Usage

An Interview With The DreamVendor

Actually we’re not interviewing the DreamVendor itself; instead we’re interviewing Dr. Chris Williams, the Director of the DREAMS Lab at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, the organization that produced the DreamVendor. (Wait, what’s a “DreamVendor”??? Read on and you’ll find out.)    Fabbaloo: We’re wondering what the DREAMS lab is all about? Can… Continue reading An Interview With The DreamVendor

Dinosaur Printing in Detail

There’s a terrific article on The Verge describing all the details of actual Dinosaur printing. That’s the science of 3D scanning dinosaur fossils and using 3D printing technology to produce accurate replicas of the bones.    Why do this? Why not just use the original bones? It turns out there are a number of benefits.… Continue reading Dinosaur Printing in Detail

Foundation Offers Help and Hope to Victims of Orthopedic Trauma

The Foundation for Orthopedic Reconstruction (FOR) is the culmination of two years of planning that heralds an exciting undertaking for the orthopedic and additive manufacturing communities. FOR was developed with a dual mission: To provide patient-specific medical implants at no cost to those in need and to encourage and fund innovative research within the orthopedic… Continue reading Foundation Offers Help and Hope to Victims of Orthopedic Trauma

Bioprinting Advances

Bioprinting is something you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the future. It’s the application of 3D printing for medical purposes.    The idea is to produce human tissue for replacement of damaged portions, but it’s much more complicated than 3D printing simple plastic objects. Not only are you dealing with microscopic bits, but… Continue reading Bioprinting Advances

3D Printed Fish Breeding Gear

We’ve seen many applications of 3D printing to a wide variety of situations, but this one is pretty interesting: Indiana-based research scientist Shane Graber has been using his MakerBot to produce a variety of specialized items for his salt-water fish breeding experiments.    He’s designed an incredibly simple brine hatchery composed of a base that’s… Continue reading 3D Printed Fish Breeding Gear

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Print a Chocolate Brain!

They didn’t actually print a chocolate brain, rather the team from Inition took MRI scan data from their founder Andy Millins and created a 3D model. Once you have a 3D model, as readers know well, you can do some 3D printing.    In this case the team created detailed 3D model of the brain… Continue reading Print a Chocolate Brain!

Ghana Social Centre Aided by 3D Printing

A terrible storm in Ghana badly damaged the Catholic-operated community hall, resulting in the demolition of the ruins. The diocese contracted the replacement build to Munich-based architect Wieland Schimdt, who had to design a structure that used nearby materials, was environmentally friendly and was able to withstand the oppressive tropical heat – both structurally and… Continue reading Ghana Social Centre Aided by 3D Printing

SparkLab: BuildMobile

Of all the Kickstarter-style 3DP projects we’ve seen lately, the SparkLab concept may be the most valuable to society. No, you won’t get a fancy sculpture but you will get the satisfaction of supporting the spread of 3D printing and DIY making knowledge.    What is the SparkLab concept? It’s quite simple. They proponents realized… Continue reading SparkLab: BuildMobile

3D Printing Saves Bike Light

German designer and bicyclist Thorsten Wilms writes on his recent personal collision between biking and 3D printing. He had purchased a headlamp for his new bike, but found that the existing contraptions attached to the handlebars didn’t leave sufficient space to attach the new lamp.    After trying a couple of variations, he gave up… Continue reading 3D Printing Saves Bike Light

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A 3D Printed Jaw

This was bound to happen: a person receives a transplant of a major body part made specifically for them by 3D printing technology.    In this case the body part was the lower jaw of an 83 year old woman from Europe, which had become infected and required removal. 3D scanning techniques captured the precise… Continue reading A 3D Printed Jaw

We Built About 8,000 Mouths

Did you catch the movie Coraline? If you did you might have noticed that much of the movie was not made using conventional computer graphics. Instead the producers 3D printed billions (well maybe not quite that much, but a Whole Bunch) of character parts that were then used in Stop-Motion filming. The movie was a… Continue reading We Built About 8,000 Mouths

North America’s Largest 3D Print?

Everyone asks how big can you print, but we have a group trying to print something truly massive. JF Brandon of Vancouver, Canada wants your help to print a gigantic version of famed 3D designer Bathsheba Grossman’s “Rygo” for outdoor installation at Gropp’s Gallery of Vancouver.   The Rygo is an algorithmic design – generated… Continue reading North America’s Largest 3D Print?

Awesome Possibilities with 3D Printed Concrete

A provocative article on Construction Digital discusses the idea of matching 3D printing with modern construction. As anyone who wanders through big cities these days knows, the design of buildings is increasingly radical and complex. These amazing designs are wonderful to look at and work within, but they are becoming more difficult for engineers and… Continue reading Awesome Possibilities with 3D Printed Concrete

Another 3D Printed Proposal

Earlier we wrote of how an Objet employee created a special engagement ring using 3D printing and successfully proposed marriage with it. Now we’re pointed to another similar scenario, this time involving 3D print service MyRobotNation.    MyRobotNation is one of several small 3D print services that specialize in a particular genre. Of course, theirs… Continue reading Another 3D Printed Proposal

Sculpteo’s New App

3D print service Sculpteo just released a new iOS app that hooks directly into their service. With the app you can select a variety of 3D models that are tweaked with your personal data.    You can take a side view image of your face (or your dog’s, we suppose) and it automatically creates a… Continue reading Sculpteo’s New App

A 3D Marriage Proposal

Sometimes it’s what you do after work that counts. Objet sales engineer Idan Eshel had access to some amazing 3D printer gear and decided to prepare a unique marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Tamar. He 3D printed a very unusual ring with which he proposed.    Evidently the strategy worked, as the couple were married… Continue reading A 3D Marriage Proposal

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3D Printed Bike

Serious cyclists need their bike to precisely match their body for optimum performance, but how can you do so when bikes are pre-made to someone else’s specifications? The answer is to 3D print a bike to your exact specs. That’s what was done recently by German bike maker Vorwaertz, who use 3D design to prepare… Continue reading 3D Printed Bike

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3D Printed Kite

Boing Boing reports on an amazing 3D printed kite. Well, the kite wasn’t completely 3D printed – instead just the numerous connectors were. They were used to connect carbon fiber rods to form the strange looking craft. While the kite looks incredible, it didn’t fly very well, at least as far as we can tell… Continue reading 3D Printed Kite

3D Prints Hit The Apple Store

If it’s in the Apple Store it’s got to be good, right? That might be debated, but regardless Freshfiber has landed their custom-printed iPhone covers in US and Canadian Apple Stores.    At this point only two models are offered (the “Weave” and the digital-like “Double Mesh”), but you can check out large quantities of… Continue reading 3D Prints Hit The Apple Store

3D Printing Hot Stuff

We’ve been reading a post from BFB in which they’ve offered another christmas 3D model free for download as part of their Advent Calendar program. It’s a tea light holder. The item holds one of those standard-sized metal candle holders, which of course, you ignite and enjoy.   But this got us thinking. Should 3D… Continue reading 3D Printing Hot Stuff

Another 3D Printed ATM Skimmer

This isn’t the first time a crime was committed with 3D printing technology, and it won’t be the last. Curiously, it’s exactly the same kind of crime: ATM skimming!   Krebs on Security details the plot, in which perps carefully replaced the “card reader” portion of a California Chase Bank ATM with their own compromised… Continue reading Another 3D Printed ATM Skimmer

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

Flying a 3D Printed Airplane

3D printed parts have been in production aircraft for some years now, but what about printing an Entire Aircraft? That’s what researchers Andy Keane and Jim Scanlan from the University of Southampton achieved.  The 2 metre wingspan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has both impressive design and performance:    Almost 100Mph (160Kph) flight speed Near silent… Continue reading Flying a 3D Printed Airplane

Space-Based 3D Printers Pass Important Test

Space.com reports this morning on experiments undertaken by Made In Space to verify whether 3D printers can be used in orbit. Evidently two commercial 3D printers were tested during temporary zero-gravity environment simulation fights.   We’ve written about Made In Space before, as they were formed last year to address the problem of efficiently solving… Continue reading Space-Based 3D Printers Pass Important Test

BioPrinting Stem Cells

Continuing with our recent (and totally unexpected) theme of bioprinting, more researchers at Harvard have found a more effective way to print biomaterial with stem cells. Stem cells are very specialized living cells with the unique ability to theoretically spawn any other type of cell in the body, which of course would be incredibly useful… Continue reading BioPrinting Stem Cells

Human Cloning in Akihabara

We’ve written about various methods of scanning yourself in 3D, then replicating your face, hands or favorite body part on a 3D printer. But what if you didn’t need a 3D printer and could simply walk into a retail location and get it done on the spot? That’s precisely what’s going on in Tokyo’s Akihabara… Continue reading Human Cloning in Akihabara

Printing Micrometer-Sized BioScaffolds

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed a new way to 3D print bioscaffolds. Scaffolds are three dimensional structures on which organic material (cells) may grow into properly formed tissue structures. Typically the scaffold then dissolves, leaving the newly formed tissue. The new process involves hitting a liquid concoction mixture of polymers and proteins with… Continue reading Printing Micrometer-Sized BioScaffolds

BioPrinting: Organovo Strikes Agreements

Organovo, the bioprinting startup that hopes to eventually print whole replacement human organs, has struck agreements with two pharma companies to assist in drug testing. Organovo will print tiny scaffolds on which human tissue can grow into lifelike shapes. These shapes tend to be better grounds for drug testing, as cells in a simple petri… Continue reading BioPrinting: Organovo Strikes Agreements

3D Printed Roboworm

New Scientist reports that Engineer Jordan Boyle from the University of Leeds has developed a “Roboworm” that can be used to burrow into small spaces. Such a device would be invaluable for earthquake rescues, where victims might be trapped under tons of rubble.    While there are existing devices that can probe rubble piles, the… Continue reading 3D Printed Roboworm

Sneakey Captures Your Keys!

We’re always interested in ways to develop 3D models for printing, and this method is quite startling: Teleduplicating physical keys via optical decoding!    Yes, they take a picture of your keys and then using sophisticated image analysis techniques can prepare a 3D model that duplicates the key shape. It’s, called, obviously, “Sneakey”.    In… Continue reading Sneakey Captures Your Keys!

A 3D Printer Made of LEGO?

It’s true – Instructables user graphmastur has designed a RepRap-style 3D printer entirely out of LEGO parts. While he was obviously unable to attach a high-temp plastic extruder, he has included a common Sharpie marker pen instead. This enables the LEGO 3D printer to operate as a pen plotter.    Why is graphmastur doing this?… Continue reading A 3D Printer Made of LEGO?

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

The Solar Sinter Project

While home 3D printers typical heat/melt plastic to produce objects, Markus Kayser has developed an eco-friendly 3D printer for “desert manufacturing” using only sand as the print material.    The Solar Sinter focuses the heat of the sun to a small point using a large, sun-tracking fresnel lens. The focal point is so hot it… Continue reading The Solar Sinter Project

Parametric Clothing

A short while ago we wrote about Shapeways’ 3D printed Bikini, and we speculated on the complexity of software required to develop appropriately fitting 3D clothing. The subtlety of fashionable curves and comfort fit are extraordinarily difficult, as they would necessarily be unique to each and every person. Even slight variations could render a fashion… Continue reading Parametric Clothing

Billions For Organ Printing?

An article in the Washington Post explores the startling proposition of 3D printing human organs. This is an incredibly complex goal, since most 3D printing of today involves rather simplistic models: a shape made of a single consistent material deposited in a uniform manner. Yes, a few advanced commercial 3D printers might be able to… Continue reading Billions For Organ Printing?

Domes For All

EFFALO’s latest dome-building venture is perhaps their most ambitious: they are attempting to create two critical items, bundling them together as domekit.cc:    A software tool that uses parametric design to generate a dome design of any desired size A DIY flexible connector for geodesic dome construction   We’ve followed the progress of NYC-based EFFALO… Continue reading Domes For All

A Keygen for House Keys?

There’s been quite a bit of interest in using the OpenSCAD 3D Modeling tool for a variety of designs, but this one caught our eye. OpenSCAD, if you aren’t aware, is a free GPL open source 3D modelling tool that is non-visual. Instead of dragging, squeezing and pinching components into your model, OpenSCAD requires you… Continue reading A Keygen for House Keys?

The World’s Smallest Stop Motion Video

Nokia Cellscope: a very simple combination of a Nokia phone and a microscope, capable of seeing very small things at low cost. The idea is to enable those in third world countries to perform basic microscopy – and then instantly transmit results for expert analysis elsewhere.     To celebrate the development of the Cellscope,… Continue reading The World’s Smallest Stop Motion Video

Neurosurgeons Are 3D Printing

There’s nothing like being able to hold something in your hand and inspect it. You can look from all angles close or far and can use your sense of touch to aid in understanding completely what you’ve got.   That’s exactly the approach Hawaiian neurosurgeons at the Tripler Army Medical Centre are taking. They’re able… Continue reading Neurosurgeons Are 3D Printing

3D Scanning by UAV

You may have guessed we’re fascinated with new ways of capturing 3D models for printing, and this week we’ve found a rather unusual method: UAV images. Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s Computer Vision Laboratory have developed software to combine thousands of images gathered by UAVs into very usable 3D models.    The software,… Continue reading 3D Scanning by UAV

3D Dino Prints

Another example of 3D data capture took place when a team from Southern Methodist University scanned prehistoric dinosaur tracks using 3D scanners out (literally) in the field.    The team used a combination of hardware (including a NextEngine HD Desktop 3D scanner with ScanStudio HD Pro software, RapidForm XOR2 Redesign and LightWave 3D) to capture… Continue reading 3D Dino Prints

MIT Looks at Printing Buildings

Architect and MIT professor Neri Oxman has been investigating new techniques for applying 3D printing to the science of building construction. We previously wrote of Neri Oxman’s exploits with MaterialEcology, where she leveraged the synergy of computing, ecology, material engineering and design to produce experimental forms.    Now she’s investigating the issue of building materials.… Continue reading MIT Looks at Printing Buildings

Order Your Own Mini-Me

3D Print service Sculpteo now offers the ability to print a figurine with your own head on it! The process is pretty straightforward: take two police-lineup style photos of your face and send them off to Sculpteo with your order. Their artists will cook up a colorful design that you must approve before it’s printed.… Continue reading Order Your Own Mini-Me

3D Printed Ornithopter Wings

Researchers at the Cornell Computational Synthesis Laboratory building a miniature ornithopter (that’s a flying device that uses flapping wing motions for lift) had a problem: the wings were difficult to create due to their small size and mechanical requirements.     The problem was solved by using 3D printing techniques to create the wings. The… Continue reading 3D Printed Ornithopter Wings

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Calling Makers: Emergency Dome Needed!

We wondered what Effalo’s next project might be, and now we know for certain: It’s a much larger geodesic dome, apparently to be used in a music video. Unfortunately, according to Michael Felix, principal of MakerFactory, they have less than two weeks to produce the dome and their extruder is broken! They’ve posted a series… Continue reading Calling Makers: Emergency Dome Needed!

3D Printed Shoes Nominated For Award

You might have seen those amazing 3D printed shoes produced by Materialise. Well, they’re so impressive they’ve been nominated for the Brit Insurance Design Award, and as such they’re being exhibited in London until 7th August of this year at the Design Museum. According to Materialise:   Within the fashion category are nominees Naim Josefi… Continue reading 3D Printed Shoes Nominated For Award

The Zoybar 3D Printed Guitar

It seems there is growing interest in 3D printed musical instruments. After the amazing 3D printed flute  we now see another 3D printed guitar: The Zoybar TOR. This funky item is composed of a small number of parts (three) printed by Shapeways.   Designed by Bård S D, this item is not available for sale… Continue reading The Zoybar 3D Printed Guitar

EOS’s PEEK Craniofacial Implants

Accidents happen and sometimes tragic victims require replacement of critical bone structures. These replacement body parts have been constructed with Titanium for strength and durability. However, 3D printer manufacturer EOS has just developed a new process to produce craniofacial implants using PEEK, a high-temp, biocompatible plastic.    The custom laser-sintered implants are desirable because they… Continue reading EOS’s PEEK Craniofacial Implants

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3D Print a Kindle!

Not exactly, but it’s surprisingly close to printing a Kindle. Maker Stergios Stergiou has designed a combination case and magnifier that blows up an iPhone 4 screen to 6 inches in size – approximately the same size as an actual Kindle. This makes it much easier to read eBooks, for example.    The device, called… Continue reading 3D Print a Kindle!

3D Printing Board Games

3D modeller Jeff Timothy is exploring the possibility of creating a new service focused on 3D printing board game pieces and equipment. This makes a lot of sense to us, as 3D printing would be a great way to create unique game pieces. And board game designers obviously need new pieces for their projects, don’t… Continue reading 3D Printing Board Games

Scott Elliot Invents an Insert

Scott Elliot, owner of a very busy Solido SD300 plastic-sheet 3D printer has come up with yet another amazing design: shipping inserts to ensure safe travels for package contents.    Since Scott uses the SD300, he is able to print items not possible with other extrusion-based devices. The plastic sheet approach can print objects with… Continue reading Scott Elliot Invents an Insert

Inventables – Materials for Inventors

We’re taking another look at maker material store Inventables, which we wrote about a year ago. At the Inventables hardware store, you won’t find very much that you could put through your 3D printer. Plastic filament is best purchased elsewhere. However, sheer amount of truly amazing materials available at Inventables is staggering.    While we… Continue reading Inventables – Materials for Inventors

Printing Musical Instruments

Tipster Jb pointed us at a video of a rather startling project: Printing a complete musical instrument. In this case, MIT Media Lab researcher Amit Zoran attempted to print an entire and working flute in one operation. We’re not sure if printing an object of this complexity has ever been attempted before; we’ve seen some… Continue reading Printing Musical Instruments

Racing Prototypes

MCD Racing produces radio-controlled racing cars, 1/5 the size of real vehicles. These are not toys – they are highly sophisticated machines capable of winning world championships. These cars are capable of world record speeds of an unbelievable 260Kph (161mph)! Obviously they must be very carefully designed, perhaps with 1/5 the effort that goes into… Continue reading Racing Prototypes

PC Board Printed

We just noticed this development that was posted last July: a RepRap 3D printer was used to print a circuit board. Well, not completely – the 3D printer actually printed the etch resist, which protected the conductive bits from the acid bath. The resulting board was then cleaned up and had components mounted on it. … Continue reading PC Board Printed

Aluminum Bronze Casting Succeeds

Open3DP’s experimentation with metalcasting molds has paid off: one of their experimental hydroperm molds was used in traditional metalcasting (in this case poured aluminum bronze) at the Port Townsend Foundry and the successful results are apparent in the image above. According to Laura West and Dave Feathers:   The mold was placed in a greensand… Continue reading Aluminum Bronze Casting Succeeds

Printing Rockets

You may be under the impression that 3D printers produce flimsy models, suitable for show – but not for action. This is generally true, but it’s changing as 3D printing ventures into metal or concrete printing. One project we’re watching is taking place at ZCorp, manufacturers of high-end commercial 3D printers. Mark Cook, ZCorp’s VP… Continue reading Printing Rockets

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Human Organ Printing

We ran across a fascinating video showing a bio-printing concept being researched at the Biophysics Lab of the University of Missouri-Columbia. According to Dr. Gabor Forgacs, they will be able to replicate human parts by creating new organs cell by cell in a manner similar to everyday 3D printing.  Here’s how it works:   “Spheroidal… Continue reading Human Organ Printing

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Metalcasting Breakthrough

Those inventive folks at the University of Washington are at it again. This time they’ve been working on a simple formula for cementenous metalcasting. In other words, material with which you can make an effective mold for molten metal casts. At one point, they were using this recipe:    1000 parts VersaBond 250 parts Maltodextrin 250… Continue reading Metalcasting Breakthrough

Stratasys Prints A Car!

Well, not exactly an *entire car* – but just its body. The Urbee was an entrant to Progressive Insurance’s Automotive X-Prize. The competition has now closed and Urbee ended up ranked “in the top 30 in the world” according to a recent press release. What’s so interesting about this to us? The car’s body, including… Continue reading Stratasys Prints A Car!

Students Race 3D Printed Cars

The Utah Valley University recently held a competition in which students designed “pinewood derby” style race cars – and then printed them out for actual racing. This derby began in 2008, when Professor David Manning of their Engineering Graphics & Design Technology department managed to convince the budgeteers to acquire a Dimension 3D printer.   … Continue reading Students Race 3D Printed Cars

3D Printing Saves NYC Jeweler

Crain’s New York Business reports on the fate of a New York City jewelery prototyping company, Tech-Designs, who produce one-of-a-kind jewelery models for designers far and wide.    Amazingly, Tech-Designs, who have a staff of only three people, also have a fleet of seven 3D printers, which are kept busy printing six days a week.… Continue reading 3D Printing Saves NYC Jeweler

Objet is Certified

Objet Geometries, makers of the powerful Alaris, Eden and Connex lines of commercial 3D printers just announced they’ve managed to receive ISO 13485:2003 certification. This certification means Objet is now able to deliver various types of 3D printing equipment into a wide variety of medical roles. We’ve seen Objet dabble in dental before but this… Continue reading Objet is Certified

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Amazingly Detailed 3D Prints

David Munson is a professional 3D technologist who provides a wide variety of 3D-based rendering services, such as studies of solar illumination on proposed buildings, 3D diagrams, etc. But we noticed some incredibly cool 3D prints he’s prepared, including the one above. Notice the staggering detail in the support structure of the radar dish –… Continue reading Amazingly Detailed 3D Prints

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A Non-Obvious 3D Print: Sound

Andy Berlin, Z Corp engineer extraordinary decided to push the limits of 3D printing by printing something unusual, in an attempt to inspire others to bend their imagination. He managed to convert a sound wave into a spiral ridge, with the sound wave corresponding to peaks and valleys in the shape. That’s right – he… Continue reading A Non-Obvious 3D Print: Sound

Materialise Rescues Itself

Interesting story from i.Materialise, where Joris explains that some two years ago, a tripod lever was catastrophically damaged. Rather than buying a new tripod and unable to acquire a replacement lever, they decided to “eat their own dog food” by designing and printing a replacement part.    A suitable design was prepared and the lever… Continue reading Materialise Rescues Itself

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Managing Strokes with 3D Printing

Leslie Langau tells an amazing story of how a 3D printer was used to treat stroke patients. Professor Robert Rennaker II at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas in Dallas has been doing experiments simulating the various disabilities of stroke victims.   … Continue reading Managing Strokes with 3D Printing

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Bespoke Makes Legs – Beautiful Legs

We’ve been waiting for something just like this: a startup company that takes full advantage of 3D printing technology to mass personalize an item for everyone. In the case of Bespoke Innovations, they supply one-of-a-kind prosthetics for individuals by leveraging 3D print technology from 3D Systems with an artistic flair:    The Bespoke process is… Continue reading Bespoke Makes Legs – Beautiful Legs

V-Flash Scores The Details

We received some fascinating images of sample objects printed on a 3D Systems’ V-Flash Personal Printer. This printer is perhaps priced higher than one may consider owning personally (USD$9900), but it is sufficiently small and inexpensive to be operated “personally” within an engineering or design firm.    These images show incredible fine detail on these… Continue reading V-Flash Scores The Details

Design-Worthy Cement Printing

Two years ago we wrote on Contour Crafting’s experiments with building-sized 3D printing, in which they were designing a house-sized 3D printer assembly to extrude concrete into shapes suspiciously resembling buildings. The concept is almost unbelievable, where you could erect most of a house at the push of a button (and a few deliveries of… Continue reading Design-Worthy Cement Printing