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Canadian Plastic

The pattern seems to be regionalization. Plastic filament supply shops specifically focused on 3D printing are emerging in many countries supplying primarily their local markets. We’ve seen shops open up in the US, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands and other places.    Now there’s one in Canada, based in Montreal: Voxel Factory offers an extensive list of… Continue reading Canadian Plastic

Wooden Filament? Yes!

We’re not kidding. It really is filament made of wood – and you can print actual wooden objects with it.    Developed by Thingiverse user Kaipa, the “LAYWOO-D” filament is a hybrid mix of recycled wood particles and secret binders. You may use this material in RepRap-style 3D printers at a temperature of between 185-200C,… Continue reading Wooden Filament? Yes!

An Interview with the Ceramics Master

We managed to obtain an exclusive interview with one of the world’s leading print researchers, Professor Stephen Hoskins. Professor Hoskins’ group has recently been investigating the potential of 3D printing.    Fabbaloo: You’re the Hewlett Packard Professor of Fine Print and Director of the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of… Continue reading An Interview with the Ceramics Master

Startling Form 1 Update

We discussed the sudden announcement of Formlabs’ amazing Form 1 resin-based 3D printer yesterday, but we need to talk about it some more. Something amazing is happening.    The Formlabs is raising funds for device production on Kickstarter and set a goal of USD$100,000 within 30 days of launch. How close are they to meeting… Continue reading Startling Form 1 Update

3D Printing Shows Up in 2035

At least that’s the indication from a work commissioned by the US Air Force. The “Welcome to 2035… The Age of Surprise” video attempts to show some of the technologies that will be key in the year 2035. If we look at the frame captured at left, you’ll see “3D Printing” shown prominently among other… Continue reading 3D Printing Shows Up in 2035

Design of the Week: Mobius Sake Cup

This week’s selected design is Ovidiu Opresco’s Mobius Sake Cup.    How simple is a Sake cup? What could transform such a straightforward object into the unusual?    Ovidiu Opresco’s idea was to blend the concept of a an endless Mobius strip with the cup to create a very unusual piece. The cup is functional… Continue reading Design of the Week: Mobius Sake Cup

Sculpteo’s iPhone Case Maker

3D print service Sculpteo adds to the ever-increasing set of 3D model-generating apps by creating a custom iPhone design service.    It’s similar to most other apps: a basic model is display and limited customization capability is provided. Sculpteo first requires you to download their 3DPcase iPhone app. Within the app you’re presented with several… Continue reading Sculpteo’s iPhone Case Maker

123D Catch In Your Pocket

Autodesk has released an iOS version of its staggeringly easy-to-use 3D model generator, 123D Catch.    The tool isn’t a 3D scanner, exactly, but the results are similar. You collect a series of images of a 3D subject from many angles, then submit them to 123D Catch for processing. Autodesk’s magic algorithms in the sky… Continue reading 123D Catch In Your Pocket

Lunar 3D Printing

NASA’s goal is to develop revolutionary technologies to assist in space exploration and they often start the process with funded studies of promising ideas. If these work out, they are developed further, ultimately becoming a reality if they are feasible and beneficial.    One very interesting study in their “Early Stage Innovation” program is entitled,… Continue reading Lunar 3D Printing

Printing Vascular Structures

While rapid prototyping of mechanical parts is still the mainstay of 3D printing, recent adoption of the technology by biomedical researchers has sparked interest in how additive manufacturing might be used in the future.   Doug Hendrie at Gizmag recently profiled a new advancement that couples 3D printing with tissue engineering.   Read More at… Continue reading Printing Vascular Structures

Analysis: MakerBot’s Monster Announcements

Yesterday a series of startling announcements erupted from MakerBot’s Brooklyn NY headquarters, changing the flavor of MakerBot forever. MakerBot announced two new personal 3D printers, the Replicator 2 and Replicator 2X, as well as new software, a service program and a retail operation.    The announcements appeared to us to take a huge step in… Continue reading Analysis: MakerBot’s Monster Announcements

New Software From MakerBot: MakerWare

Along with yesterday’s blockbuster announcement of MakerBot’s Replicator 2, MakerBot also announced, MakerWare, new software to supersede the long-used ReplicatorG, at least on the Replicator line.    MakerWare performs the usual 3D printer management tasks: loading and orienting a model onto the print bed; resizing models; slicing the model into GCODE; sending GCODE to the… Continue reading New Software From MakerBot: MakerWare

MakerBot’s 4th Gen 3D Printer: The Replicator 2

We waited nine months and guess what happens? It’s another new 3D printer from MakerBot, their most awesome device yet: the Replicator 2.    Visually, the Rep2 appears structurally similar to its predecessor, the un-numbered Replicator. But there’s a major difference: The Rep2 is made from “Industrial strength powder coated steel” painted a sleek black.… Continue reading MakerBot’s 4th Gen 3D Printer: The Replicator 2

Diving Deep into Art with 3D Technology

A detailed interview with Liz Neely, Director of Digital Information & Access at the Art Institute of Chicago by Fresh & New reveals some very interesting approaches to art now enabled by inexpensive 3D scanning and 3D printing technology.    Among the new approaches being investigated by Neely’s team are:    Detailed 3D scanning of… Continue reading Diving Deep into Art with 3D Technology

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Formlabs’ Secret Project To Be Revealed

Readers may recall a post from last year in which we introduced the mysterious Formlabs, a startup by three folks from the famous MIT Media Lab, who evidently were working on “something”. Something interesting to the 3D printing space, apparently.    Now we see their website has suddenly livened up a bit with the words: … Continue reading Formlabs’ Secret Project To Be Revealed

The HYREL 3D Printer

Another KickStarter project is launching an inexpensive 3D printer. It’s the HYREL 3D Printer by Daniel Hutchison of Alpharetta, Georgia.    There are so many similar crowd funded 3D printing projects up at the moment it’s becoming difficult to distinguish between them. So what’s different about the HYREL?    It’s fully assembled, calibrated and tested,… Continue reading The HYREL 3D Printer

Is ABS Killing You?

There are two plastics most commonly used in home 3D plastic extrusion printers: ABS and PLA. When you’re printing, you definitely notice them – or, your nose does.    PLA, also known as Polylactic acid or polylactide, has a rather pleasant aroma when heated, sometimes described as “waffles” or “honey”. Along with its lack of… Continue reading Is ABS Killing You?

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Design Of The Week: Doublefeature

We’ve selected designer Paul Kweton’s Doublefeature as this week’s noted design.    What is it? It’s a dual wristwatch, apparently “custom made for a client in Houston, TX”. If you’re interested in getting one, don’t fear, as Kweton says: “For custom orders please contact us via email at …”    Obviously the intricate time-telling watch… Continue reading Design Of The Week: Doublefeature

3D Print Speed Advice From Stratasys

Stratasys has published a very informative white paper detailing their thoughts on the speed of 3D printing. This is sometimes a touchy subject, as 3D prints often take many hours to complete and some manufacturers may claim their printer is faster than another’s.     But what’s the whole story? Stratasys says, correctly we believe,… Continue reading 3D Print Speed Advice From Stratasys

3D Printing Survey

We just noticed an online survey of 3D printing usage that readers may be interested in filling out.    Created by Spanish mechanical/product engineer JulioHCD, the survey is intended to assist in his research:    I have been involved in 3D print for building product models and prototypes…My interests include design inspired by nature, plastic… Continue reading 3D Printing Survey

A 3D Printed Camera – Almost!

The folks at RepRapCentral have just printed what appears to be an entire DSLR system on their MakerBot Replicator. This startling print by Sergey includes the camera body and a permanently attached zoom lens.    However, closer inspection shows that there is no optical lenses in the print, as one would expect.    Nevertheless, as… Continue reading A 3D Printed Camera – Almost!

EnvisionTEC Unveils New Materials

EnvisionTEC, Inc. will showcase the company’s expanded range of 3D printing materials at the IMTS exhibition in Chicago. EnvisionTEC announced the launch of its new AB Material resins, with the first two commercially available offerings: ABflex and ABStuff. Both are used with the company’s DLP 3D printers.   Read More at Engineering.com

3D Printed Beaks!

Grist reports on a touching story involving an American Bald Eagle, injured years ago by a poacher’s shotgun, who has had its beak replaced by a 3D printed equivalent.    The injured bird was rescued by animal workers and gradually brought back to health. However, it turns out that the beak is an essential component… Continue reading 3D Printed Beaks!

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Freshfiber Offers 3D Printed iPhone 5 Cases

Mere hours after Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement, custom case vendor Freshfiber announced they now offer cases for said device.    In all, Freshfiber announced six different case styles, all of which are quite interesting, uniquely functional and offered in several cool colors.    The cases include one that doubles as a business card holder; another… Continue reading Freshfiber Offers 3D Printed iPhone 5 Cases

Slic3r Author Interviewed

RepRap’s Josef Prusa recently interviewed Slic3r author Alessandro Ranellucci in Prague.   Ranellucci initially used Skeinforge to prepare his 3D models for printing, as did most small scale 3D printers of the day. Like everyone else, Ranellucci was baffled by the monstrously complex parameterization of Skeinforge when trying to print small architectural models on a ShaperCube. He… Continue reading Slic3r Author Interviewed

Save Some Cash With ISQUARED Consumables

It was only a matter of time before someone began producing “clone” plastic materials for high-end 3D printers. That’s the business of Swiss-based ISQUARED, who produce “high quality FDM filament at fair prices”. They say: “Our products are 100% compatible with OEM parts.”   Currently, ISQUARED offers material evidently compatible with the following devices:   … Continue reading Save Some Cash With ISQUARED Consumables

Sculpteo Lowers Prices

3D print service Sculpteo has abruptly lowered their pricing for 3D models. Evidently their print volume must have increased sufficiently to permit more effective plastic purchases from their suppliers.    This change affects only their plastic price. They say:    Thanks to this success, we can now lower the price of your 3D prints made… Continue reading Sculpteo Lowers Prices

The iScan 3D App

A new app promises to enable generation of instant 3D models right from your iPhone. iScan3D by Digiteyezer works using a combination of images and a cloud service.    Here’s how it works: your subject remains still while you move about taking between 5 and 30 images. Presumably it would help if there wasn’t much… Continue reading The iScan 3D App

The PandaBot

Yet another 3D printer startup company is launching. Panda Robotics of Seattle/Toronto is developing the eyponomously named “PandaBot”. PandaBot is focused as a consumer-oriented product and thus includes a number of features to make it robust and visually attractive. They say:    Our printer’s materials and aesthetics were chosen to ensure that our end product… Continue reading The PandaBot

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Design of the Week: The Bloom Table Lamp

This week’s selected design is Patrick Jouin’s incredible Bloom table lamp. What makes it so interesting? It’s based on the mechanics of an actual flower: to emit more light, the lampshade opens as a flower does when exposed to light.    The piece is actually 3D printed as a single unit, including hinges for the… Continue reading Design of the Week: The Bloom Table Lamp

Quantum International Invests in 3D House Printing?

An interesting press release came from Quantum International the other day. Quantum appears to be an investment firm specializing in various robotic technology. In their press release they talk of USC Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis’s work in developing large-scale concrete 3D printers capable of 3D printing whole houses. They say:    Quantum International Corp. (OTCBB: QUAN)… Continue reading Quantum International Invests in 3D House Printing?

Answer Those 3D Printing Questions!

If you’re like us, you’ve often fielded many questions about 3D printing technology. And they’re the same questions almost every time. It would certainly be nice to simplify the questioning – and that’s exactly what Thingiverse user Shawn Grover of Calgary, Canada did. He produced a pre-made “brochure” that answers the most commonly observed 3D… Continue reading Answer Those 3D Printing Questions!

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Rapid Prototyping Reveals Evolutionary Clues

Over at Scientific American’s Observations blog, Kate Wong has an interesting piece about paleoanthropologists using 3D printers to help recreate the skeleton of one of humanity’s ancestors.   Australopithecus sediba, a “nearly two million-year-old” member of Homo Sapien’s evolutionary lineage was discovered at the Malapa Fossil Site in South Africa.  Like most fossils, the bones… Continue reading Rapid Prototyping Reveals Evolutionary Clues

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Hands On With Skanect

There’s quite a few free tools to make good use of your XBox Kinect 3D sensor. We’ve already tested ReconstructMe, a wonderful tool for scanning 3D objects. Today we’re taking a look at Skanect, another 3D scanning tool.    Skanect, by Manctl, is available for OSX and Windows XP+ (32 or 64 bit versions). If… Continue reading Hands On With Skanect

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3D Photografting Introduced

Scientists at the Vienna Institute of Technology have developed a new technique they call “Photografting”, which promises to enable significant advances in bioprinting.    The new technique involves starting with a hydrogel, a porous material in which other molecules can be placed. Lasers then focus on specific spots within the 3D hydrogel and break apart… Continue reading 3D Photografting Introduced

A 3D Printed Racing Car

While it isn’t the world’s first 3D printed car, it may be the first 3D printed Racing Car. The Areion was designed by 16 engineers from “Group T” as their entry in the Formula Student 2012 Challenge.     Obviously, the entire car was not 3D printed – only the body, which was then attached… Continue reading A 3D Printed Racing Car

Blended Color 3D Printing

It’s been a dream of 3D printing hobbyists to be able to print in glorious color. That dream still is developing, but maker RichRap has taken a big step in that direction by developing a 3-way extruder for RepRap-style 3D printers.    It’s not exactly a full color 3D printer, although RichRap’s initial intentions were… Continue reading Blended Color 3D Printing

Cubify Introduces Bracelets

Well, that didn’t take long! Mere days after introducing web applications capable of dynamically generating rings and earrings to your specifications, 3D Systems has fired up another similar application: Bracelets. It’s very easy to use and offers just the right amount of customization for most people.    The Bracelet app works in a fashion similar… Continue reading Cubify Introduces Bracelets

3D Systems Announces the ProJet 5000

There’s another big dog on the corner and its name is the ProJet 5000. It’s the latest production 3D printer from 3D Systems, offering “maximum productivity in the factory or office”, with a “typical accuracy of 0.025-0.050mm (0.001-0.002 inch) per inch of part dimension “.   This device doesn’t just look big on the outside;… Continue reading 3D Systems Announces the ProJet 5000

Legends of Kalidasia Pioneers A New Approach

Jason Rutherford of Kalidesia contacted us to talk about a new approach he’s taken in his gaming business. Rutherford makes the Legends of Kalidasia game, played with traditional resin and pewter figures. His company manufactures and markets these figures, but he’s concerned about the future. You know, the future where people print out their own… Continue reading Legends of Kalidasia Pioneers A New Approach

3D Systems Brings LAIKA’s ParaNorman to Life

3D Systems Corporation’s ZPrinter 650 is the first ever full-color 3D printer used in a stop-motion animated film, ParaNorman, produced by Portland, Oregon based animation studio LAIKA. Known for integrating innovation with the hand-created artistry of the stop motion technique, LAIKA utilized 3D printing to create over 31,000 individual, color facial parts for production.   … Continue reading 3D Systems Brings LAIKA’s ParaNorman to Life

The ShapeWright Experiment

Artist Dolf Veenvliet is experimenting with user-designed custom 3D printed metal jewelry. His new experimental site, ShapeWright, allows anyone to pick and shape components into a unique jewelry item that can be immediately sent for 3D printing in precious metal!    The service is incredibly easy to use. The experiment is to customize a “Variable… Continue reading The ShapeWright Experiment

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Easy 3D Printing with File2Part

Preparing 3D models for 3D printing is often problematic. They’re in the wrong orientation, wrong size, etc. While most 3D printer-specific operation software can do rudimentary orientation and sizing, you’ll still have to use other programs to fix errors in the model and slice it into printable form. That will change with the introduction of… Continue reading Easy 3D Printing with File2Part

Cirque Du Soleil 3D Prints?

Fabbaloo has learned that international dance company Cirque Du Soleil uses both 3D scanning and 3D printing technology.    Evidently most of Cirque Du Soleil’s acrobats are 3D scanned and the models are held in a repository. Custom masks and other personal-fitting equipment are 3D printed for each member of the troupe for use in… Continue reading Cirque Du Soleil 3D Prints?

Shapeways Gets A New Engine

Did you visit Shapeways recently? It’s different – but not different visually. Instead the techs at Shapeways have replaced the software engines running behind their website to provide various improvements, specifically in the Order Placement and Order Fulfillment functions.    Some of the improvements include:    An ability to consolidate all your Shapeways coupons into… Continue reading Shapeways Gets A New Engine

3D Print Your Escher

Everyone has seen those perplexing drawings by M.C. Escher and marveled at their paradoxical nature. Confusing images that could never be real. Until now.    Gershon Elber of the Computer Science Department of Technion, Israel Institute of Technology has done just that. He has designed 3D shapes that, when 3D printed and viewed from specific… Continue reading 3D Print Your Escher

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More 3D Printed Shoes

There’s more cool stuff from the folks at Continuum Fashion, who have previously produced a 3D printed Bikini. They’ve now released the “strvct” 3D printed shoes, a mesh-like design printed in nylon. Don’t worry, they are indeed wearable as they include a “patent leather inner sole, and coated with a synthetic rubber on the bottom… Continue reading More 3D Printed Shoes

3D Printing Titanium Bike Parts

There’s a detailed story on Road.cc describing the process of producing a metal dropout bike part using DMLS – Direct Metal Laser Sintering.    Producing bike parts is much like any other product; prototypes must be tested and final versions become mass produced. The problem is that producing prototypes has been time consuming and wasteful… Continue reading 3D Printing Titanium Bike Parts

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Ponoko’s Badass Black

Ceramic 3D printing services are not exactly new, but there are limits to the colors offered by popular 3D printing services. Ponoko has announced the availability of black ceramic material.    Previously Ponoko offered a variety of pastel-ish colors, including Green, Pale Blue, Peach, Periwinkle, Teal, White and Yellow. The new colors include a choice… Continue reading Ponoko’s Badass Black

Cubify’s Rings and Earrings

Cubify has been very busy lately. They’ve introduced a way to “design and personalize your own rings” very soon after launching a similar method for producing customized earrings.    Both cubify “apps” work similarly: select various physical features of rings or earrings. The apps include a very wide variety of preselected shapes and icons, as… Continue reading Cubify’s Rings and Earrings

Additive Manufacturing File Format Allows for Volumetric Specifications

In a recent post on “The End of Polygons,” Aaron Trocola correctly points out that the STL file format is becoming a major barrier to production of objects with high volumetric complexity, such as internal lattices and graded materials – essentially reaching a point where STL files make certain advanced applications difficult or impossible.  … Continue reading Additive Manufacturing File Format Allows for Volumetric Specifications

Battlefield 3D Printing

In Afghanistan the US Army has deployed the first of several USD$2.8M mobile prototyping labs. These container-sized labs house 3D printers and CNC machines capable of rapidly producing spare or replacement parts that would otherwise take months to order and be delivered using conventional approaches.    The Army has a special unit known as the… Continue reading Battlefield 3D Printing

Modern Meadow’s Meats’ Organovo Roots

A new bioprinting startup suddenly appeared: Modern Meadow, courtesy of a small investment by Internet billionaire Peter Thiel. It’s goal is to develop lab-grown “food grade animal protein”, also known as “meat”. The idea is to produce the protein without the massive environmental cost of actual cows, pigs and other meat-laden critters. Their one-line pitch… Continue reading Modern Meadow’s Meats’ Organovo Roots

Is That A MakerBot? Or a TangiBot?

You have to look closely to tell the difference, because the TangiBot is very similar to a MakerBot Replicator. Extremely similar. In fact, it’s literally a clone.    Wait, what? How could the fine Replicator be cloned? It’s a project by Mechanical Engineer Matt Strong of Utah that’s currently on Kickstarter. Strong seeks USD$500,000 to… Continue reading Is That A MakerBot? Or a TangiBot?

Four Reasons Why Stratasys Won’t Announce a Personal 3D Printer

There are two massive corporations that currently dominate the 3D printing market. One is 3D Systems, whom most have heard of, and the other similarly sized corporation is Stratasys, who recently merged with Objet.    As of today Stratasys does not manufacture a personal 3D printer designed for consumer use, whereas 3D Systems offers several.… Continue reading Four Reasons Why Stratasys Won’t Announce a Personal 3D Printer

Design of the Week: The Dragonbite Grip

This week’s chosen design is the Dragonbite grip pencil holder, which was recently chosen by i.Materialise as the winner of their Metal Accessories Challenge.    The Dragonbite grip is both artistic and functional, as it securely holds your pencil in a way that offers comfortable writing. And it’s a dragon, too!   Created by the… Continue reading Design of the Week: The Dragonbite Grip

3D Printing Tops Gartner’s List

Every year Gartner, one of the leading technology analyst firms, produces what they call “The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies”. It’s a chart plotting the position of various technologies on the Hype Cycle curve.    The Hype Cycle is a theory proposing that technologies follow a series of stages in their lifecycle: Technology Trigger (the… Continue reading 3D Printing Tops Gartner’s List

The Second Generation Imagine 3D Printer

Essential Dynamics has announced a new version of their non-plastic 3D printer to replace their first model.    The Imagine 3D printer is a little different from most commonly available personal 3D printers. It’s an extrusion based device that doesn’t use melted plastic as its material. Instead the Imagine uses any extrudable substance by mechanically… Continue reading The Second Generation Imagine 3D Printer

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Google’s 3D Pasta Printer

Incredible as it might seem, Google apparently has a 3D printer in its kitchen – and it produces pasta, according to a report on WebProNews.    In a video interview Google chef Bernard Faucher admits they operate some type of 3D printer in their kitchen to produce unique pasta shapes for hungry Google staffers. Faucher… Continue reading Google’s 3D Pasta Printer

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3D Systems Announces 2Q2012 Results

3D printing giant 3D Systems has announced their financial results for the second quarter of 2012, and it appears they’re doing just fine.    Compared to this quarter last year, their revenues are up a huge 52%, growing to USD$83.6 million. Evidently all their businesses report growth in this quarter, indicating a very strong operation.… Continue reading 3D Systems Announces 2Q2012 Results

MakerBot’s New Colors

3D printer manufacturer MakerBot has announced the availability of no less than nine new colors of plastic filament, suitable for use in not only their 3D printers, but any others that use the same diameter of plastic filament.    The new colors are pretty awesome:    Slate Gray Stone Helsinki Sky (a very light blue)… Continue reading MakerBot’s New Colors

3D Printing Price Check

You’ve got a terrific model you want printed at high resolution in a great material. What do you do? You spend some of your valuable time checking out the prices at each of the 3D print services by tediously entering the specifications of your model into their price calculators.    Or, you use 3D printing… Continue reading 3D Printing Price Check

i.Materialise Introduces Ceramics

  3D print service i.Materialise has announced the availability of ceramics as a print material. They aren’t the first to introduce commercial ceramics print capability, but it’s an excellent capability improvement for them.    Ceramics offers a few key advantages over other materials:    Heat resistant up to 600C (1112F) Ultra-smooth finish with no visible… Continue reading i.Materialise Introduces Ceramics

The zSpace System

  There’s something inherently difficult trying to do 3D modeling on a 2D display. We usually have the ability to spin models around and your mind has to do the “3Ding” of the subject, depending on the software you’re using. But is there a better way to do this?    Apparently so, according to JF… Continue reading The zSpace System

Emma’s Story… And More

A wonderful story emerged last week when Stratasys published the story of Emma, a young girl with congenital biomechanical problems. She was unable to raise food to her mouth, among other issues.   The story told how Emma’s doctors used 3D printing technology (from Stratasys) to produce a custom-fit armature that fits around Emma’s upper… Continue reading Emma’s Story… And More

A 3D Printing Matrix

We’ve received a very cool chart from Tuan Tranpham containing most of the current 3D printing ecosystem, including all the related functions (Scanning, Printing, Software, etc) mapped into different categories of consumer and various levels of industrial.    Yes, the chart is a bit hard to read here, but click on the image to see… Continue reading A 3D Printing Matrix

A 3D Printing Infographic

Sharing site Hightable offers a new infographic showing many details of the current state of 3D printing, including process overview, growth and industry usage. Here you see only a small extract; click the link below for the full version.    Via Hightable

Cubify’s Robots

3D Systems now has robots! Well, not actual robots, but instead a system of 3D models that can be assembled into a huge variety of robot shapes. The robot pieces include arms, legs, torsos, etc., but also accessories such as ray guns and backpacks.   The pieces are intended to be assembled and fit together… Continue reading Cubify’s Robots

How to Pick a 3D Printer Material

I’ve written two blog posts about the importance of materials to the future of 3D printing. The bottom line is that without a material that performs as needed, speed, cost and quality are irrelevant. Read More at Engineering.com

Hot Pop Factory

Two Toronto architects have used 3D printing technology to start a new business in their own home: designing and manufacturing jewelry. Matthew Compeau and Biying Miao have launched Hot Pop Factory, producer of striking 3D printed jewelry designs. Hot Pop Factory offers inexpensive necklace, earrings and rings based on a consistent design theme.   But… Continue reading Hot Pop Factory

The Stone Spray 3D Printer

This is interesting: a sand-powered 3D printer called The Stone Spray Project. Created by Anna Kulik, Inder Shergill and Petr Novikov of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, this robotic-arm device mixes plain old sand with a liquid binder to gradually create arbitrary shapes out of sand, like the sand stool pictured above.   … Continue reading The Stone Spray 3D Printer

Master’s Degree in Direct Manufacturing Offered

We’ve learned that the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and ELISAVA School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona now offer a Master’s Degree in Direct Manufacturing and New Materials for product design.    The new spanish-language program begins this October, when study in “New Materials” begins. This is followed by study in “New Production Processes” in… Continue reading Master’s Degree in Direct Manufacturing Offered

Automated Mesh Articulation

When we write “Automated Mesh Articulation” you might be wondering what we’re on about. It’s an advanced technique developed by Harvard’s Moritz Baecher that inspects a 3D model to automatically identifies where “joints” should appear and outputs a new model with said joints.    This means one could take any 3D model of a figurine… Continue reading Automated Mesh Articulation

Introducing Mak3D

Opening in “late August 2012”, Mak3D is billed as the “World’s first 3D printing co-working environment”. Located on London’s Brick Lane across from the notable Brick Lane Bakery, Mak3D will provide workspace and access to 3D equipment for makers.    For £200 per month (USD$312), you’ll have access to the following:  A 1000 sq ft.… Continue reading Introducing Mak3D

Pwdr: An Open Source Powder-Based 3D Printer

While the first open source personal 3D printers were plastic extrusion-based and recently we’ve seen several resin-based open source 3D printers emerge, we now see yet another 3D printing process appear in open source form: powder-based 3D printing.    The open source Pwdr project includes design for hardware and software to build and operate a… Continue reading Pwdr: An Open Source Powder-Based 3D Printer

Saving The Past With The Future

Peter at RepRap Central tells a story some of us have lived through, although not nearly as dramatic. The story involves Malcolm Messiter, whose decades-old Robert Goble Harpsichord required some maintenance. Specifically, the string-plucking jacks, made of Delrin, were cracking and needed to be replaced. Worse, there were some 183 such jacks in the harpsichord. … Continue reading Saving The Past With The Future

3D Printed Weapons: The Aftermath

Inevitably, controversy erupted upon the revelation that 3D printing weapons is actually feasible. Let’s have a look at the implications.    First, what changes with this discovery? It proves that 3D printer owners in their own homes (and we’d guess there must be at least 20,000 of you out there, with many, many more arriving… Continue reading 3D Printed Weapons: The Aftermath

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