In a dramatic move, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched legal challenges against six foundational patent applications directly related to 3D printing. They’ve done this by submitting prior art (evidence of prior use or invention by others) to the proper authorities. The six patents include: 3D model Voxel-based additive manufacturing UV-curable materials Support… Continue reading EFF Challenges 3D Printing Patent Applications
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Design of the Week: Lightclip
Great designs often leverage two or more environments, and that is precisely what the Lightclip by Cyprus-based Lab02 does. It’s a 3D printed attachment for your iPhone that makes use of the rather bright light on the iPhones to produce a variety of lighting effects. At this time four different Lightclips are available. The… Continue reading Design of the Week: Lightclip
3D Printing Survey Results
You might recall we pointed you, dear readers, to a survey being undertaken by Create It Real? Now the results of said survey have been published and we can take a look at what you said. The answers reveal the tone resonating among 3D printing enthusiasts these days. The first question asked, “what… Continue reading 3D Printing Survey Results
Stratasys’s Finishing Secrets
Stratasys has released a video detailing some of their secret (well, maybe not so secret) finishing processes. The video shows various tumbling media machines that operate similar to rock polishing tumblers – an object is tossed around within a bath of rough media. Gradually the objects become smooth after a relatively short period in the… Continue reading Stratasys’s Finishing Secrets
3D Printed Steadicam
Have an idle 3D printer and a GoPro action cam? Why not build yourself your very own GoPro steadicam mount? An Instructables by member haqnmaq shows you all the necessary steps, including 3D printing several parts for the key mechanism. The Instructable includes the STL 3D models for the Fork and Gimbal pieces, which… Continue reading 3D Printed Steadicam
“Print Me a Cruiser” : The Future of the US Fleet
According to the Navy publication Proceedings Magazine, “The 3D printing revolution will radically change naval construction.” In the magazine’s most recent issue, Lt. Cheney-Peters and Lt. Hipple argue that the future of naval design and manufacturing could be based on a 3D printing paradigm. In an interview with MakerBot’s Peter Schmehl, Cheney-Peters learned that… Continue reading “Print Me a Cruiser” : The Future of the US Fleet
New Stratasys Video
The new Stratasys, formed by the merging of the original Stratasys and Objet continues to blend their brands into a cohesive slate of products. They’ve released a video illustrating their several product lines complete with startling examples of the possibilities, like the 3D printed car and others. This is a very slick presentation, which… Continue reading New Stratasys Video
MakerBot’s Quality Program
Producing high-quality prints is a complicated business, it turns out. There must be synchronization between the slicing software, the printer hardware and the plastic filament used. 3D printer manufacturers who supply these things must do extensive testing to ensure their product works correctly – and homebuilt 3D printers must undergo similar calibration. MakerBot does… Continue reading MakerBot’s Quality Program
Would You Share a 3D Printer?
One secret known by 3D printer owners is that they can be a lot of work and expense. They are more expensive than consumer-grade paper printers and require much more care and feeding to get good results. These may discourage some from buying their own 3D printer. But now there could be another option:… Continue reading Would You Share a 3D Printer?
XYZ Shaping Free Dimensions
Amsterdam is the location of a new exposition featuring 3D printing. “XYZ Shaping Free Dimensions” takes place from April 2 to June 2 at Prinsengracht 266. The exposition, evidently sponsored by Ground3d in cooperation with CNCPT13, an Amsterdam concept gallery, features many notable 3D print artists, including: Ilse Vermeulen, Ervinck Nick, Eric van Straaten,… Continue reading XYZ Shaping Free Dimensions
How 3D Printing Saved His Face
Eric Moger of the UK recovered from surgery to remove a tennis ball-sized tumor from under this skin of the left side of his face. Unfortunately, a large portion of his face had to be removed during the surgery, rendering him significantly disfigured. All was not lost for Moger, as technicians were able to… Continue reading How 3D Printing Saved His Face
No 3D Water Printer Here
Just so you know, our post on April 1st regarding the mysterious NEMO, a “3D Water Printer” was completely, entirely and absolutely fabricated. Every year some very strange posts appear on that day and we thought we’d have some fun, too. On the other hand, 3D print technology’s exponential development trend suggests that… Continue reading No 3D Water Printer Here
Long Range 3D Scanning Demonstrated
3D scanning is a tricky business. Whether you’re using a USD$50,000 unit or a USD$100 Microsoft Kinect, none will meet all possible scanning requirements. You might require super-fine detail of a small object, or perhaps you’re scanning a building, or simply just grabbing a scan of your girlfriend’s face for a quick 3D print. … Continue reading Long Range 3D Scanning Demonstrated
Shapeways To Gain Even More Materials?
A posting on Shapeways blog solicits applications for a new position at the 3D print service. The position? Here’s what they say: We are looking for a someone to help us to find and introduce new 3D printing materials and processes to Shapeways. This can only indicate they mean to dramatically increase the… Continue reading Shapeways To Gain Even More Materials?
The Filastruder
The cost of a 3D printer is not only the printer itself, but also the print material. In most cases, personal 3D printers use plastic filament, either ABS or PLA plastic. If you’re a prolific 3D print maker, you might actually spend more on plastic than you did on the 3D printer. How can… Continue reading The Filastruder
3D Printed Nudes
There are endless applications for 3D printing technology. One can create replacement appliance parts, build a machine, equip a UAV and much more. Everyone focuses on some specific use of 3D printing, and today we’ve bumped into a new one we hadn’t seen before: 3D Printed Nudes. It’s not quite what you think. 3D… Continue reading 3D Printed Nudes
Design of the Week: Reeds Bangle
This week’s selection is the wispy Reeds Bangle by MarmaladePark, a.k.a. Rachel from the Oxford, UK. The attractive bracelet is composed of repeated twisty strands that gradually overlap and form a bracelet. We liked the sweepy form as it reminded us of natural shapes. MarmaladePark says: This design was inspired by the movements of… Continue reading Design of the Week: Reeds Bangle
The Winner of the 2013 Extreme Redesign Contest Is… What?
Each year Stratasys sponsors a contest among students to find the most fascinating and useful 3D designs. Winners of the Extreme Redesign Contest receive prints of their designs as well as scholarships – and fame, too. We always take a close look at the winners as they typically exhibit ingenious creativity. But this year… Continue reading The Winner of the 2013 Extreme Redesign Contest Is… What?
A 3D Printing Survey For You
Danish 3D printing company Create It Real has opened up a survey specifically for 3D printer enthusiasts. They’re gathering information for, well, we don’t actually know. But surveys are always useful and we’re hoping to publish the results after they’re collated by Create It Real. According to Create It Real’s Susann Berger: We are… Continue reading A 3D Printing Survey For You
Perfectly Smooth PLA 3D Prints?
We’ve written previously about a method to create a perfectly smooth (even shiny) surface finish on your ABS plastic 3D prints, but one wonders whether the same can be done on PLA 3D prints. ABS plastic is dissolved by Acetone, so a typical approach is to (CAREFULLY AND SAFELY) dip your ABS object into… Continue reading Perfectly Smooth PLA 3D Prints?
Michigan Tech’s Open Source Optics
Doing science can be an expensive affair, but a new project from Michigan Technological University is trying to make science more affordable and more accessible. In a recently published paper, professors and researchers at the university outlined their plans for creating an online, open-source library of 3D printable optics hardware. According to one of… Continue reading Michigan Tech’s Open Source Optics
A 3D Print Refiner
We’ve seen countless startup 3D printer companies launch crowd funding campaigns in the past year. Now we’re seeing a plethora of 3D printing accessory devices sprout from the minds of world’s entrepreneurs. Today’s 3D print accessory is the 3D Refiner. 3D Prints Express’s 3D Refiner attempts to solve one of the banes of early… Continue reading A 3D Print Refiner
The Photon 3D Scanner
Tired of designing your own 3D CAD models? Worn out from endless searching 3D repositories for that specific 3D design? If so, why not scan your own physical objects and replicate them? Usually you can’t because 3D scanning is frequently an expensive proposition. But that could change with the introduction of the Photon 3D… Continue reading The Photon 3D Scanner
The mUVe 1 3D Printer
With the expiration of key patents around photo-curable 3D printer techniques, we’ve seen several new resin-based personal 3D printer projects. Now another has emerged, the mUVe 1 from mUVe 3D, created as a part-time project by maker Michigan-based Dean Piper. The mUVe 1 is the first product from mUVe 3D, now seeking initial funding via… Continue reading The mUVe 1 3D Printer
grain’s Unusual Approach
We’re checking out a new online repository for printable 3D models: grain. There are many such repositories sprouting up recently, so what makes grain different? grain’s current inventory of models is a little thin, but that’s totally understandable given that it launched only recently. But there’s another twist we haven’t seen before: they don’t… Continue reading grain’s Unusual Approach
Try Miproto To Refine Your Design
Many people become attracted to 3D printing because they correctly believe they can print of many amazing things. But what they may not realize is that it takes great skill to design amazing things. Everyone is not an Industrial Designer. But don’t despair! A new service called Miproto can fix that. Miproto, created by… Continue reading Try Miproto To Refine Your Design
Shapes In Play
We’re checking out Shapes In Play, a two-person creative studio that appears to be working on some very interesting 3D printed designs. Much of their work involves generative design, where the shapes are determined by forces outside of the designer. One example of their work is the Soundplotter. It’s a vase formed from an… Continue reading Shapes In Play
3D Printed Tonearm; Vinyl Not Dead!
A report on AnalogPlanet details and experimental 3D printed “tonearm”. That’s the piece that holds the “needle” that “reads” a vinyl record on a turntable. For those of you who have lived beyond the era of CD’s, a previous era involved “vinyl records”, played by these turntable things. It turns out they’re still… Continue reading 3D Printed Tonearm; Vinyl Not Dead!
3D Print Your OUYA!
Maybe you haven’t heard of OUYA? If not, it’s an ultra-low cost game console designed for open development. Taking a cue from Nokia’s user-3D printed case program, OUYA has partnered with MakerBot to release design files that permit you to develop your own unique case for your OUYA. Customizing your own objects is the… Continue reading 3D Print Your OUYA!
The RigidBot 3D Printer
Another 3D printer startup has shown up on Kickstarter: The RigidBot by Michael Lundwall of Utah. As there are so many small 3D printer startups recently, any new entrants must distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack. How does RigidBot do that? They have a couple of interesting advantages, one being expandability. They… Continue reading The RigidBot 3D Printer
Meet NEMO, The 3D Water Printer
We’ve been given exclusive pre-public access to a new 3D printer project that could appear on crowdfunding sites very soon: NEMO, the 3D Water Printer. The project is being kept behind closed doors as much as possible, but we were permitted to publish the image above showing a portion of NEMO’s unique internals. We… Continue reading Meet NEMO, The 3D Water Printer
Design of the Week: Fallen Woman
This week’s selection is “Fallen Woman” by Netherlands-based 3D artist Wilfred Stijger. The piece was designed in Z-Brush and subsequently 3D printed in white material as you can see above. Stijger works in a wide variety of materials, including sand, ice and snow. We’d like to see him test out a snow-3D printer, if… Continue reading Design of the Week: Fallen Woman
ExOne Reports Results
3D printer manufacturer ExOne, one of the very few publicly traded 3D printer companies, announced the results of their fourth quarter 2012 operations. The results look promising – but it’s not all good news. During the fourth quarter of 2012 the company received revenues of USD$12.7M, up 27% over the previous year. Some… Continue reading ExOne Reports Results
BFB Fades Away
One of 3D printing’s most venerable brands is set to disappear! Bits From Bytes, a.k.a. BFB, will no longer exist as a brand. According to their Facebook post: On April 1, 2013 we will be discontinuing the 3D Touch and Rapman and integrating our website and social channels with 3D Systems. Both printers will… Continue reading BFB Fades Away
3D Industri.es Launches 3DPartSource
New UK startup company 3D Industri.es has launched its first product: 3D Partsource. It’s a repository specifically designed for 3D models of industrial components. Anyone who searches for 3D models knows the problem these guys are trying to solve immediately: it’s pretty much impossible to find appropriate 3D models using conventional text-based searches. You… Continue reading 3D Industri.es Launches 3DPartSource
For 3D Printing “Early Adopters Have Big Advantage”
In a recently released report by technology research company Gartner, experts have concluded that companies who adopt 3D printing early will see major advantages over those who don’t. According to Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner, “Businesses must continuously monitor advances to identify where improvements can be leveraged.” Read More at ENGINEERING.com
The B9Creator Returns
Readers may recall the hugely successful B9Creator 3D printer kit Kickstarter project last year: it raised a ridiculous USD$513,422 to develop a revolutionary personal 3D printer based on photo-cured resin technology. The project was obviously successful and a number of “version 1’s” were sent to happy customers. But now founder Michael Joyce has returned… Continue reading The B9Creator Returns
Point. Click. Gun.
A fascinating video detailing Cody Wilson’s Defense Distributed initiative has been published by Motherboard: “Point. Click. Gun.” In the 24 minute video Wilson takes you on a tour of his operations and deep into his philosophy on gun making. You’ll see his own workshop containing the very Objet Connex 3D printer used to print… Continue reading Point. Click. Gun.
A 3D Printed Snowblower
Supermaker Kris Kortright has been building a “Snow Droid”. The project involved adding robotic capability to a standard Snapper 24″ Snow Blower using electronics from Adafruit. While winter is now officially over, the project began last fall, and as far as we can tell, is still in progress. The Snow Droid’s key feature is… Continue reading A 3D Printed Snowblower
3D DC Rides Again
Last year Public Knowledge organized a small conference in Washington DC with the objective of providing real information to US legislators on the new topic of personal 3D printing. Now it appears they’re doing a repeat on April 24th. They say: Come see the remarkable, disruptive technology of 3D printing in person. Chat with… Continue reading 3D DC Rides Again
3D Captured Tattoos
We’re looking at an unusual 3D scanning project on Kickstarter: the “3d tattoo body art scanner” by UK artist Lee Wagstaff. Wagstaff is notable as he was the first person to use his own body art as presentation material during his Master’s degree defense. Having such an incredible array of intricate tattoos poses a… Continue reading 3D Captured Tattoos
Tinkercad Shuts Down
Oh woe. Tinkercad announced its pending demise, as the team developing it has been reassigned to another project. Launched in 2011, Tinkercad became the premier tool for web-based 3D model development. It even included direct hookups to various 3D print services, creating a very easy path to 3D prints for casual designers. By the end… Continue reading Tinkercad Shuts Down
3D Printed Goldeneye Remote Mine
We were contacted by Shane Blomberg who was excited to show us his project to create a Goldeneye Remote Mine replica prop from the 007 game from the 90’s. The project originally manifested as an “Instructable”, but it required you to somehow find a now-prehistoric PC Commander Joystick base. Given that such things are… Continue reading 3D Printed Goldeneye Remote Mine
Avi Reichental Talks
3D Systems President and CEO Avi Reichental was interviewed by Huffington Post correspondent Lilia Ziamou. The interview material is basic, as it’s intended for folks new to the concept of 3D printing. However, Reichental spends many words on 3D Systems’ strategy of “democratizing” 3D printing, talking about Cubify, CAD design and the ease of… Continue reading Avi Reichental Talks
An Interview With Limor Fried
Fabbaloo recently caught up with Adafruit’s Limor Fried to discuss her views on 3D printing. Here’s the interview: Fabbaloo: Adafruit recently partnered with MakerBot to produce a bundle of DIY electronics and the capability of 3D printing. Do you see further collaborations with 3D printer manufacturers or 3D print services? Limor Fried: We’ll… Continue reading An Interview With Limor Fried
The End of the 3D Printing Party?
We’re reading a piece by Brad Moon on InvestorPlace entitled, “3D Printing Party Could End Before It Begins”. The point seems to be that the magic of 3D printing will be destroyed by legal infighting amongst participants. Cited as evidence in the article are: Intellectual Venture’s patenting of a method for enforcing DRM… Continue reading The End of the 3D Printing Party?
Design of the Week: Sphere Autologlyph
This week’s selection is the utterly fascinating “Sphere Autoglyph” by master mathematical modeler Henry Segerman. Segerman has used his extensive mathematical background to generate a vast collection of fantastic generated artwork; his Shapeways shop contains 94 items as of this writing, and all of them are Design of the Week-worthy. At first glance the… Continue reading Design of the Week: Sphere Autologlyph
3D Printing Stocks Leveling Off?
After massive jumps in price over the past year or so, the stock values of the major 3D printing companies seem to be leveling off, at least for the moment. Both 3D Systems and Stratasys hit peaks earlier this year and now are flattening a bit, at least it appears so from the Google Finance… Continue reading 3D Printing Stocks Leveling Off?
3D Printing To “Go The Way of Virtual Reality”?
We’re reading a piece from last year by Christopher Mims in the MIT Technology Review, in which he dumps rather strongly on the notion that “any object can be rapidly synthesized with a little bit of energy and raw materials.” He says: There is a species of magical thinking practiced by geeks whose… Continue reading 3D Printing To “Go The Way of Virtual Reality”?
SinterHab: A 3D Printed Lunar Module
A new proposal for 3D printing lunar habitats has been unveiled by Tomas Rousek, Katarina Eriksson and Dr. Ondrej Doule of the International Space University, and this one looks like it just might work. Previous proposals involved shipping 3D supplies from Mother Earth, but that obviously requires more energy and expense. The SinterHab proposal… Continue reading SinterHab: A 3D Printed Lunar Module
Companies to Explore the Next Generation Concepts for 3D Metal Printing Machinery
Sigma Labs Inc. announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Interactive Machines, Inc. (IMI) of Southwick, Massachusetts. The MOU sets forth the parties’ intent to explore the formation of a joint venture or other arrangement for the purpose of developing and commercializing next-generation 3D printing devices designed to produce an increased… Continue reading Companies to Explore the Next Generation Concepts for 3D Metal Printing Machinery
Materialise Announces Flexible Material
Materialise, the industrial 3D print service, has announced a rather interesting material: TPU 92A-1. Despite the awkward and mysterious nomenclature, TPU 92A-1 offers a legendary feature: flexibility. The video above shows the amazing flex provided by TPU 92A-1. Not only is this material flexible, but it also is resistant to tearing, temperature and abrasion,… Continue reading Materialise Announces Flexible Material
World’s First 3D Printed Snowboard
Every Third Thursday has published a video of their most recent experiment: a 3D printed snowboard. The experiment, as you’ll see, was a success. Printing a snowboard poses two immediate challenges: a snowboard is larger than most 3D printers’ build chambers. The second challenge is strength. 3D printers can produce objects but they often… Continue reading World’s First 3D Printed Snowboard
Sculpteo’s Customizable Dock
3D print service Sculpteo has been experimenting with a variety of end-user customizable 3D models. Once customized, you can order a 3D print of the model through Sculpteo’s banks of expensive 3D printers. The latest end-user modifiable model they’re offering is an iPhone 5 dock. The customization offered is very straightforward: you can specify… Continue reading Sculpteo’s Customizable Dock
Another 3D Printer Shop
3D Makers is one of several new sites we’ve seen recently that provide services, at a small level, to the 3D printing community. Spokesperson Michael Triana pointed out their site, which provides sales of 3D printer plastic filament as well as a personal 3D printer, the Lulzbot AO-101. More than likely 3D Makers will… Continue reading Another 3D Printer Shop
DEFCAD Gets Licensed
There’s news from DEFCAD, the commercial arm of WikiWeapons, who hope to provide the world (or at least the USA) with 3D printable models of gun parts. The news is that they’ve received an official license to manufacture guns, as evidenced by the image above. They don’t report much more on their blog entry,… Continue reading DEFCAD Gets Licensed
Find The Best 3D Printer?
We’ve learned of a new source for comparisons of 3D printers: FindTheBest.com, which is a comparison and review site for products and services of all types. Now they seem to have added a section for 3D printers, at least the less expensive ones. Their 3D printer section lists over 30 different devices as of… Continue reading Find The Best 3D Printer?
Making It Real at OCAD U
Canada’s OCAD University is sponsoring a juried exhibition of digitally fabricated objects between May 14-28 during the Toronto International Jewelry Festival. Specifically they’re concerned with the fuzzy boundary between prototype and finished product. They say: Virtual objects occupy a grey area between representation and realization. How do we define the point at which a… Continue reading Making It Real at OCAD U
3D Printed Business Figures
Everyone hands out business cards – it’s been the standard method of exchanging business information for a very long time. But now Nanning de Jong of 3Dwergen in The Netherlands has created an alternative approach using 3D printing: Business Figurines. 3DWergen’s client, Resoluut, a web and software firm, already had several cartoons used as… Continue reading 3D Printed Business Figures
A 3D Printing Dreambox
Every school and office should have a Dreambox. It’s literally a 3D printing service in a box. A box that looks suspiciously like a vending machine. The machine works much like a 3D print service: you upload a 3D model from your computer or insert a USB stick into the Dreambox, which then sets… Continue reading A 3D Printing Dreambox
Mod Your Un-Moddable 3D Printer
Some 3D printers are made for modification, such as the RepRap kits or early MakerBots. But some 3D printers were specifically designed to be used “out of the box” without modification. These 3D printers were not designed for modification by ingenious owners. However, in spite of such design constraints, we see continuing effort by… Continue reading Mod Your Un-Moddable 3D Printer
Design of the Week: Strain My Tea
This week’s selection is “Strain My Tea” by Shapeways creator sbf54. This item is both attractive, functional and practical, making it an excellent choice. Using the teacup is straightforward: pull your teabag into the upper chamber to strain it out and then enjoy your hot beverage. Strain My Tea is available on Shapeways… Continue reading Design of the Week: Strain My Tea
The Adafruit-Flavored MakerBot
Do you build electronics projects? Do you 3D print objects? Do you print 3D cases for your electronics projects? If you answered yes to any of those questions, especially the last one, you’ll be interested in a fascinating collaborative offer from electronics kits distributor Adafruit and personal 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot. The two companies… Continue reading The Adafruit-Flavored MakerBot
Tacori Rings Expands 3D Printing Capability
Ring manufacturer Tacori has just acquired a brand new 3D Systems Projet 3500 CPX Max 3D printer, a device specifically designed for production of jewelry. The new machine permits a much more rapid ring development process at Tacori, changing how they create and deliver products. Tacori’s President of Sales and Marketing, Paul Tacorian, says: … Continue reading Tacori Rings Expands 3D Printing Capability
Multi-Armed Bioprinting
Researchers at the University of Iowa College of Engineering’s Center for Computer Aided Design have developed a rather interesting prototype bioprinter, capable of printing living tissue. The device, made by Ibrahim Ozbolat, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and doctoral student Howard Chen, does something no other 3D printer can do, whether for bioprinting… Continue reading Multi-Armed Bioprinting
The World’s First 3D Printed Dress
Recently at the Ace Hotel in in New York City, the world’s first completely 3D printed dress was unveiled. Created by Michael Schimdt and 3D modeled by Francis Bitonti, the dress was printed in 17 pieces constructed in nylon. Once printed at the Shapeways factory, the dress was dyed black and adorned with… Continue reading The World’s First 3D Printed Dress
Sandboxr’s Figurine Service
There’s another 3D print service about to emerge: Sandboxr. It’s specialized for the easy creation of 3D figurines using a friendly interactive interface. The new service should enable you to create a unique figurine 3D model by posing a pre-made highly detailed 3D model prepared by professional artists. It appears very reminiscent of game… Continue reading Sandboxr’s Figurine Service
3D Printing Basics Explained
Fabbaloo’s own General Fabb appears in a video produced by the Winnipeg Free Press. In the video our General introduces the concept of 3D printing in a minute or two for those who haven’t been exposed to the technology. The video takes place at Canada’s largest makerspace, AssentWorks, another venture by the General. The… Continue reading 3D Printing Basics Explained
Defense Distributed Defends Itself
If you’ve been following 3D printing recently, you have surely heard of Defense Distributed, a controversial non-profit initiative to create printable 3D models of gun parts, led by Cody Wilson. Wilson’s talk at SXSW this week revealed their plan to develop and launch a new for-profit venture to distribute said 3D models: DefCAD.com. It’s… Continue reading Defense Distributed Defends Itself
It’s Time To Register for Inside 3D Printing
If you’ve been looking to attend a 3D printing conference, look no further than the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo, taking place in New York City from April 22-23 at the Javits Convention Center. We’re totally impressed with the extensive list of speakers for this event, which includes such 3D printing notables as: … Continue reading It’s Time To Register for Inside 3D Printing
Stratasys-Objet Announces First Quarterly Results
We’ve long followed Stratasys’ publicly reported financial results, as it and 3D Systems tend to mirror public investor feelings about 3D printing. This quarter’s financial results are a little different because this is the first quarter where the “new” Stratasys includes recent acquisition, Objet. So what happened? Plenty! Revenue is up 23% and income… Continue reading Stratasys-Objet Announces First Quarterly Results
3D Printing Changes Everything
Yup.
SuperScan Digitizes the World
A partnership between digital scanning company CyArk and science media company Science Visualization could bring the world’s treasures to a science center near you. The team combines expertise to create a traveling exhibition that commences in 2014 called, “SuperScan: Digitizing the World”. CyArk has been digitally scanning notable structures across the world. Science Visualizations… Continue reading SuperScan Digitizes the World
CGTrader’s Model Competition
3D model site CGTrader is running a contest for, obviously, the best 3D model uploaded to their site by March 15th. There is an extensive list of prizes available to the winner and two runners-up. If you haven’t checked out CGTrader, it’s one of several large 3D sites that served 3D rendering models. This… Continue reading CGTrader’s Model Competition
Parametric Parts’ CadQuery
Looking for an easy way to generate parametric 3D models? Tired of OpenSCAD? There’s a new approach from Parametric Parts that permits easy programmatic generation of 3D models: CadQuery Wait a sec, what’s “programmatic”? It’s a method of creating a scalable 3D solid model using commands instead of visually through a graphics interface.… Continue reading Parametric Parts’ CadQuery
Forbes Points to 3D Print Services
We’re reading an article from Forbes in which they predict the “early action” on 3D printers will be in the form of services. They correctly state that the number of home 3D printers is kinda small right now, saying: the number of US households that actually own one of these super-cool devices is less… Continue reading Forbes Points to 3D Print Services
Design of the Week: Coffee Filigree
This week’s selection is the Coffee Filigree by Brian Drescher of The Netherlands. Drescher says: Another variation of the coffee cup design…organic filigree. An example of common objects transformed into art via 3D printing. Click the blue animation button to see it from all angles. Available also as a full-scale (10cm) table-top object. … Continue reading Design of the Week: Coffee Filigree
$2M Worth of 3D Printing Pens and a Big Implication
The amazing 3Doodler 3D printing pen seems to be rather popular: it’s Kickstarter fundraising campaign has now passed the USD$2M mark and it’s still rising. At this rate, the USD$75 handheld 3D printing device could potentially raise USD$4M or more. Now that’s a lot of 3D pens! More importantly, if there are suddenly… Continue reading $2M Worth of 3D Printing Pens and a Big Implication
The MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner
MakerBot announced, but did not release, a personal 3D scanner at SXSW yesterday that could dramatically change how personal 3D printers are used and accepted by the general public. Perhaps the biggest problem facing home 3D printer owners today is finding the right 3D models to print. Unless one is a designer equipped with… Continue reading The MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner
Nike’s 3D Printed Talons
Nike’s new Vapor Laser Talon football shoe wouldn’t exist without 3D printing technology. The shoe manufacturer used metal 3D printing technology to prototype a special plate and traction system for the new footwear. According to Nike’s MJP Performance Director, Lance Walker: Nike’s new 3D printed plate is contoured to allow football athletes to… Continue reading Nike’s 3D Printed Talons
A New Industrial RepRap Emerges
Designed by brothers Jonas and Simon Kühling, the Kühling&Kühling Industrial 3D printer is a true RepRap. Incorporating many features of previous RepRap incarnations, the Kühling&Kühling advances the state of the art by adding a suite of new features that can help create better prints. Among these new features are: A heated chamber capable of… Continue reading A New Industrial RepRap Emerges
PBS On 3D Printing
PBS has produced a brief seven minute video providing an overview of 3D printing, including interviews with Solidoodle, Shapeways and Wired. They cover the possibilities of the technology, whether for good or evil and generally get you wound up about the future. Exciting! Via YouTube
3D Printed Solar Cells? Maybe Not
A report on Knovel proposes that solar cells could be made much more efficiently with 3D printing techniques. It seems that the cost of producing solar panels stays high as new design approaches squeeze more watts out of each square inch. One highly efficient design involves producing a solar “cube” rather than a solar… Continue reading 3D Printed Solar Cells? Maybe Not
Peeking Inside Solidoodle’s Factory
TechHive has gained access to Solidoodle’s New York factory to get a close look at the production process used by the small 3D printer manufacturer. What we found interesting was the fact that a bank of 23 Solidoodle printers run continuously making Solidoodle parts! A factory made of the item it makes. TechHive… Continue reading Peeking Inside Solidoodle’s Factory
Al-Jazeera On 3D Printed Guns
A video report on Al-Jazeera explores the 3D printed gun scenario. While we’ve written (probably too much) on this topic, Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle points out one aspect not written so much about: what happens outside of the USA? Within the USA, proponents of 3D printed guns suggest that the US Constitution permits such… Continue reading Al-Jazeera On 3D Printed Guns
Dyeing At Shapeways
While on our recent visit to Shapeways in Queen’s, NYC, we noticed vats of color dyes. Why color dyes? It’s all in the finishing. Some people expect “finished” objects to emerge from their 3D printer, but in fact they often require “finishing”, which might be simply removing excess plastic material created during printing or… Continue reading Dyeing At Shapeways
4D Printing?
Researchers at MIT’s Self Assembly Lab have developed a new technique for 3D Printing which they call “4D Printing”. It’s 3D printing of objects designed to change their shape after printing. By exposing the printed object to a different external environment – think light, water, pressure, etc., specially designed joints in the object react… Continue reading 4D Printing?
3D Printed Mammoth Steaks?!
Modern Meadow is 3D bioprinting startup developing a method of 3D printing “meat and leather” ultimately for human consumption. They combine advances in biotech with 3D printing to eliminate the need for real animal food production, which is hugely energy intensive. Recently Modern Meadow’s Andras Forgacs performed a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). The… Continue reading 3D Printed Mammoth Steaks?!
MakerBot’s Replicator 2X Ships
MakerBot’s latest and greatest personal 3D printer is now in the mail – if you ordered one, that is. The Replicator 2X, announced at CES in January has emerged from manufacturing. Coincidentally, MakerBot has also released version 2.0 of MakerWare, the software used to drive the MakerBot. The 2X differs from its sibling, the… Continue reading MakerBot’s Replicator 2X Ships
3D Printed Gun: Mission Accomplished?
Ars Technica spent some time with Defense Distributed’s Cody Wilson examining the latest version of DefDist’s 3D printed gun. Actually the gun is not 3D printed; one key part, the lower receiver, is 3D printed. The rest of the weapon is made of conventional (and less complex) metal and plastic parts. Previous attempts… Continue reading 3D Printed Gun: Mission Accomplished?
Perfectly Smooth Your 3D Prints – But Be Careful!
After the initial thrill of seeing a 3D print emerge from thin air, 3D print newbies often notice the layering effect. This is, of course, caused by the gradual deposition of plastic layers during the build process. Depending on the layer resolution selected for print, these layers could be very visible, or not. The… Continue reading Perfectly Smooth Your 3D Prints – But Be Careful!
Design of the Week: Filament Clip
This week’s selection is a purely functional design: the Filament Clip by Thingiverse maker Elk. There’s not much to say about its structure, because the value of this design is in its function. It simply holds the end of a filament against the spool, as you can see in this image by Thingiverse maker… Continue reading Design of the Week: Filament Clip
Zayger Watches
An interesting Kickstarter project involves 3D printing: Zayger Watches are limited run, unique wristwatches. They’re offered in a wide variety of colors, straps and shapes. The maker, one Shlomo Mockin of Brooklyn, NY, discovered how 3D printing could enable inexpensive production of limited run pieces that could be made into unique wristwatch designs. He… Continue reading Zayger Watches
Stratasys Reorganizes Its 3D Printer Lines
We’ve been patiently waiting for changes in Stratasys’ product lineup since they officially merged with Objet and now we’ve found out what they’re doing. Stratasys arrived into the merger with two product lines: Dimension, which included smaller FDM machines such as the 1200es, uPrint and Mojo, and Fortus, which included large full-on production 3D… Continue reading Stratasys Reorganizes Its 3D Printer Lines
Another 123App: Creature
Autodesk has been rapidly adding apps to their free suite of consumer 3D apps, with the most recent addition being 123D Creature, with which you can create “creatures”. The USD$7.99 iOS app is similar to others in the suite, permitting easy generation of a 3D model. This app is focused on limb-based objects that… Continue reading Another 123App: Creature