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3D Printing’s Great Divide

We’ve been observing some of the fantastic features offered by the major 3D printer manufacturers and realized there could be a growing problem.   While all 3D printers can produce objects, some manufacturers use unique (and patented) approaches to getting that done. They also offer some great features:    ZCorp’s printers can print in full… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Great Divide

Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures

At a recent seminar we were able to meet with 3D printing consultant Terry Wohlers. Terry has been a leading 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry consultant and prolific speaker for over 25 years. Each year he publishes the definitive report on the industry, available from his website. We asked his opinion on 3D printing… Continue reading Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures

The iModela IM-01 “3D Printer”

We’ve been reading a ton of posts from various online services talking about Japan-based Roland’s new “iModela 3D Printer”. This fully assembled device is able to produce 3D objects upon command and retails for under USD$1000. The iModela IM-01 comes with software to design your objects, a travel case and there’s even an online community… Continue reading The iModela IM-01 “3D Printer”

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3D Printing Event Soon

If you happen to be in Eindhoven on the 25th, you might head down to 3D Printing Event 2011. The theme of the event is something we focus on: 3D printing at home.    You’ll be able to attend seminars that discuss the theme in depth, and you can also peruse the offerings of many… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Soon

3D Printed Crime

PC World takes a very deep look at some of the criminal possibilities of 3D printing in a recent article. We’ve been quite concerned about how this will play out, as have some others. When you have a machine that can create practically anything, what do you expect to happen?    PC World’s article details… Continue reading 3D Printed Crime

Up!’s Platform Suit

PP3DP has introduced a possible solution to the scourge of all home 3D printer operators: ABS warping.    As most 3D printer operators discover (usually catastrophically) certain shapes and sizes of ABS plastic prints tend to curl as the print proceeds. Usually thin edges are the worst. This problem actually severely limits the size of… Continue reading Up!’s Platform Suit

Finding 3D Models With Google

We’re always interested to find new ways of developing 3D models, be it through software modeling tools, capture through scanning of real objects, physical manifestation of found 3D data, or other techniques. Why? Because you can 3D print them! Now we see artist Daniel Michel of Germany has found yet another way to create digital… Continue reading Finding 3D Models With Google

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Categorized as Ideas Tagged

Waiting For AMF

Some months ago (March actually) we wrote about a new file format for additive manufacturing that had been approved after long discussion: AMF, the Additive Manufacturing Format.    This new format included a variety of key features to dramatically improve the information content found in 3D models. Meta data, materials, colors, textures and more were… Continue reading Waiting For AMF

MAKE Talks with Bre

There’s a very long interview with MakerBot Chief Bre Pettis in MAKE magazine that we encourage you to read. We went through it looking for clues to MakerBot’s future plans, especially after their recent gigantic infusion of an astonishing USD$10M from investors. Here’s what we noticed:    Bre is still very pumped about MakerBot as… Continue reading MAKE Talks with Bre

More on the 3D Systems Projet 1500

We’ve obtained some additional information about 3D Systems’ new low-cost commercial color 3D printer, the Projet 1500. Priced at slightly under USD$15,000, this device has quite a few very interesting features that we noticed while perusing 3D Systems’ documentation. Here’s the highlights of our scan through their material:    Front panel has a window for… Continue reading More on the 3D Systems Projet 1500

More on the Solidoodle 3D Printer

After yesterday’s post on the new Solidoodle 3D printer, we spoke with team leader Sam Cervantes, who answered some key questions were pondering.    Fabbaloo: Why another 3D printer? Aren’t there several for sale already? What makes Solidoodle different?    Sam Cervantes: Some people love to put complicated machines together and that’s great – it’s… Continue reading More on the Solidoodle 3D Printer

The Solidoodle 3D Printer

Yet another inexpensive 3D printer has emerged: the Solidoodle. The amusingly named device is unique because it is, as far as we can tell, the only fully assembled personal 3D printer currently available at a price under USD$1000: their price is only USD$699. But that’s their introductory price. The final price is no doubt a… Continue reading The Solidoodle 3D Printer

The Mosaic 3D Printer

MakerGear, that wonderful online source for all kinds of 3D printing goodness, launched the Mosaic 3D Printer this past summer. The Mosaic is similar to several other inexpensive 3D printer kits. This item comes in three forms:    The basic kit, for USD$799 The “Plus” version for USD$999, which adds a heated build platform and… Continue reading The Mosaic 3D Printer

Free 123D T-Shirts!

Autodesk is running a promotion to raise interest in their new web-based 3D modeling tool, 123D, which we’ve written about before.    You don’t get a t-shirt for nothing, though. You have to make an image of your original 3D Jack-o-lantern design and share it within their online gallery. This could be easier than you… Continue reading Free 123D T-Shirts!

Foodsafe 3D Printing

Foodsafe is one of those words we keep bumping into. What does it mean, exactly? Well, we’re pretty certain there is an official international standard, complete with a number of specifications, but basically it means you can use the produce for purposes of human consumption. You can eat with it.    “But it’s just plastic… Continue reading Foodsafe 3D Printing

The Global Village Construction Set

Want to build a civilization? Sure, we all do. But now you can with the Global Village Construction Kit. It’s a set of tools you’ll need to produce and maintain an modern, industrial civilization. From their wiki:    The Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) is a modular, DIY, low-cost, high-performance platform that enables fabrication of… Continue reading The Global Village Construction Set

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Stratasys Expands

3D printing industry giant Stratasys has been spending some money lately – on a new 90,000 sq. ft production facility in Minnesota. The new facility, which is actually a refit of an existing building in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, actually doubles their capacity for building their line of 3D printers.    Evidently Stratasys believes there’s a… Continue reading Stratasys Expands

3D Systems Acquires Kemo

Mark down another acquisition for 3D Systems, who this week announced they’ve picked up Belgian 3D print service Kemo B.V. Modelmaker. This Belgian firm adds to the significant number of 3D print services now under the vast 3D Systems umbrella. Kemo focuses on on-demand custom parts for industry, similar to other services that 3D Systems… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires Kemo

ZCorp’s On This Old House

If you’re watching the perennial PBS TV series “This Old House” you might see a 3D printed house in a couple of their October episodes. The series has used a ZCorp 3D printer to produce a model of a home being remodeled in order to show the viewing audience what the final outcome of the… Continue reading ZCorp’s On This Old House

Free 3D Printers!

We wrote about a mysterious program from MCOR in which they hinted they’d be giving away 3D printers at no charge. Certainly this deserves some investigation, and it turns out it’s actually true! MCOR now no longer sells their paper-fuelled 3D printers. Instead they simply give them away!   But there’s a catch, of course.… Continue reading Free 3D Printers!

Keep Up The Support

Designer Dr. Thomas Modeen, whom we’ve written about recently, has come up with another unusual design: various species of bowls and bottles. The unique aspect of this design is that he’s incorporated support material into the final object. Normally this stuff is used only to support overhangs and is swiftly removed after the print completes.… Continue reading Keep Up The Support

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Making Dinosaurs

It’s been the fantasy of many kids (and adults) to recreate dinosaurs. Those almost mythical, but real beasts from prehistoric times challenge our curiosity. What were they really like. Probably they’d eat you if they had a chance, but is there a way to rebuild the dinosaurs? The late author Michael Crichton proposed doing so… Continue reading Making Dinosaurs

Objet’s Clear Bio-Material

Commercial 3D printer manufacturer Objet has released a new very interesting print material: MED610, which is a transparent bio-compatible substance. You might think that making a clear, safe substance would be easy, but it’s not. In order to qualify for such a designation numerous tests and certifications are required, and that’s the tough work that… Continue reading Objet’s Clear Bio-Material

Printing Blood Vessels

Printing solid objects is pretty easy: you just extrude/fuse/sinter/flash the layers and you’ve got your whatever-it-is-you-wanted. It’s easy because typically these 3D prints are a uniform material all the way through. Occasionally experiments are done with multiple materials and one commercial 3D printer maker (Objet) has a technology that can print mixes of two different… Continue reading Printing Blood Vessels

Digital Reality Developing 3D Print Service

We spoke at length recently with Chris Norman, head of Digital Reality Corp, a Texas-based company that knows a lot about 3D printing and product engineering. They’ve been working on a new distributed 3D print service that sounds a lot more comprehensive than those available today. We don’t know all the details yet, as Digital… Continue reading Digital Reality Developing 3D Print Service

Industrial Revolution 2.0 Held Over

What? You weren’t able to attend the London Design Festival this year and missed out seeing Murray Moss’s “Industrial Revolution 2.0” display? Well, now you can, because this exhibition has been held over at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Instead of ending now, it’s been extended until early November.    Evidently the exhibition was extremely… Continue reading Industrial Revolution 2.0 Held Over

More on the 3DTouch 3D Printer

After yesterday’s announcement from 3D Systems / BFB on their new 3DTouch printer, we sought additional details. Today we’ve learned a few more things about this very interesting device, including why it’s called the “3DTouch”. Check out the much more detailed image above (click for larger view). Here’s our latest findings:     The “touch”… Continue reading More on the 3DTouch 3D Printer

A 3D Printed Hairbrush Bowl?

Qatar-based designer Thomas Modeen has produced a very unusual fruit bowl design. Well, we suppose it could hold a lot of other things, too. The design is inspired by a hairbrush – but upside down so that the bristles support items placed on top.    There are plenty more pictures of the “Hair-Brush Fruit-Bowl” at… Continue reading A 3D Printed Hairbrush Bowl?

DAVID Laser Scanner Updated

The inexpensive DAVID Laser Scanner has been updated to version 3.0 with some interesting improvements. This device can be used to capture complete digital 3D models of physical objects – which you can then print, of course.    For some time the scanner has supported laser scanning, but now version 3.0 adds the ability to… Continue reading DAVID Laser Scanner Updated

3D Systems Acquires Formero

Continuing their sweep across the world acquiring 3D print services, 3D Systems has now absorbed Formero, and Australian 3D print service. Formero focuses on the Asia-Pacific market from their Melbourne base of operations.    With this acquisition 3D Systems now has stretched its global reach quite a bit farther, at least in terms of 3D… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires Formero

Ponoko’s New Gelatin!

Distributed manufacturing service Ponoko has released a new material available for their 3D printers, with the self-describing name of “Durable Fine Plastic”. We think this is a pretty cool material, because it’s actually TWO materials in one!    The objects themselves are printed in a rather nice ABS-like plastic that has both “durable” (strong like… Continue reading Ponoko’s New Gelatin!

Something Cooking at MCOR?

MCOR makes 3D printers that use inexpensive common paper as their print material, and they’ve been relatively successful. But we’re hearing something rather strange about a new initiative they’re about to release soon. Their new program is called “freeDrevolution” – and it supposedly involves free 3D printers from MCOR.    What? *FREE* 3D printers?   … Continue reading Something Cooking at MCOR?

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3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?

We’re always fascinated when someone takes some raw data and somehow converts it into a printable object. Recently Thingiverse user TheNewHobbyist created a great model using the United States Electoral College. For those unfamiliar with obscure US election rituals, it is simply a quantity of votes assigned to each state for purposes of presidential voting. … Continue reading 3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?

Origo, The 3D Printer for Kids

You might think 3D printing is hard. Well, it certainly can be. But now Artur Tchoukanov and Fabbaloo friend Joris Peels’ new venture Origo attempts to change all that. They’re making Origo – a 3D printer specifically designed for children. Imagine what ten-year olds could do with a 3D printer!    The question we’d immediately… Continue reading Origo, The 3D Printer for Kids

Look Out For 3D Printed Hats

.MGX, the high-end retail arm of 3D printing service Materialise, announced they’re now collaborating with notable Belgian hat designer Elvis Pompilio. He’s produced hats for many famous personages, having opened his first boutique soon after starting the business in 1987.    While we’re not personally likely to wear this style, we’re quite interested to see… Continue reading Look Out For 3D Printed Hats

AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved

The new beta 6 of Autodesk’s free 3D modelling tool includes a couple of very interesting features for 3D print operators. First, there’s the ability to convert text into 3D shapes using solid creation tools. You can place vector text on any plane and then apply extrude, bend, taper or other deformations.    This, we… Continue reading AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved

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Tinkercad Adds Shapeways

As we suspected, another 3D print service has added Tinkercad integration into their interface. Shapeways joins i.Materialise as an option for printing your 3D models developed in Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a web-based, very easy to use 3D solid modeling tool.    The addition of a Shapeways interface permits direct 3D printing capability, very similar to… Continue reading Tinkercad Adds Shapeways

Exclusive Video: 3D Printed Car Unveiled

Last night Fabbaloo attended the official unveiling of the Urbee 3D printed car, which we’ve covered previously. The Urbee is an ultra-efficient urban vehicle prototype that changes travel paradigm – and also engineering paradigms as its entire body was 3D printed using Stratasys 3D print services. Click the video above to see the unveiling, and… Continue reading Exclusive Video: 3D Printed Car Unveiled

Get a Free 3D Sample Print

3D printing is a new thing; so new that many people simply don’t believe you if you describe it to them. Blank looks, disbelief and heavy skepticism are typical reactions to “3D printing”. How then can one explain this very different concept to someone? You have to show them something – or even better, have… Continue reading Get a Free 3D Sample Print

Industrial Revolution 2.0

Industrial Revolution 2.0 is the name of a special event taking place at this year’s London Design Festival. This event is located at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as are some of the other events. It turns out that most of the items on display at Industrial Revolution 2.0 are 3D printed by 3D print… Continue reading Industrial Revolution 2.0

The Hamburger Shoe

People always get excited about 3D printed food in spite of the fact there are precious few ways to do so. While we await the development of a consumer food printer, others continue to experiment. Shapeways reports on a great experiment in which their member Tristan Bethe 3D scanned his shoe, 3D printed a slightly… Continue reading The Hamburger Shoe

Urbee, The 3D Printed Car

Can you 3D print a working car? The folks making the Urbee car believe so. They’ve prototyping an ultra-efficient (300 miles per gallon, 0.8L/100Km) urban vehicle whose body is entirely 3D printed.    We recently visited the Urbee shop and found it to be a very unusual vehicle:    Two seater with some room for… Continue reading Urbee, The 3D Printed Car

New York City Ground Zero Model

An amazing three-part model of New York City’s Ground Zero is now on display at the Manhattan’s New York City Fire Museum. The three part model by artist David Munson shows a 3D cityscape of buildings in the vicinity of Ground Zero before the Sept 11th event, immediately afterwards, and finally after all is rebuilt. … Continue reading New York City Ground Zero Model

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MCOR Gets a New Chair

MCOR, makers of the very unusual paper-based 3D printer, have announced they’ve appointed a new chair of their board of directors. The Irish-born Ryan has had a very long career in California in the electronics industry and now acts as an industry advisor for start-up companies – and now will provide advice and guidance to… Continue reading MCOR Gets a New Chair

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The V&A Goes 3D

If you’re visiting London soon, we’d recommend you spend some time at the Victoria and Albert Museum, home of incredible deisgns of all kinds. Typically the works are historical, but at times contemporary works are displayed. That’s what’s happening now in a new exhibition called “The Power of Making” taking place at the V&A from… Continue reading The V&A Goes 3D

RepRap Price Points

Neil Underwood posted a great summary of pricing options for getting your own RepRap 3D printer. His analysis shows three different price levels, ranging from a full-on everything-you’d-possibly-want version for USD$850 to a very basic, just-enough-to-say-you-did-it USD$350 version. There’s also a more practical level at USD$550 for a “realistically cheap prusa model”.    Be sure… Continue reading RepRap Price Points

Homemade Stereo Lithography

Maker Rob Hopeless developed a primitive stereo lithography 3D printer. For those unfamiliar with “SLA”, it’s a 3D printing technique involving shooting a laser beam at a vat of liquid plastic resin and gradually solidifying that resin into the desired solid object. While most hobbyists attempt to make thermal plastic extruder-based 3D printers, Rob attempted… Continue reading Homemade Stereo Lithography

Ceramic 3D Printing At Ponoko

Distributed manufacturing giant Ponoko now offers a “glazed ceramic” material option for their 3D printers. This is a big development because it permits the creation of “food safe” objects. Typical extrusion-based 3D printed objects have tiny grooves corresponding to the extrusion layers that can obviously become fouled with foodstuff and be unsafe. Not so with… Continue reading Ceramic 3D Printing At Ponoko

Objet Prints a Toddler!

Most of a toddler, that is. They’ve used their unique multi-material 3D printing capability to print the upper half of a human toddler. As you can see in the image, they’ve used a clear material for most of the body, with a harder, white material for the skeleton – which is embedded within the 10Kg… Continue reading Objet Prints a Toddler!

Virtual To Physical World Bridge Reopened

Long time Fabbaloo readers may recall a distant post describing the Fabjectory service that could 3D print your Second Life avatar. Fabjectory has long since disappeared, and we’re not likely to see a similar service because Second Life’s owner, Linden Lab, now strictly limits digital capture of in-world virtual items (including avatars) due to intellectual… Continue reading Virtual To Physical World Bridge Reopened

3D Printing’s Rule 34

Charles Stross’s latest science fiction novel, Rule 34, includes a whole lot of deep thinking on the implications of widespread 3D printing. We’ve discussed some of these issues before, but Stross’s novel proposes another more aggressive solution: forbidden shapes. In other words, 3D printers could be rigged to detect and prevent the production of certain… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Rule 34

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Forbes On 3D Printing

There’s been a plethora of mainstream media talking about 3D printing lately, and we’re not entirely sure why. Maybe the meme has simply spread wide enough that “normal” people are now starting to talk about it. We’ve experienced this too, where technically innocent relatives talk about something they saw. When grandmother talks about 3D printing,… Continue reading Forbes On 3D Printing

3D Printing Event Coming Soon!

We’ve learned of an important 3D printing event taking place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands this October 25th. The event is named, not surprisingly, the “3D Printing Event”. If you attend you’ll be able to listen to talks by notable 3D printing personalities and also walk through an exhibition of 3D printing vendors. We’re not sure… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Coming Soon!

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MakerBot Is Hiring (Again)

MakerBot, that Brooklyn, NY-based 3D printing startup that always seems to be in the news is hiring again. We noticed a post recently in which they are trying to recruit yet another worker bee, this time a Customer Support Tech:    You’ll be responsible for eloquently representing a growing DIY 3D printer and technology company… Continue reading MakerBot Is Hiring (Again)

Up! Gets A Stepper

PP3DP, makers of the popular Up! personal 3D printer announced they’re upgrading their filament feeder in a significant way. Their original feeder involved a DC motor and mechanical switch, which limits the accuracy of prints as the DC motor takes a while to start up and spin down when electricity is applied. This means you’re… Continue reading Up! Gets A Stepper

Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?

Computer geeks are all familiar with Moore’s law, which posits the idea that the number of transistors practically placed on a chip doubles every two years. Of course, more transistors means more power – and that’s exactly what we see: cheaper, more powerful computers every year.    Johnny Ryan wonders whether a similar law (maybe… Continue reading Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?

The Spinscan

Thingiverse user tbuser has been working on an open source version of a 3D scanning turntable, complete with cross-platform software. While 3D printer owners are amazed at their ability to produce things, it gets a bit more tricky to create models. Scanning is obviously a great way to get great models for printing – or… Continue reading The Spinscan

Shapeways AbFab3D

A powerful new capability was announced by 3D print service Shapeways: AbFab3D. It’s a software architecture that permits the existence of “3D Creators”, which are programs that create printable 3D models based on some input parameters. In other words, on-the-fly customized models.    The catch is that you need a “3D Creator” for each type… Continue reading Shapeways AbFab3D

MakerBot’s $10M Challenge

MakerBot chief Bre Pettis made a very big announcement yesterday: They’re taking in the staggering amount of USD$10M in a special investment round! The sixteen listed investors, led by Foundry Group, obviously have huge confidence in MakerBot’s future.    MakerBot has come a very long way from their modest start in early 2009, growing to… Continue reading MakerBot’s $10M Challenge

More on the 3D Systems’ BotMill Acquisition

We were a tiny bit surprised last week when we learned that up and coming 3D printer manufacturer and marketer BotMill was snapped up by industry giant 3D Systems. At the time there was not a lot of information available about this move, so we contacted 3D Systems VP of Global Marketing to clarify the… Continue reading More on the 3D Systems’ BotMill Acquisition

The Three Phases of Personal Data

Jordan Staniscia describes an interesting link between current developments in 3D printing and “2D media” that we’ve all been using for many years. His concept is “custom personal data”, data that can be mixed, manipulated and of course chosen by you.    In the increasingly distant past, such choices were made by media execs in… Continue reading The Three Phases of Personal Data

3D Printing Reality Checklist

An article posted on ExtremeTech showed up recently and introduced 3D printing to the general public in the usual overly-optimistic way:    a replicator and teleporter in every home You can plug it into your computer via USB, load up some freely-available 3D modeling software, and print stuff; it really is that simple. The only… Continue reading 3D Printing Reality Checklist

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My Robot Nation is Coming

Design News tells of a not-quite-opened 3D printing service: My Robot Nation. It’s a joint venture between ZCorp, Kodama Studios and Offload Studios (one of ZCorp’s print services clients). They’re attempting to bridge the gap that exists in the 3D printing space right now: where are some great printable objects? Specifically, robots.   There’s not… Continue reading My Robot Nation is Coming

BotMill Acquired by 3D Systems

Buzz on the interwebs last night indicated another 3D Systems acquisition has taken place. This time they’ve scooped up Florida-based hobby 3D printer manufacturer BotMill.    While there doesn’t seem to be an official announcement or press release on this event yet, there is a very telling indication from the graphic on BotMill’s site, as… Continue reading BotMill Acquired by 3D Systems

3D Printing For Supervillains

An amusing article at BigThink ponders the consequences of 3D printing technology in the hands of supervillains. Writer Chris Cunnyngham read the article describing the first flyable 3D printed airplane (a drone, don’t get your hopes up yet) and said:    Very cool. And it scared the hell out of me.   He goes on… Continue reading 3D Printing For Supervillains

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Big Robot Comes to Life

Those guys at Metrix Create:Space think big. Really big. This time their experiment is to create the “Big Robot”, a rather large HDPE-extruding 3D printer.    They’re not building it from scratch, but rather they’ve adapted an ancient DynaCNC 1000 router table by replacing the cutter with an enormous RepRap-style extruder. This massive extruder is… Continue reading Big Robot Comes to Life

Generated Spaceships

Once you have a 3D printer, the eternal question is, “what should I print?” One can tediously look through online repositories for something interesting, or perhaps tediously design something new with your 3D modelling software if you have the skills, ability and time.    But what if you could generate your own model? And specifically… Continue reading Generated Spaceships

Hi Res Home 3D Printer Update

We’re perusing Junior Veloso’s blog – he’s the fellow who’s developing a very high-resolution personal 3D printer. The device is quite different from most home RepRap-derived 3D printers in that it doesn’t heat and extrude plastic. Instead, Veloso’s printer uses light to solidify resin, layer by layer. The results are pretty amazing – click the… Continue reading Hi Res Home 3D Printer Update

National Geographic Video: IKEA’s 3D Printers

Specifically, IKEA uses Objet’s Eden500V 3D printer. But do they print furniture? Not as far as we can see, but instead they’re using the printer to produce prototypes of utensils and other small objects in their familiar simplistic Scandinavian design style.    National Geographic has posted a video of their process, in which Technician Johan… Continue reading National Geographic Video: IKEA’s 3D Printers

Video: Using Haptic Tech for 3D Design

Artist Farah Bandookwala describes her experience using a haptic input device to design wonderful 3D sculptures. Haptic technology is the ability to “touch” a model using physical feedback mechanisms. This changes the design process significantly from conventional 3D design methods to something perhaps more akin to traditional art approaches. She’s been using the Cloud9 software/hardware… Continue reading Video: Using Haptic Tech for 3D Design

Faberdashery Sells PLA With a Twist

A new service for 3D printer owners has emerged: Faberdashery. They sell plastic filament that’s suitable for use in several types of popular 3D printers, including MakerBot, Bits From Bytes, Ultimaker and the many variants of RepRap.    The difference at Faberdashery, beyond their broad color selection and exclusive sales of PLA, is that they… Continue reading Faberdashery Sells PLA With a Twist

PP3DP Releases Mac Software Option for Up! 3D Printers

There were rumours of such a release earlier, but now it’s official. You can actually drive your Up! printer directly from your Mac.    The version 1.0 software they’ve provided for Mac is not quite the same as their Windows version 1.12, as some features are not present. On the other hand, it appears that… Continue reading PP3DP Releases Mac Software Option for Up! 3D Printers

BBC Covers 3D Printing

Every few months we see a flurry of articles introducing 3D printing to the general public. While those familiar with the space may find this repetitive, it actually is quite beneficial to the 3D Printing industry, since there are a great many businesses, artists, architects, designers and individuals who don’t completely understand what it’s all… Continue reading BBC Covers 3D Printing

Concrete Printing at Loughborough U

Principle Investigator Dr. Richard Buswell of Loughborough University in the UK  leads a project to develop a method of 3D printing concrete building components that’s been ongoing for several years. The components could potentially accommodate pre-made services, such as piping or electrical. The project will also enable the production of building geometries not easily done… Continue reading Concrete Printing at Loughborough U

Shapeways Is Three. Is 3D Printing Old?

Shapeways just celebrated its third birthday and while we’re happy to see they’re doing well and continuing to innovate, we asked ourselves if 3D printing is getting old?    Shapeways is three years old.  Fabbaloo has been posting since late 2007, some four years ago.  Objet is twelve years old. Z Corp is sixteen years… Continue reading Shapeways Is Three. Is 3D Printing Old?

Win Thousands From Formero

Australian 3D Print service Formero is running a contest for the “most creative and innovative use of Objet 3D printing technology”. The prize: AUD$1000 and AUD$2000 worth of Formero’s 3D print services. That’s AUD$3000 in total for one of you creative readers.    The contest, called “When Images Come To Life” is pretty open as… Continue reading Win Thousands From Formero

All About Ultimaker

Jon Kalish digs deep into the history and motivation behind the development of the amazing Ultimaker 3D printer in a new Make magazine article. Ultimaker, created by Erik De Bruijn and Martijn Elserman, was an attempt to create a better 3D printer based on the RepRap model – but they soon discovered they could start… Continue reading All About Ultimaker

Autodesk Acquires Instructables

3D software giant Autodesk, makers of Maya, Revit, 3DS Max and AutoCAD announced they’ve acquired Instructables. Instructables provides do-it-yourself instructions for a wide variety of projects, some of which involve 3D printing. Instructables chief Eric J. Wilhelm says:    Autodesk gives us the scale and support to grow and improve Instructables, build some great apps, and… Continue reading Autodesk Acquires Instructables

David Kaplan Reveals the Wrench Truth

The other week controversy erupted when National Geographic published a short video in which physicist David Kaplan visited ZCorp HQ and apparently witnessed the incredible feat of 3D scanning a large wrench and replicating it – will all moving parts! We thought this might be slightly misleading, as you can’t scan-capture moving and internal parts… Continue reading David Kaplan Reveals the Wrench Truth

Made In Space: Update

Last week we mentioned Made In Space’s achievement of testing two commercial 3D printers in a simulated weightless environment. But we wondered which 3D printers were used, as the material we saw did not specify the printer involved – only that one of the printers originated from 3D Systems.   Today we see a press… Continue reading Made In Space: Update