GE is now leveraging its assets to promote 3D metal printing.
Kerry Stevenson
Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!
The Curse of the Wrong-Sized Spool
There’s a very common problem encountered with desktop 3D printers: spool size mis-match.
Dremel Prepping for New 3D Printer
With rumors of a new Dremel desktop 3D printer arriving soon, the company seems to be dumping the older version.
Coming Soon: The Ionic3DP 3D Printer
A new 3D printer offering uses a very unusual motion system.
Astonishing: ANSYS Announces Real Time Design Simulation with Discovery Live
ANSYS today announced a new product, Discovery Live, which provides astonishing real time engineering simulations.
The Deeper Truth of 3D Printing Particle Emission Analysis
New research offers additional information about 3D printer particle emissions and some hints on how best to reduce them.
A Mammoth Change at MakePrintable
We haven’t written about MakePrintable for a while, but today is a good today to do so.
Avante Releases New High Performance 3D Printer Board
Wyoming-based Avante Technology announced a new type of 3D printer controller board.
What is ANSYS Up To?
ANSYS is planning a major announcement on Thursday, but what is it about?
Cool New Features in Cura Version 2.7
Ultimaker has released an updated version of Cura, and there are some very tasty new features.
Blockchain-Powered 3D Assets?
A development in 3D asset management may assist the control of 3D models for printing.
Fascinating Experimental 3D Printer Tool Switcher
Hackaday contributor rolmie has developed multi-extruder tool switcher concept that could prove quite interesting.
A Different Way to Color 3D Prints
Formlabs has published a method of coloring 3D prints that I hadn’t seen previously.
Design of the Week: Flexible Paper Towel Roll Holder
This week’s selection is the eminently practical Flexible Paper Tool Roll Holder by Thingiverse contributor Eric Veber.
New Large and Small 3D Printers from Photocentric
Photocentric has recently introduced two new desktop 3D printers, the Liquid Crystal Pro and Liquid Crystal Precision.
The Einstart-C Desktop 3D Printer
Shining 3D has introduced a new, low-cost desktop 3D printer, the Einstart-C.
What’s This? Another Full Color Desktop 3D Printer?
Yes, it’s another relatively inexpensive desktop 3D printer that’s capable of full color prints.
3D Print Community: PotterDraw
This month’s community support selection is PotterDraw, a software project to very easily generate vases and other cylindrical shapes.
Is The MakerBot Replicator+ a “Shop Machine”?
MakerBot has undergone an incredible transformation in its brief, 8 year existence. Now it’s apparently a “shop machine”.
NASA’s 3D Printed Challenge Reaches Prize Stage
The ongoing 3D print innovation challenge by NASA has awarded USD$400,000 to two entrants.
Leapfrog’s Informative Colors
I’m a sucker for good user interfaces and Leapfrog 3D Printers just made another one.
Authentise Provides a new “Geometric Search”
3D print workflow provider Authentise announced something they call “geometric search”, and it’s quite interesting.
Mimaki Enters the 3D Print Market With an Important Colorful Option
Japan-based Mimaki formally announced a new and rather interesting full color industrial 3D printer.
The Toybox: A 3D Printer for Kids
I’m looking at a crowdfunding campaign for the “Toybox”, and believe this could be a good option for a holiday gift.
2 Ways 3D Food Printing Could Actually Work
There have been 3D food printing experiments for as long as we’ve been publishing, but it really hasn’t taken off.
3D Print Application Idea: On Demand Museum Pieces?
I’m always interested to see new applications of 3D printing, and have one that may not have been implemented yet.
Design of the Week: DIY Furniture Joints
This week’s selection is the practical set of DIY furniture joints by Martina Caset.
A Great Guide to 3D Print Post Processing
I bumped into a rather well done page described pretty much all the available techniques for finishing 3D prints.
The Pursuit of Efficiency: 3D Printing in 3D Space
Profitability of 3D printing often depends on efficiency, and that’s something of prime concern to many 3D print operators.
Could Room-Temperature Nanolasers Change 3D Printing?
A new form of laser has been developed, and I’m wondering what it may do to future 3D printers.
Embedding Physical Watermarks into 3D Prints
A company is developing a method of providing “invisible watermarks” to 3D prints.
Bioprinting Architecture Method Developed
Research that could lead to true human organ 3D printing begins with a method of reliably 3D printing shapes.
What is “Neosanding” and Why Would You Use It?
An interesting technique used by some Ultimaker users could put a better finish on your 3D printed parts.
Hidden Sensors: A 3D Printed Application
Every once in a while there is a rather unusual new application for 3D printing, and this certainly is one.
Has 3D Systems Stopped Growing?
While the company has introduced new products, it appears their revenue is stuck.
Is 3MF Actually Making Progress?
Is anyone actually using 3MF?
Methods of Ensuring 3D Print Success and Detecting Compromised 3D Models
An interesting research paper provides three ideas on how to detect flaws in 3D prints.
FlowRep: Just What 3D Printing Needs?
Researchers at UBC have developed an incredible system for capturing 3D models from static images.
When 3D Printing a Model Doesn’t Make Sense
Sometimes 3D printing simply doesn’t make sense.
Outsourcing Your 3D Printing? Or Should You Insource?
A question that is sometimes not even asked, let alone answered, is the question of outsourcing 3D printing.
Making Your Own 3D Printer Air Purification System
Safety is too often ignored by those operating desktop 3D printers, particularly air quality.
3D Systems Going Back Into 3D Food Printing?
This is certainly interesting: 3D Systems announced a deal with CSM Bakery Solutions to jointly pursue 3D food printing activities.
Nothing Too Concerning: VoxelJet’s Latest Results
Large-format 3D printer manufacturer announced their quarterly results and they might be viewed negatively, but I think not.
Design of the Week: Plantygon
This week’s selection is the fun Plantygon by designer Samantha Welch.
The ByFlow Focus 3D Food Printer
There are a scant few “food” 3D printers available, and one of them is the Byflow Focus 3D food printer.
Duplicate Kickstarter Detected
Apologies to our readers: yesterday we posted a story regarding a project that appears to be a duplicate!
Another Compliant Mechanism Project: FlexSys
Recently we posted as story about Disney producing compliant mechanisms; it turns out another company is already producing them.
Markforged Shuffles Product Line
3D printer manufacturer Markforged has introduced a couple of new machines that alters their product lineup considerably.
The US Marine Corps’ X-FAB Mobile 3D Printshop
It was inevitable: the military has developed a kind of mobile 3D print workshop.
Should We 3D Print PVC?
There are an increasing number of thermoplastics that can be 3D printed recently, and one of them is PVC.
That Didn’t Take Long: Marangell Joins BigRep
Well, that certainly didn’t take long: Frank Marangell has been hired by BigRep.
The Spinny Sculpto Desktop 3D Printer
The Sculpto+ must be one of the most unusual 3D printers I’ve encountered.
Get On It: A 3D Print Spool Enclosure
A Kickstarter project hopes to solve one major issue with 3D printer spools: contamination.
Changes at the Top for Shapeways
The founder of Shapeways is no longer at its helm.
Fusion 360 Updated with New Features
One of the great benefits of cloud-based software is that it is usually updated frequently. That’s what happened with Fusion 360 last week.
Prusa Enables Soluble Support
Prusa Research took an expected, but nevertheless interesting step forward this month by announcing a feature usually found on professional machines.
Efficiently Leveraging 3D Printer Resolution for Highly Complex Object Designs
Researchers from MIT have developed what appears to be a revolutionary 3D design system that could enable far more effective leveraging of 3D printing technology.
The Powerful Deltawasp Turbo Desktop 3D Printer
Italy-based WASP announced a new version of their flagship 3d printer, the DeltaWASP 20 40 Turbo2.
Design of the Week: Spill Proof Oil Container
This week’s selection is the practical spill proof oil container by YouTuber Vice Chief.
Stratasys’ Non-Shocking Quarterly Results
Stratasys released their Q2 financial results for 2017 and the results were quite different from those of their competitor, 3D Systems.
Why Use a Free GCODE Analyzer?
There are tons of free utilities available on the internets, and one of them is a free GCODE viewer.
Silicone 3D Printing with ACEO
Germany-based ACEO offers powerful 3D silicone printing services.
Who’s 3D Printing Those Unavailable Replacement Parts Now?
A report suggests that Daimler is now 3D printing replacement metal parts for some of their obsolete models.
Laser Cutting or 3D Printing? Which is Appropriate?
I’m reading an Instructables on how to laser-cut a 3D printer spool holder and had a thought.
Sculpteo’s Strange New Material: PEBA
Every once in a while, a new material appears on the 3D printer scene. Now Sculpteo introduces one: PEBA.
Do Manufacturers Really Not Understand 3D Printing?
There’s something odd about how 3D printer companies are marketing these days.
3YOURMIND Adds Another Dimension
3YOURMIND has arranged a deal with Siemens to provide far easier 3D printing for Solid Edge users.
Another LCD-Based Desktop 3D Printer: The D2K Insight
Hong Kong-based Mayc Creation has launched another desktop 3D printer, the D2K Insight.
Telescoping 3D Prints?
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a computational technique that could solve issues in 3D printing and enable entirely new classes of printed parts.
Sinterit Gives Away Mandatory Accessory
Sinterit is not the biggest 3D printer manufacturer, by any means, but they seem to understand the issues of their target market.
3D Systems Shocking Financial Results
As is customary, 3D Systems announced their latest quarterly financial results and the results were quite shocking.
Household 3D Prints: Handy, but Unaccessible
Two seemingly unbreathable barriers hold back 3D printing from general use in homes around the world.
Six Odd Reasons Why 3D Printed Buildings May Actually Work
I’ve been skeptical of attempts to 3D print buildings for years, although many have attempted to do so.
3D Printing to Solve Climate Change?
I’m reading a story on Forbes that proposes that 3D printing, rather than regulations or climate accords, will solve the current climate crisis.
Design of the Week: Solar Filter
This week’s selection is the soon to be very useful 3D printed Solar Filter by Walid Maalouli.
Source3 Acquired
A few years ago we ran into a company called “Source3”, who intended to market notable 3D printed designs. Now they’ve been acquired.
BASF Targeting 3D Printing?
Chemical giant BASF is to set up a new subsidiary dedicated to 3D printing.
SparkMaker: An Inexpensive LCD-Based Resin 3D Printer
The Sparkmaker 3D printer is currently listed on Kickstarter and appears quite popular. Let’s find out why.
Disney’s Compliant Mechanism System
Entertainment giant Disney has published an interesting study on a system they’ve developed to assist in the design of “compliant objects”, which could be very useful in 3D printing.
Have You Used the Materials Project?
The Materials Project is a massive online database of materials.
A Grab-Bag of 3D Functions From FastEngineeringAnalysis.com
A new service just announced hopes to provide engineers with a variety of different design services.
Will 3D Print Access Generate More Product Sales?
I’m reading some interesting statistics on the use of 3D display on websites that might have an analogous effect on 3D printing.
MyStemKits Expands
MyStemKits announced an international expansion, which could eventually lead to breakthroughs in 3D print use worldwide.
Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE for Learning
Dassault Systèmes is the well-known producer of the Solidworks family of 3D modeling tools, well used for 3D printing worldwide.
About That Hype Cycle
Gartner has once again re-issued their 3D Printing Hype Cycle and it’s fascinating to see how things have progressed.
Spee3D Develops Yet Another Way to 3D Print Metal
Australia-based Spee3D has developed a 3D metal printing process I haven’t seen previously.
Formfutura Joins the Engineering 3D Print Materials Gang
The trend towards professional desktop 3D printing continues with another materials announcement.
The Amazoning of Airwolf 3D
California-based Airwolf 3D announced a feature reminiscent of Amazon Prime.
Get Free Promotion For Your Open Source 3D Project
Last year we announced a new program to provide absolutely FREE support for community projects related to 3D. You should apply now.
Multiphoton Optics Achieves One of the Finest 3D Printing Resolutions
If you haven’t heard of Multiphoton Optics, you will soon, as the German company has developed a very powerful 3D printing process that is quite unlike others.
Peeking Inside a 3D Print Operation
Sculpteo has published a fascinating report on how they handle 3D print jobs in their production facility, demonstrating the challenge of frequent 3D printing.
Design of the Week: Artichoke Lamp Shade
This week’s selection is the beautiful Artichoke Lamp Shade by gCreate.
Intel Exits The Maker Community: Implications on 3D Printing
It seems that Intel has announced it is discontinuing its Arduino offerings.
Has Figurine 3D Printing Caught On?
When I started in 3D printing some ten years ago, it was an open question as to what successful application would take on 3D printing aside from prototyping.
Could 3D Printing Change How Wars are Waged?
After yesterday’s story about how the US Navy has been literally 3D printing submarines, I had a thought about the future of war.