Kerry Stevenson, Author at Fabbaloo

The Three (and a Half) Approaches To 3D Print Materials

I’ve noticed there are now three main approaches to dealing with 3D printer materials. There’s more than just open and closed options.

The 3D Printing Video We Always Wanted

A new video from VICE actually portrays 3D printing in correct terms, one of the few examples of outstanding coverage of the technology by mass media.

Formlabs’ New Tough Resin

Formlabs announced a new resin, Tough 1500 Resin, which has some interesting properties and could be used as a substitute for polypropylene.

The Metal X 3D Printer Gains Copper Metal

Markforged announced the availability of a new metal for their Metal X system: copper. We have the reasons why this is so important.

More On MakerBot Classroom, And The 3D Printer Controversy

Last week we posted a couple of stories on MakerBot’s new product, MakerBot Classroom, but there seems to be some controversy brewing.

The Two Sides of the Sonda SYS SL02 3D Printer

Sonda SYS manufactures an industrial 3D printer with an interesting feature twist.

3D Buzz Releases All Content

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of a site called “3D Buzz”, but their content could be of interest to anyone in the CAD field.

3DQue Expands

Vancouver-based 3D printing startup 3DQue is expanding, and I’m surprised.

A 4D Printed Microneedle Array

Researchers have used a micro-3D printing technology to produce an effective long-term drug delivery needle system.

More Changes At The Top of Stratasys

Stratasys is losing their long-time board chair.

Boston Micro Fabrication’s microArch 3D Printer

A new player has emerged on the micro-3D printing stage: Boston Micro Fabrication.

Book of the Week: Functional Design for 3D Printing

This week’s selection is “Functional Design for 3D Printing: Designing 3d printed things for everyday use – 3rd edition” by Clifford T. Smyth.

RIZE Makes A Materials Deal With Sindoh

Two 3D printer companies have made an arrangement for use of materials: certain Sindoh equipment will be able to make use of RIZE materials.

Markforged Achieves ISO 27001

Markforged announced they have earned an ISO:27001 certification.

Lumi Industries Working On High-Rez Micro 3D Printer

We’ve been tipped that Italy-based Lumi Industries is developing a very high resolution, but tiny, resin 3D printer they call the PicoFAB.

Stratasys Unveils Lower Cost Color 3D Printer: The J826

Stratasys announced a new member to their J8 series of full color 3D printers, the J826, which will enable easier acquisition by educators.

There Will Be No General Purpose 3D Printer In The Future

3D printers are increasingly becoming specialized. Are the days of the “general purpose” 3D printer gone?

Our Annual Reminder to 3D Print Vendors About AMUG

There’s a secret issue with the annual AMUG conference, and we have to tell you about it.

Is Cold-Spray 3D Printing To Take A Market Segment?

The cold-spray technique for 3D printing metal parts seems to be increasing in popularity. What are its advantages?

What Does An Actual Construction Worker Think of Construction 3D Printing?

With all the attention being given to construction 3D printers, we thought it wise to see what an actual construction worker thinks of the technology.

Realtime AI-Based Certification of 3D Printed Parts

Inkbit has developed an AI-based quality control system that can not only verify correct layers, but fix them, too.

Vyomesh Joshi To Retire; 3D Systems Set For Huge Shift

3D Systems is to find a new CEO. What does this imply for the 3D printing giant?

The Glia Project: Open Access 3D Printed Medical Equipment

The Glia Project is leveraging 3D printing to bring desperately-needed medical equipment to poor areas of the globe through an online service.

PSA: It’s FFF, Not FDM (Mostly)

Do you know the difference between the terms “FDM” and “FFF”? From what I read, it seems a large number of people are not aware of their true meaning.

From Fries To 3D Prints: Deep Fryer Oil Transformed Into 3D Printer Resin

Researchers have figured out how to make 3D printer resin from waste cooking oil, and it’s incredibly inexpensive.

Which Of The Seven Multi-Color Filament 3D Printing Approach Is The Best?

There are several ways to perform multi-material 3D printing using filaments. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Structo’s Deal For Advanced Materials

Dental 3D printing specialist has struck a deal to allow use of advanced resin on their all-in-one dental 3D printer.

Crazy Idea: AI-Based 3D Model Generation For Consumers

A new AI-based system can generate incredibly realistic human faces. What if the same technology was turned towards 3D printing?

BellandTechnology Aquires Xioneer

Chemical company BellandTechnology, makers of the VXL series of 3D printing materials, has acquired industrial 3D printer maker Xioneer.

Implications of MakerBot Classroom: Addressing The Educational 3D Printer Market

MakerBot’s new Classroom product is set to shake up the education market for 3D printing significantly due to its features, price and most importantly, how it was designed and implemented.

A Much Better Soluble Support Material

VXL’s 3D printing materials are finally becoming more well-known after they began marketing directly to the public, including their non-hygroscopic soluble support material.

Free CAD Utility Recommendations Available

I’ve found a source with a ton of CAD utility recommendations that could make life easier for anyone using 3D CAD to create designs for 3D printing.

Seven Ways A Business Could Begin 3D Printing

Many small businesses don’t yet use 3D printing, but probably could benefit from the technology. We list seven ways to help get that process started.

Effective 3D Printed Magnets Open Up Many Eco-Possibilities

Researchers seem to have developed a new way to effectively 3D print magnets of similar strength to conventionally made units. What might we do with such a technology?

Clariant’s Zero Emission Production: The Beginning of a Trend?

Clariant’s production plant is now running on entirely green energy, making it possible for them to boast of green products. Is this a PR move, or a real trend?

MakerBot Announces Classroom Product, Including New SKETCH 3D Printer

MakerBot announced a surprise new product for the education segment: MakerBot Classroom, which includes the new SKETCH desktop 3D printer.

Design of the Week: Bionic Sofa

This week’s selection is the smooth and sweeping Bionic Sofa by designer Alex Demin.

Adding A “3D” To Your Company Name Is Sometimes Required

There’s some fun patterns in 3D printing company names if you look closely at their corresponding domain names.

Don’t Be Fooled by Low 3D Printing Stock Prices

It’s now much harder to get a handle on the current state of 3D printing merely by looking at stock prices. There’s a lot more to the story.

Pete Basiliere Discusses The Xerox Bid For HP

We reached out to an industry expert to find out more about the ongoing hostile attempt by Xerox to take over HP.

Will There Be Many Seismic Shifts Enabled By 3D Printing?

While there are breakthroughs occurring in several industries as a result of additive manufacturing, how many other industries could be affected?

Who Is Clean Green 3D?

The MCOR Technologies ArkePro full color 3D printer, which uses paper, has been resurrected.

Essentium Sticks With Vertical Strategy

Essentium’s latest partnership offers some interesting insight into how they develop vertical markets and increase their sales.

Filament Drying: The Quest For Perfect 3D Prints Continues

There seems to be a burst of 3D printer manufacturers offering filament drying equipment. We have some ideas why this is happening.

3D Printing Tip: Support Structures Required In Unexpected Places

I encountered an unusual support structure issue while 3D printing and propose several ways to resolve it with Meshmixer.

3D Hubs Releases Latest Trends Report: Our Analysis

3D Hubs has released its now-annual report on manufacturing and 3D printing trends, and we take a look at their statistics.

The Right Way To Market Commercial 3D Printed Designs

Mixed Dimensions used the correct approach for licensing and using 3D models from EVE Online for their printing service.

Coronavirus Strikes 3D Printing

A significant outbreak of a coronavirus is affecting many things in China and beyond. But could this affect 3D printing?

3D Printed Midsole Manufacturing Coming?

A mysterious 3D printer is said to perform continuous manufacturing of footwear. We speculate on what this could be.

Question of the Week: 3D Printing Tree Branches In Metal

A reader inquires about the best method for 3D printing an artistic work in metal. We explore several options, some of which are quite expensive.

Exploring Ricoh’s3D Print Instant Quote System

We gave Ricoh’s new instant quote option for their 3D print services a test and were quite surprised with the result.

Book of the Week: 66 DIY-Projects

This week’s selection is “66 DIY-Projects: 66 awesome projects to realize with a 3D printer For Beginners & Advanced!” by Johannes Wild.

Saroléa’s Superbike Powered By Electricity and Polymaker

We had a close look at an electric Superbike, the Saroléa N60, which can accelerate at unearthly rates, and prototyped using Polymaker materials.

What Is Consumer 3D Printing, And Does It Really Exist?

In response to recent controversy over the notion of “consumer 3D printing”, I propose some alternate ways to look at the situation.

Reproducing Anyone’s Voice Using 3D Printing?

Researchers attempt to reproduce an Egyptian mummy’s voice using 3D printing, but where will this lead?

Project PLA Hopes To Solve The 3D Printing Waste Challenge

A service wants to recycle your PLA 3D printer scraps by collecting them and sending to industrial recyclers.

Design of the Week: Articulated Poseable Hand

This week’s selection is the easy-to-assemble 3D printed articulated poseable hand, which can be used in a variety of ways.

One on One With MakerOS’ Mike Moceri

We spoke with Mike Moceri, the founder and CEO of MakerOS, a software service directed at production 3D printing operations.

Sculpteo Opens Largest 3D Printing Annual Survey:

Sculpteo has opened up their annual survey for respondents, and it’s very important your viewpoint be registered.

Xerox On The Hunt For HP

A report on CNN indicates Xerox is launching a hostile takeover bid for HP. If this succeeds, what effect would happen on their respective 3D print ventures?

Four Reasons Why Zortrax Announced 3D Print Services

Zortrax unexpectedly announced a new 3D print service. We have several ideas why the 3D printer manufacturer turned to this unusual strategy.

Reviewing Xometry’s 3D Printing Trends

Xometry’s Greg Paulsen examines recent trends in additive manufacturing, and we provide some additional thoughts.

3YOURMIND’s Agile MES Automatically Builds Manufacturing Plans

3YOURMIND has found an interesting way to reduce a common way digital workflows are thwarted on the factory floor.

Prodways Group Buys Into XD Innovation

Prodways Group is executing a very intriguing strategy to increase customer growth by associating with North America-based XD Innovation.

ParaMatters’s CogniCAD “Lightweights” Experimental EV

EV maker Archimoto leveraged ParaMatters’ CogniCAD generative CAD tool to optimize the weight of several key metal components.

MakerBot Fills In The Materials Gap

MakerBot has bridged their materials gap with a new program that partners with multiple 3D printing materials providers.

150 3D Printed Robots To Be Assembled And Offered To STEM Students

A young engineering student, Danielle Boyer, has developed an inexpensive robot targeted at educators and students, and soon there will be 150 of them heading to institutions.

The Slow Transformation of Shapeways

Shapeways has been gradually transforming their business from what they were to something quite different.

What’s Happening With Ricoh’s 3D Printing Strategy?

Ricoh seems to have shifted their additive manufacturing strategy from one of producing 3D printers to offering print services and materials.

Are Quiet 3D Printers A Good Thing?

Many new 3D printers seem to be using specialized motor drivers that provide for silent operation. But are quiet 3D printers a good thing?

Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 3

We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 3 deals with troubleshooting and eventual success.

Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 2

We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 2 deals with assembly and initial testing.

Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 1

We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 1 deals with concepts and assembly.

Book of the Week: 3D Printing of Concrete

This week’s selection is “3D Printing of Concrete: State of the Art and Challenges of the Digital Construction Revolution” by Arnaud Perrot.

The PolyDry Filament Storage System

I’m looking at a new offering from Filaments. ca, the PolyDry storage system.

Seven Ways 3D Prints Can Unstick

Of all the 3D printing issues you can encounter, bed adhesion, or lack of, is one of the most frequently seen. We list seven ways this can happen and offer suggestions on how to avoid them.

Hero Forge Demonstrates Mass Customization Possibilities

Hero Forge has designed an amazingly easy-to-use online service to perform mass customization, in an example to other industries.

3ntr’s Spectral 30 High Temperature 3D Printer

3ntr has introduced an extremely high temperature 3D printer with a build chamber temperature of 250C, capable of 3D printing all high temperature materials, such as PEEK, ULTEM, PAEK and more.

Design of the Week: Nuclear Power Plant Humidifier

This week’s selection is the Nuclear Power Plant Humidifier by Reddit contributor RocketPuff.

Our 2019 Reader Survey Results

Our annual reader survey is complete, and we thank everyone who participated. I thought it could be interesting to show some of the results, which really are all about you.

XJET Found A Niche In Ceramic Applications

XJET has found their way into a very interesting and profitable application niche for their powerful ceramic 3D printing technology.

Increasing Interest In Post-Processing Technologies

A post-processing supplier expands to Japan, illustrating the dramatically increasing interest in post-processing equipment for 3D printing and additive manufacturing.

Smart International Brings Additional Third Party Materials To The Kodak Portrait 3D Printer

A new materials program by Smart International now enables the easy use of high-grade engineering materials on the Kodak Portrait 3D printer.

The Calibry Handheld 3D Scanner

The Calibry handheld 3D scanner is a highly flexible and accurate device that can capture detailed 3D models of many subjects, at a very low cost.

Makers Making Change

A new organization hopes to link makers with those requiring disability aids with a new service. Learn how to participate.

3D Systems Makes Deep Move Towards Healthcare With CollPlant Agreement

3D Systems and CollPlant inked a deal to share resources on future bioprinting ventures, which seems to have had a positive effect on 3D Systems so far.

An Interview With A 3D Pen Artist

Katherine Bialek is an accomplished 3D pen artist. We learned her secrets of how to efficiently build complex 3D designs with only a 3D pen.

3D Printing Resins Become More Functional

An increasing choice is what awaits those who explore the third party market for resin 3D printer materials.

Big Changes Coming: Essentium Survey Reveals Significant Issues With Closed Material 3D Printing

A new survey of large-scale 3D printing operations from Essentium reveals what could be a fatal flaw in the strategies of most major 3D printer manufacturers who hope to move towards production additive manufacturing.