coverage

The Revolution Will Be 3D Printed

Interested in learning the basics of whatā€™s happening in the 3D printing world today? You could read our blog, but if you have only 54 minutes, we found a podcast that tells the story. 

Deadmau5 Has a 3D Printer

Progressive-house music producer and performer Deadmau5 recently posted Instagrammed pics of his new acquisition: a dual-exstrusion MakerBot Replicator 2X. The notable musician provided a sequence of images that related his experience with the technology. So how did it go? Let’s see what happened.    First he printed a test, the multicolored pylon. All OK so… Continue reading Deadmau5 Has a 3D Printer

Coca Cola 3D Prints Mini-Me’s

Here’s an interesting marketing angle: Coca Cola Israel recently launched their new “mini bottle”. To promote it they offered a free 3D print of the winners. Yes, “of the winners”.    A contest selected a small number of winning entrants, who were then invited to Coca Cola Israel’s factory, where sophisticated full-body 3D scanners captured… Continue reading Coca Cola 3D Prints Mini-Me’s

The State of Medical 3D Printing

Viktorija Samarinaite of CGTrader has published a detailed overview of the current state of 3D printing as applied to the medical and biological fields. The long post covers a wide spectrum of recent 3D printing medical miracles, including 3D printed hearing aids, dental work, prosthetics, casts, bioprinting and more.    We’ve covered most of this… Continue reading The State of Medical 3D Printing

BBC: “3D Printing Is Not Going To Change The World”

BBC correspondent Peter Day says “3D printing is not—according to one of the prophets of the new personal manufacturing age—going to change the world on its own” in a recent piece.    His notion parallels our thinking, and by extension, the thought process everyone must go through. It’s something like this:    Wow! 3D Printing… Continue reading BBC: “3D Printing Is Not Going To Change The World”

PC MAG Reviews The Cube

This is interesting: a mainstream magazine has reviewed 3D Systems’s introductory personal 3D printer, The Cube. Treating The Cube as “just another consumer product” seems to be hitting a milestone of sorts.    But what did PC MAG say about The Cube? Their “Bottom Line”:   Although the Cube 3D Printer doesn’t provide the hassle-free… Continue reading PC MAG Reviews The Cube

A 3D Printing Magazine

Design magazine Dezeen has suddenly launched a print publication specifically focused on 3D printing: Print Shift. It’s actually a paper publication produced using online print-on-demand service Blurb.    The magazine contains stories about 3D printing targeted at consumers new to the technology, such as “Four Names to Know in the 3D-Printing World” or “Your Clothes… Continue reading A 3D Printing Magazine

For 3D Printing ā€œEarly Adopters Have Big Advantageā€

In a recently released report by technology research company Gartner, experts have concluded that companies who adopt 3D printing early will see major advantages over those who don’t.   According to Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner, “Businesses must continuously monitor advances to identify where improvements can be leveraged.”   Read More at ENGINEERING.com

Global TV Features 3D Printing

Chief Correspondent Carolyn Jarvis of Canada’s Global TV presented a very comprehensive look at today’s state of 3D printing on their current affairs show, “16×9”. We bring this to your attention as this is perhaps the most mature examination of the technology we’ve recently seen by the media, which recently has tended towards the spectacular,… Continue reading Global TV Features 3D Printing

Thoughts On That 3D Printed Building

Widespread media reports describe a project by Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars, who plans to build a home using 3D printing. He’s actually going to 3D print a house.    The project will use the D-Shape 3D printing technology from Enrico Dino, who previously used this approach to produce a huge sculpture. The D-Shape 3D printer… Continue reading Thoughts On That 3D Printed Building

Der Spiegel on 3D Printing

We’ve previously seen such mainstream publications as The Economist, Forbes and The Atlantic bring 3D printing to the attention of their readers. Now Der Spiegel has done the same with a new article providing an overview of the 3D printing space.    As one might expect, Der Spiegel provides focus on several German 3D printing… Continue reading Der Spiegel on 3D Printing

3D Printing Buzz During 2012

Last January we took a look at Google Trends to see the slope of interest in 3D printing. At that time we observed a pretty healthy jump. Did the trend continue in 2012?    Evidently yes, as you can see in the Google Trends chart above. The lines represent the relative amount of Google searching… Continue reading 3D Printing Buzz During 2012

BBC Newsnight Examines 3D Printing

This video from the BBC provides an introduction to 3D printing, including the process of being scanned and 3D printed. The video also considers the challenges that will inevitably arise when 3D printing becomes common, including object piracy and the transformation of manufacturing. There’s even a quick interview with designer Sir James Dyson, but the… Continue reading BBC Newsnight Examines 3D Printing

Two 3D Printing Downers

We’ve just read not one, but two articles from reputable publications that appear to dismiss the notion of personal 3D printing. TechCrunch’s Jon Evans wrote “3D Printers Are Not Like 2D Printers: A Rant”, while Scientific American’s Gary Stix wrote “3-D Printing: The Great American Tchotchke Machine”.    Stix’s premise is that personal 3D printers… Continue reading Two 3D Printing Downers

3D Printing with Dilbert

This week Dilbert got into the 3D printing space by publishing a cartoon of the character making very effective use of his 3D printer. Hit the link below for the full strip.   Amusing, but not yet possible. Printing a body-sized item would take days on any of today’s machines and the results would be… Continue reading 3D Printing with Dilbert

TCT Live ā€“ What You Missed and Why You Need to Attend

If you are looking for big ballrooms filled with paid conference attendees or a boondoggle to a resort destination, TCT Live (Birmingham, England) is not for you. This event is for both novice and experienced users that are in search of answers to the questions of what is available and what is possible. It is… Continue reading TCT Live ā€“ What You Missed and Why You Need to Attend

Further Evidence of 3D Print Mainstreaming

As 3D printing gains popularity it was inevitable. 3D printing has made it into the famous Cheezburger network. We noticed an animated GIF of a Yoda coming off of a MakerBot 3D printer on Cheezburger’s Señor Gif site.    Via SenorGif

A Few Cubify Developments

3D Systems’ Cube personal 3D printer has only been available for a few weeks now, but this week we noticed a few interesting developments.    First, there’s a new video out showing a bit more of how the device works. We specifically were interested in the portion where they showed how to change the filament.… Continue reading A Few Cubify Developments

The Economist on 3D Printing, Again

Once again the venerable The Economist has published a series of articles on the topic of 3D printing and digital manufacturing. This publication has gone quite far to promote the technology, more than others.    We’ll bring three of their articles to your attention. First, they explain the fundamentals of 3D printing, which is still… Continue reading The Economist on 3D Printing, Again

The Cube on CNN

Big media coverage for 3D Systems this week: 3D Systems CEO Abe Reichental appeared on CNN to demonstrated their new USD$1300 “Cube” personal 3D printer. Reichental explained the basics of 3D printing to the audience and said that although 3D printing has been around for decades for industrial applications, 3D Systems is now “democratizing” the… Continue reading The Cube on CNN

3D Printing For Graphic Artists

Graphics.com, a publication dedicated to the 3D arts recently posted “Fundamentals: 3D Printing of Digital Models”. In this piece they take the reader through a basic explanation of 3D printing concepts and a walk through the lifecycle of a print: design, print and finishing of a trophy award (see image).    No big surprises, but… Continue reading 3D Printing For Graphic Artists

3D Systems In USA Today

A great piece on 3D printing appeared recently in USA Today. While the piece says nothing we haven’t already known about here, there is something to notice: USA Today is a very consumer-oriented publication. It’s about as mass-media as you can get and still be a newspaper.    The fact that such a publication has… Continue reading 3D Systems In USA Today

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3D Printer in the Home of the Future

The UK’s Channel 4’s new show “Home of the Future” takes the idea of a futuristic home beyond just and idea; they’re building it for real!    The imaginative home includes numerous 21st century features, some you’d expect to see, like an internet-equipped refrigerator in the kitchen and others you might not expect like the… Continue reading 3D Printer in the Home of the Future

CNET Names MakerBot’s Replicator Best of CES

CES has now closed and the media now reports on their observations. CNET produced a list of their “best 10 of CES”. On the list was the MakerBot Replicator personal 3D printer, winner of the “Best emerging tech product” category. Why the MakerBot instead of its competitor the 3D Systems Cube? According to CNET:  … Continue reading CNET Names MakerBot’s Replicator Best of CES

A Tour of Buildatron

PC Magazine took a tour of a Brooklyn, NY-based 3D printer manufacturer, and it wasn’t MakerBot. It was Buildatron, an up and coming personal 3D printer operation whose signature feature is a stunning metal case.    What did they find? They found a tiny manufacturing space, likely very similar to most other personal 3D printer… Continue reading A Tour of Buildatron

The Economist Discovers 3D Printing’s Killer App

There is perhaps no bigger promoter of 3D printing within the mainstream media than The Economist magazine. Recently they visited the gigantic Euromold conference where many 3D printer manufacturers exhibit their wares – and applications of their tech.    What impressed The Economist was the link between 3D print design and the biological. We’ve written… Continue reading The Economist Discovers 3D Printing’s Killer App

MakerGear Hits Forbes

As interest in 3D printing grows we see increasingly frequent appearances in mass media. Now we see popular 3D printer supplier MakerGear featured in business publication Forbes.    MakerGear is a well-stocked supply shop for 3D printer owners and would-be owners. In addition to supplying materials (ABS and PLA filament), MakerGear also offers well-regarded upgraded… Continue reading MakerGear Hits Forbes

More People Get 3D Printing

Blogger John Geraci’s recent post shows his newfound understanding of the future of 3D printing: he gets it. John’s blog talks about “innovation & entrepreneurship in New York City and beyond”, and this led him, we suspect, to Brooklyn-based MakerBot, the well-known manufacturers of the Thing-O-Matic personal 3D printer and previous models. From there he… Continue reading More People Get 3D Printing

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

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

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

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

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

3D Printing Video Controversy

A 3D printing video from National Geographic went viral on the interwebs last week and quickly generated some controversy among 3D printing enthusiasts.    In the video, physicist David Kaplan visited ZCorp HQ to “find out whether they can print a crescent wrench”. Kaplan was shown a selection of amazing items printed on ZCorp devices,… Continue reading 3D Printing Video Controversy

3D Printing on xkcd

We’ve seen 3D printing show up on the hallowed pages of BBC, CNN, The Economist and other mass media outlets, but today we see it make an appearance on the highly popular internet comic strip, xkcd.    In the strip, xkcd predicts “widespread deployment”. And other things that, yes, will probably occur – if they… Continue reading 3D Printing on xkcd

MCOR Prints The President

3D paper printer manufacturer MCOR recently scored a coup by not only meeting with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to discuss 3D printing at the Áras an Uachtaráin (the official residence of the Irish President), but also offered to print a bust of her upon her retirement in October. It’s possible for this paper… Continue reading MCOR Prints The President

3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good

BBC news reports today on scientists at the University of Exeter in the UK who have developed a new chocolate 3D printer. Instead of extruding tasteless plastic, this printer is capable of extruding liquified chocolate into solid – and edible – objects. The process is similar to other extrusion-based 3D printers: squirt and solidify each… Continue reading 3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good

Amazing 3D Printing Infographic

We bumped into this totally amazing infographic that explains pretty much all you need to know about 3D printing, including the process, economy, materials, typical uses, timeline of events, consumer and industrial use, food printing, etc. (Click link below for the full infographic view).   The timeline is interesting. It predicts Bioprinted human limbs and… Continue reading Amazing 3D Printing Infographic

Ultimaker Operators Needed!

Fabbaloo was contacted by Manhattan-based radio reporter and podcast producer Jon Kalish, who enquired about our experience with the Ultimaker 3D printer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any direct contact with that particular 3D printer yet. We asked why is he so interested? Turns out that Jon is writing a piece on Ultimaker for a major zine and… Continue reading Ultimaker Operators Needed!

Bre Pettis on Colbert!

MakerBot Chief Bre Pettis intersected with mainstream media once again on Wednesday’s edition of the Colbert Report. While Colbert speculated on the prospect of a “stack of 3D butts” found after future office parties, there was semi-serious discussion of 3D printing. During the interview, Bre had a Thing-O-Matic operating right in front of the audience.… Continue reading Bre Pettis on Colbert!

3D Printing on CNN

CNN Money’s page today had a front-page article dedicated to 3D printing, featuring an interview with 3D System’s Rajeev Kulkarni, who spoke about their newly acquired BFB line of inexpensive 3D printers. He said:    This is our attempt now to get at the consumer level, where we make 3-D printing accessible to the mass… Continue reading 3D Printing on CNN

Open Design Now Released

Today a new book has been released: “Open Design Now: Why Design Cannot Remain Exclusive”. The book, a collaboration from Creative Commons Netherlands, the Premsela Dutch design and fashion institute, and Waag Society, focuses on the new design movement in which (theoretically) everyone can become a designer. Contributors to the tome include Marleen Stikker, Bre… Continue reading Open Design Now Released

The Top Ten Players In 3D Printing?

We’re reading a curious post on EconomyWatch in which they describe the incredible future of 3D printing. In their post, they list the “Top Ten Players in the 3D Printing Industry Today”. Here’s their list:   3D Systems (printers) Autodesk (CAD software) Desktop Factory (printer) Makerbot Industries (printers) Shapeways (service) Bespoke Innovations (artificial limbs) Sweet… Continue reading The Top Ten Players In 3D Printing?

3D Printing Companies Will Continue To Do Well

One might think that it’s not a good time to invest in 3D printing companies after their latest run up. However, according to a report by analysts at Piper Jaffray:     Based on conversations with industry sources and Q1 channel checks, we believe demand in the 3D printing market has improved and we believe… Continue reading 3D Printing Companies Will Continue To Do Well