffers by a massive USD$300M. Companies just don’t do this… Continue reading 3D Systems to Acquire Arcam?
Design of the Week: Memorial Bust of a Woman
This week’s selection is Memorial Bust of a Woman by artist Sophie Kahn. What appears to be a relic-like representation of a woman is actually much more. It’s a self-portrait, obtained using 3D laser scanning to obtain a rough 3D model. But it’s an inaccurate capture, as the artist moves very slightly during the… Continue reading Design of the Week: Memorial Bust of a Woman
Tinkercad Lives!
Our beloved Tinkercad lives again. The very popular web-based 3D modeling service was used by many due to its ease of use, web availability and inexpensive pricing. But in a move shocking everyone, the owners of Tinkercad announced it was closing as their business moved off into other ventures. But now, in a rather… Continue reading Tinkercad Lives!
The Form 1 Ships!
Formlabs has now shipped its first actual production units of their breakthrough resin-based personal 3D printer, the Form 1. The USD$3,299 high-resolution device was launched on Kickstarter some months ago and raised close to USD$3M, a record amount for a technology item. Based on this alone, the Form 1 is a highly desired machine… Continue reading The Form 1 Ships!
Kees 3D Printed Cases
We’ve run across a new 3D print service called “Kees”, which specializes in personalized mobile phone cases. While there seems to be oh, a zillion iPhone case options out there, the Kees service permits significant customization, as you can see in the image below. Each option offers many different choices, with dozens of backgrounds and… Continue reading Kees 3D Printed Cases
Augmented Realty 3D Printing with UltimARker
Industrial Designer Joris van Tubergen and augmented reality artist Sander Veenhof have invented something we’ve not seen previously: a way to view your 3D printing operation using augmented reality. Wait a sec, what does that mean? Watch the video above to see what we mean, but it is a way to observe the final… Continue reading Augmented Realty 3D Printing with UltimARker
U.S. Losing its Edge in Additive Manufacturing?
For the last few decades, American companies have dominated and advanced the field of additive manufacturing to its current state. However, in a recent report from industry analyst Terry Wolhers, America’s dominance in additive manufacturing could be waning. In preparation for Wohlers Associates annual Wohlers Report,the analysis firm hase released some data that might… Continue reading U.S. Losing its Edge in Additive Manufacturing?
Are 3D Printers Scary?
We’re reading a post by Shelly Palmer of Huffington Post entitled, “3D Printing is Way Scarier Than Plastic Guns”. Palmer describes the recent 3D printed gun scenario that we’ve covered in several posts and then goes on to suggest that the knee-jerk reactions of various politicians are misguided, sensational and “like putting a Band-Aid on… Continue reading Are 3D Printers Scary?
Intricate 3D Printed Mobiles
Everyone loves mobiles – those delicately balanced sculptures that hang and swing. Artist Marco Mahler, in collaboration with fellow artist Henry Segerman, has released a collection of 3D printed mobiles this week that we find fascinating for several reasons. First, Mahler explains that: After an extensive Google search, it appears that these are… Continue reading Intricate 3D Printed Mobiles
ExOne Stock Tumbles
The stock price of ExOne, makers of high-end commercial 3D printers specializing in sand and metal printing, took a 15% tumble yesterday – in sharp contrast to the few other 3D printing company stocks who continued to sail higher. Why the tumble? Evidently ExOne missed analysts predictions for quarterly sales and per-share losses announced… Continue reading ExOne Stock Tumbles
3D Printers: Banned?
That could be the outcome of a proposal from California state senator Leland Yee of San Francisco. Upon reviewing recent reports of 3D printable weapons, Yee became concerned about the possible outcomes and has proposed that the technology must be regulated. He says: Terrorists can make these guns and do some horrible things to… Continue reading 3D Printers: Banned?
NASA Developing a 3D Food Printer
According to a report in New Scientist, NASA is funding research that could lead to 3D printed food technology. Texas-based Anjan Contractor of Systems and Materials Research Corporation obtained funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop a “fully functional” 3D food printer. The goal of this program is to creat te… Continue reading NASA Developing a 3D Food Printer
Stratasys Solves Those Troublesome 3D Print Seams
If you’re using an extrusion-based 3D printer, you’re likely familiar with the problem of seams. It’s an annoying strip right up the side of your object that disrupts the otherwise smooth surface of your 3D print. The seam is actually composed of the vertical accumulation of start / end points from each layer’s perimeter.… Continue reading Stratasys Solves Those Troublesome 3D Print Seams
Dynamic 3D Model Apps: Open or Closed?
It’s become apparent that dynamic models are a lot more fun than static models for 3D printing. Wait, what’s a dynamic model? A static model is simply a digital 3D model that is the same for everyone. A nice bracelet, for example. A dynamic model is one that’s created for you at the… Continue reading Dynamic 3D Model Apps: Open or Closed?
More 3D Printing Investment Possibilities
When you’re interested in investing in 3D printing, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options at first glance. The publicly traded 3D printer manufacturers are few: Stratasys, 3D Systems and most recently, ExOne. Is that all the choice you have? No! There’s more ways to catch the 3D printing boom. Aside… Continue reading More 3D Printing Investment Possibilities
iMakr’s 3D Print Service
iMakr opened a large 3D print retail store in London earlier this year. The store sells various types of 3D printers and offers the public a chance to see the technology first hand. Even though they haven’t been open very long, they’ve now added a new service: 3D prints on demand. It works… Continue reading iMakr’s 3D Print Service
3D Print Yourself in Carbonite At Disney
Disney is re-opening their D-Tech Star Wars experience at their Hollywood Studios part on May 17th. Why are we so interested in this? Because among the Star Wars-y stuff on display will be two 3D print services that you can be personally involved in. One service, which they had last year, involves taking a… Continue reading 3D Print Yourself in Carbonite At Disney
Design of the Week: Phytome
This week’s selection is another practical item, particularly at this time of year: the Phytome by Zheng3. While this piece looks like a rather sparse-looking upside down cup, it actually has a very useful purpose: It’s a 3D-printed seedling cage that’s designed to keep mid-sized varmits from disturbing one’s sprouts while allowing rain and… Continue reading Design of the Week: Phytome
Win an Ultimaker 3D Printer from GrabCAD
If you have ideas for new toys on your brain, consider entering GrabCAD’s new “Ultimaker 3D Printer Toy Design Challenge”. Your entry could win you a brand new, fully assembled Ultimaker personal 3D printer. In fact, GrabCAD and Ultimaker are offering no less than five Ultimakers as prizes, four of which are fully assembled.… Continue reading Win an Ultimaker 3D Printer from GrabCAD
Obama Announces Three More 3D Printing Centers
US President Obama announced a competition to land three new manufacturing centers, to follow on the success of the first Ohio-based center, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The original intention was to launch some fifteen manufacturing centers, and these three centers bring the USA closer to that goal. They’re actually manufacturing centers, but… Continue reading Obama Announces Three More 3D Printing Centers
A Word On 3D Printed Gun Safety
If you happened to download the 3D printed handgun models before the US government confiscated them, it may be time to remind you of safety concerns should you attempt to 3D print this item. The ease of 3D printing and the sudden availability of a working gun model meant that some people will attempt… Continue reading A Word On 3D Printed Gun Safety
Princeton Scientists Create Bionic Ear
One of the most difficult parts of integrating electronics with biological tissue is getting the numerous tissues and materials to meld. At a lab in Princeton, New Jersey scientists are making progress on this effort using 3D printing. According to Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, “In general,… Continue reading Princeton Scientists Create Bionic Ear
3D Genealogy with My People’s Tree
A new app from eliumstudio provides an ability to generate 3D printed genealogical trees. My People’s Tree, available at no charge on the iTunes app store, lets you specify names faces and relationships in true family tree style. Faces are created from uploaded photos. In our experiment it seemed that you need a clear,… Continue reading 3D Genealogy with My People’s Tree
Is Your 3D Printer Filament Toxic?
You own a personal 3D printer that accepts 3rd party filament and you’ve purchased a selection of cool colors from an online shop – but is that filament safe? Aside from the obvious choices of color, quantity and filament diameter, the one factor most considered is price. Usually the lowest priced filament that meets… Continue reading Is Your 3D Printer Filament Toxic?
Loci Remembers Your Flights in 3D
Loci is a fascinating dynamically generated sculpture by artist Andrew Spitz of the Netherlands. Each “Loci” is unique to the owner, who specifies a series of airline flights. These flights are then translated into abstract 3D flight paths and then printed to fit on a world map card. 3D models are digital beasts, and… Continue reading Loci Remembers Your Flights in 3D
Breaking: DEFCAD’s 3D Printable Gun Files Held by US Government
An announcement suddenly appearing on Defense Distributed’s DEFCAD.org notifies visitors that the files containing 3D models of gun parts will no longer be available. The announcement says: DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government… Continue reading Breaking: DEFCAD’s 3D Printable Gun Files Held by US Government
What’s In Your PrintCave?
Sports fans might have a ManCave, equipped with a wall-sized flat screen, cushy recliner chairs, bar fridge and chip bowls. But what makes up a PrintCave? A 3D printer, obviously, and perhaps storage for filament. But what else might you have in your PrintCave? Tools? Showcase of your best models? Lighting? Something you have… Continue reading What’s In Your PrintCave?
Why 3D Print Model Repositories Won’t Work
Another Day, Another 3D Model Repository opens for business. We can’t tell you how many people we’ve run into lately that hope to launch a type of 3D model repository. The story goes something like this: There’s gonna be so many 3D printers, there will be a huge demand for 3D models to print.… Continue reading Why 3D Print Model Repositories Won’t Work
3D Printing Napster? Not Yet
A piece in TechCrunch examines the notion that common availability of 3D printers will give rise to a “Napster for 3D Printing Models”. Napster, for those of you to young to recall, was the first big-time music sharing service, which emerged at a time when rules about such things were vague and corporate responses… Continue reading 3D Printing Napster? Not Yet
3D Printing The Radioactive Bomber Cam
Fabbaloo friend Patrick Letourneau recently completed a unique photography project enabled by 3D printing. The Bomber Cam is a hybrid camera made from an actual (and radioactive) World War II bomber camera lens and a modern GH2 digital camera. Somehow Letourneau obtained the ancient camera, which was originally strapped to the bottom of World… Continue reading 3D Printing The Radioactive Bomber Cam
Win a Free Leapfrog 3D Printer
Leapfrog, the makers of the popular Creatr and Xeed 3D printers is now one year old. They’ve chosen to celebrate by offering a free Creatr personal 3D printer to a lucky winner who likes and shares the post on their Facebook page. The contest closes May 31st and offers two prizes: One free… Continue reading Win a Free Leapfrog 3D Printer
Forme Offers Fantastic Scanned 3D Models
Another new source for 3D models has launched: Forme, focused on high-resolution scans of a wide variety of object categories. This model repository offers something quite different from the numerous other 3D model repositories that have popped up lately. Forme offers 3D scans, not modeled objects. They’re not provided in STL form, but instead… Continue reading Forme Offers Fantastic Scanned 3D Models
3D Burrito Sells 3D Models
Another commercial 3D model repository has launched: 3D Burrito. The service offers something for both makers and designers: makers can browse the selection of 3D models, choose and buy. A download later, you’ll be able to 3D print on your own 3D printer or upload to a 3D print service. For designers, 3D… Continue reading 3D Burrito Sells 3D Models
Defense Distributed’s 3D Printed Handgun
Defense Distributed’s Cody Wilson wasn’t kidding when he said last week their team was working diligently on developing a design for a 3D printed handgun. In an exclusive from Forbes, the design of the handgun, named “The Liberator”, has been shown for the first time. During Wilson’s appearance the other week at a New… Continue reading Defense Distributed’s 3D Printed Handgun
Design of the Week: Improved Banana Slicer
This week’s selection is the very practical Improved Banana Slicer, by Thingiverse user Todd Blatt. What does it do? Well, just take a look at the image and you’ll get the idea. Practical and it involves food, so how could you go wrong? The design is “Improved” over the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer… Continue reading Design of the Week: Improved Banana Slicer
MakerBot Doesn’t Forget
MakerBot sold thousands of CupCakes and Thing-O-Matics long before they moved to the Replicator and Replicator 2 models. The new machines were (and are) driven by some pretty slick software called MakerWare, which enables you to scale and position models before printing and control the print operation. Unfortunately for those with models earlier than… Continue reading MakerBot Doesn’t Forget
GE’s Making 3D Printed Jets
The prestigious MIT Technology Review has named General Electric’s work on 3D printing as one of its “10 Breakthrough Technologies 2013”. Specifically, GE is developing a metal nozzle for its LEAP jet engine. They will use 3D metal printers to produce the nozzles, which will be lighter in weight due to an advanced design… Continue reading GE’s Making 3D Printed Jets
Organovo 3D Prints A Human Liver
Correction: Organovo printed human liver TISSUE – but that’s a major step along the way to printing an entire functioning liver. Organovo has been developing 3D bioprinting technology for some time now, focusing on producing functional tissue for experimentation. Keith Murphy, Chairman and CEO of Organovo said: We have achieved excellent function in a… Continue reading Organovo 3D Prints A Human Liver
Staples’ First 3D Printing ‘Experience Centre’ goes live with Mcor Technologies
Mcor Technologies, Ltd. announced that its IRIS full-color 3D printers will be used exclusively in Staples’ first “Experience Centre” that has just opened at the Staples Office Center in Almere, The Netherlands. The Staples Experience Centre provides a hands-on 3D printing experience where consumers can learn all about 3D printing. Visitors will be able… Continue reading Staples’ First 3D Printing ‘Experience Centre’ goes live with Mcor Technologies
Massive News: Staples To Sell The Cube
Truly spectacular news today: Staples, one of the leading office supply retailers in the USA announced it would begin selling 3D Systems’ entry level personal 3D printer, The Cube. This is quite simply the single largest 3D printer retail move to date by any 3D printer manufacturer. The printer will be priced at USD$1299,… Continue reading Massive News: Staples To Sell The Cube
The ProDesk3D From BotObjects – In Full Color?
New York City startup BotObjects announced what could be the first full-color plastic 3D printer, the ProDesk3D. While their stealthy launch and impressive claims have generated some buzz, they have also generated major controversy. First, what’s the ProDesk3D? It’s a desktop 3D printer, suitable for consumer or office use. It prints extruded PLA or… Continue reading The ProDesk3D From BotObjects – In Full Color?
Pirate3D Reveals Their Buccaneer
They may be called “Pirate3D”, but their new personal 3D printer, the Buccaneer, is no criminal. The Buccaneer’s design seems significantly different than other personal 3D printers. The most obvious difference is a very refined external look. The shiny case is masterfully simple – it doesn’t even have a single button. We believe in… Continue reading Pirate3D Reveals Their Buccaneer
UMT Develops 3D Printing Metal Smoothing Technology
We had a brief encounter with Alexander Lobovsky, P.E., who is a partner with United Materials Technologies of New Jersey. Lobovsky’s company is developing a new method for smoothing 3D metal prints. The problem with metal 3D prints is the same as plastic: printing by layer causes visible ridges on the object. These can… Continue reading UMT Develops 3D Printing Metal Smoothing Technology
Get Your 3D Printer Filament at Makerstash Soon
We had the opportunity to meet with James Coleman, gentleman and founder of Makerstash, which will provide a wide selection of 3D printer filament for your MakerBot, RepRap or many other 3D printers. The filament business is straightforward, and success occurs simply by executing the business plan perfectly. MakerStash’s Mission describes theirs: At… Continue reading Get Your 3D Printer Filament at Makerstash Soon
Fabbing in Russia and Ukraine
3D printing exists almost everywhere in the world. Our blog receives visits from hundreds of countries, so it’s no surprise to find 3D printing activity in Ukraine and Russia. We came across Stereolia, who provide 3D printing services from the Ukraine and serving Russia. Stereolia operates a 3D print shop, where designers can upload… Continue reading Fabbing in Russia and Ukraine
D-Shape’s Plans
Enrico Dini is the founder of D-Shape, pioneers in large-scale 3D printing using concrete-like materials. They’ve developed a technique for solidifying sand into a kind of sandstone using a chlorine-based fluid. The 3D printer is truly massive and must be erected on the building site – or else you’d better hire trucks and cranes… Continue reading D-Shape’s Plans
PC MAG Reviews The Cube
This is interesting: a mainstream magazine has reviewed 3D Systems’s introductory personal 3D printer, The Cube. Treating The Cube as “just another consumer product” seems to be hitting a milestone of sorts. But what did PC MAG say about The Cube? Their “Bottom Line”: Although the Cube 3D Printer doesn’t provide the hassle-free… Continue reading PC MAG Reviews The Cube
New 3D Modeling Interface From 3D Systems?
Another recent announcement from 3D Systems President and CEO Avi Reichental indicated that the company has been seeking ways to simplify the creation of 3D content suitable for 3D printing. Evidently they’ve been working with the Leap Motion 3D sensor in particular, but we have little information beyond that. The Leap Motion sensor is… Continue reading New 3D Modeling Interface From 3D Systems?
Get Ready For Real Chocolate 3D Printing
At a recent conference 3D Systems President and CEO Avi Reichental spoke of his company’s efforts to produce a true chocolate 3D printer. While the project was classed as “Not Soon”, it does indicate significant interest in 3D food printing. We also understand that 3D Systems’ main competitor, Stratasys, has applied for a couple of… Continue reading Get Ready For Real Chocolate 3D Printing
D-Shape Reshapes NYC
Concrete 3D printer D-Shape has been awarded first place in NYC’s “Change the Course” Waterfront construction competition. The USD$50,000 prize is intended to generate unique ideas and approaches for redeveloping the 565 miles of NYC shoreline, particularly after damages incurred by Hurricane Sandy. D-Shape’s technology will be used to restore damaged seawalls other other… Continue reading D-Shape Reshapes NYC
Design of the Week: Centerpieces
This week’s selection is sculptor George Hart’s Centerpiece. Actually we should say, “centerpieces”, as it’s really a large collection of similar objects, each with variations in color design as well as structure. Hart says: For a Museum of Mathematics fundraiser dinner, I created a series of mathematical table centerpieces. These are each eight… Continue reading Design of the Week: Centerpieces
Shapeways Snaps Up $30M
Considering that Shapeways is located in New York City, it seems a little strange that they did not exhibit at the Inside 3D Printing expo last week. But they had a rather good excuse: they’ve raised another round of funding from their existing investors to the tune of USD$30M. Shapeways Director of Marketing Carine… Continue reading Shapeways Snaps Up $30M
3D Systems Rebrands Their Color 3D Printers
After 3D Systems’ acquisition of ZCorp, they found themselves owners of the Zprinter line of the only full-color 3D printers available. These machines continued to be improved and new variations added up until this week. What happened this week? 3D Systems has rebranded the entire Zprinter line into new ProJet models. No more Zprinters!… Continue reading 3D Systems Rebrands Their Color 3D Printers
Investors Seek 3D Printing Investments
At this point in time 3D printing has a significant amount of buzz. With that buzz comes investment, as entrepreneurs attempt to build new businesses in the new space. But there’s another kind of investment: raw capital. Wall Street types, attracted by the buzz, want to plow money into 3D printing startups, hopeful that… Continue reading Investors Seek 3D Printing Investments
3D Printing Shop Founded in Beirut
In a first for the Middle East, a full-service 3D printing shop has been founded in the Mar Mikhael-Rmeil neighborhood of Beirut. Founded in March by veteran French Architect Guillaume Crédoz, the 3D printing shop, named Rapid Manufactory, will offer design, modelling, scanning, prototyping and even investment casting and ceramic production services to anyone.… Continue reading 3D Printing Shop Founded in Beirut
MakerBot’s Growth
You may have seen their periodic and increasingly frequent solicitations for new employees. These have indeed added up and we now find that MakerBot’s staff exceeds 200 persons. This is vastly larger than almost all of the other personal 3D printer companies with the exception of the big commercial companies. Along with their staff… Continue reading MakerBot’s Growth
An Update from Defense Distributed
During our visit to New York City this week we heard directly from Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed on the latest progress they’ve had developing 3D models of functioning firearms. During his talk at Inside 3D Printing, Wilson described some significant breakthroughs: Defense Distributed has been able to produce an ABS barrel… Continue reading An Update from Defense Distributed
The 3D Printing Reliability Barrier
We’re reading a very short post on Zheng 3 where they attempted to print a Magic: The Gathering Beast Token. As you can see above, there were some very slight problems in successfully completing this operation. And that’s the problem – 3D printers are simply not sufficiently reliable. We’ve used many different 3D printers… Continue reading The 3D Printing Reliability Barrier
Digital Man Evolves Through 3D Printing
A fascinating art installation leveraging 3D printing is proposed by artist Bill Westheimer of New Jersey. His work “Ascent” explores the idea of transforming “analog man” into “digital man”. He started with a 3D scan of a hand and then performed successive transformations on it to produce “hands” that evolve into a digital form.… Continue reading Digital Man Evolves Through 3D Printing
Flexiscale Makes Your Railway Models
Flexiscale is a UK-based company specializing in making model railway kits that you can spend enjoyable time assembling. While the practice of model building has been a hobby for many decades, Flexiscale is now approaching the development of kits with modern technology. They use advanced 3D scanning technology to fully capture 3D scans of… Continue reading Flexiscale Makes Your Railway Models
Geomagic and Alibre Merge
Two brands of 3D design software under one company? The inevitable occurred when acquirer 3D Systems merged the two previously separate and competing brands into one: Geomagic. There is no more Alibre, it turns out. They say: An initial step is that we have rebranded Alibre Design products as Geomagic Design. This means that… Continue reading Geomagic and Alibre Merge
Cubify Launches 3DMe
Billed as “Personalized 3D Printed Figurines”, the new Cubify 3DMe service does just that. Upload a photo of a face and paste it on one of several pre-made figurines and they’ll 3D print you. Literally. There’s quite a large selection of figurines to choose from, including Male/Female, Sports, Jobs, Costumes and Occasions. For example,… Continue reading Cubify Launches 3DMe
A 3D Printing Magazine
Design magazine Dezeen has suddenly launched a print publication specifically focused on 3D printing: Print Shift. It’s actually a paper publication produced using online print-on-demand service Blurb. The magazine contains stories about 3D printing targeted at consumers new to the technology, such as “Four Names to Know in the 3D-Printing World” or “Your Clothes… Continue reading A 3D Printing Magazine
World’s First 3D Printed Sailboard
Startup company MADE BOARDS has devised a process to create surf, paddle and sailboards using 3D printing. They don’t simply design a board and print it out – they customize the design for each individual. The process involves capturing data about “your body, your style, and the conditions in which you ride”, and then… Continue reading World’s First 3D Printed Sailboard
iMakr Scores Solidoodle – But What About MakerBot?
As the April 30th opening date of the iMakr 3D print store nears, they’ve announced the store will carry the Solidoodle 3 personal 3D printer. Solidoodle joins 3D System’s Cube line on iMakr’s shelves. Curiously absent from the official announcement is MakerBot, whose Replicator 2 is perhaps the most well-known personal 3D printer… Continue reading iMakr Scores Solidoodle – But What About MakerBot?
Design of the Week: Aerial Working Platform
This week’s selection is a rather detailed replica model of a scissor-lift work platform by Rob’s Model Workshop. The Workshop has produced a number of highly realistic models of working machines, but we liked this one due to its articulated nature. According to the website: RMW is providing innovative and unique accessories for the… Continue reading Design of the Week: Aerial Working Platform
The EZ3D Desktop Printer
Another 3D printer project is listed on Kickstarter: The EZ3D Desktop Printer. The project expires today and unfortunately it appears that it will not achieve its fundraising goal of USD$25,000, having raised only about half of that. Nevertheless this printer has some interesting features that we thought we’d point out. The EZ3D surprisingly… Continue reading The EZ3D Desktop Printer
Fabbaloo Attends Inside 3D Printing
We’ll be in attendance at this week’s Inside 3D Printing conference, being held Monday and Tuesday in New York City. This is a brand new conference, but the agenda was compelling enough for us to jump on planes to check it out. If you happen to be in New York City this week, consider dropping… Continue reading Fabbaloo Attends Inside 3D Printing
Midas Touch Helps Blind “See”
A group at Harvard is hoping their Midas Touch project will enable blind people to appreciate art. The project will convert 2D artwork, such as a painting, into a 3D shape. The 3D shape can then be explored with touch by the blind to gain an understanding of that piece. At this point the… Continue reading Midas Touch Helps Blind “See”
NASA’s SpaceShop
No, we’re not referring to the identically-named giftshop at Kennedy Space Centre where you can buy all the freeze-dried ice cream you’d care to eat; we are instead referring to NASA’s Advanced Digital Materials and Manufacturing for Space initiative at their Ames Research Center. It’s basically a FabLab for NASA makers. The SpaceShop includes… Continue reading NASA’s SpaceShop
VoxelJet Absorbs Global TCT
German 3D printer manufacturer VoxelJet has announced that as of April 1, 2013 it has taken over Global TCT, a full-service 3D printing operation based in the UK. Aside from 3D printing and scanning, Global TCT also offers reverse engineering and metal finishing services. With the recent uptick in interest and investment in 3D… Continue reading VoxelJet Absorbs Global TCT
You Should Check Out ShouldBee
The explosion of 3D model repositories and services continues. Today we’re checking out ShouldBee, a USA-based service that develops 3D models from which you can purchase full color 3D prints. We found ShouldBee’s process a little different from the typical “we have a pile of models, pick one” approach used by other model repositories.… Continue reading You Should Check Out ShouldBee
Azavy Launches
Last Saturday saw the silent launch of a new service dedicated to helping you find inexpensive ways to 3D print. Four-person startup Azavy is a kind of network between Consumers, Designers and Makers. Designers will be able to sell their designs on Azavy to Consumers, who can shop among a variety of themes and… Continue reading Azavy Launches
The Doodle3D Box
Another Kickstarter launch in the 3D printing space: Doodle3D, made by a Netherlands startup company. This product is a method to simplify the design and 3D printing of 2D line drawings. It’s composed of an app and a WiFi box that attaches to your personal 3D printer. Using the app you can “doodle” a… Continue reading The Doodle3D Box