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3D Systems’ Digital Thread Enhances U.S. Marine Corps Combat and Logistic Units’ Toolkit
3D Systems has announced its role in the US Marine Corps Expeditionary Logistics Wargame VIII (ExLog).
The Eight Fundamental 3D Printing Prep Functions
3D printing a model is often not as simple as just hitting the “print” button. There are several operations you may need to do to your model before hitting that button.
Silo 3D Modeler now Available for Linux
The Silo 3D modeling software system now adds Linux as one of its supported platforms, joining OS/X and Windows.
Hands on With Simplify3D
We’ve been testing the latest release of Simplify3D, version 2.1.1, a third-party 3D printer slicing system. We’re impressed.
Orange Maker Develops New 3D Printing Process
Startup Orange Maker of California issued a release claiming they’ve invented an entirely new 3D printing process, Heliolithography, which is different from every existing 3D process.
Three Cheers for MeshMixer Supports!
If you’ve been 3D printing you’ll be familiar with the challenge of printing overhangs. Now there’s a terrific solution that enables printing almost any shape on any 3D printer.
GeckoTek’s Build Plate
There’s a small explosion of build plates occurring, if you haven’t noticed. Another good option has popped up on Kickstarter: GeckoTek.
Monoprice’s Low Cost 3D Printer
The online retailer known for low prices now sells what seems to be a pretty decent 3D printer – for a great price.
MakerBot’s Digital Reconstruction Patent
We’ve uncovered a very curious patent application from MakerBot that seems to indicate they’re developing an automated way to reconstruct broken objects.
MakerBot’s Color-Changing Extruder Patent
The buzz today comes from a new MakerBot patent that claims an ability to change filament on the fly – within a single extruder.
Shrinkage: A Problem of 3D Measurement
When 3D printing objects, sometimes the size of the object matters, and sometimes it doesn’t. Shrinkage can be a major issue.
A Brilliant 3D Printing Solution to Online Shopping
We checked out an ingenious marketing approach used by a leading online diamond ring retailer, Brilliance.com.
CubeTeam’s Collaborative 3D Modeling
A new project hopes to revolutionize web-based 3D design by including collaborative capabilities.
Hands On With Authentise’s Streaming Prints
Authentise now has public implementations of their 3D print streaming service. We tried it out.
Epson Acquires RepRap
It’s a blockbuster move and one printer manufacturer Epson hopes will enable them to catch up to competitor Hewlett Packard in the 3D printing space: Epson has fully acquired the RepRap open source project.
Ultimaker Changes It Up – Again!
3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker has made a big change at the top, not too long after doing so once before. They’ve got a new CEO, but he’s not exactly new.
Could The Secret of HP’s 3D Printing Venture Be Memjet?
Earlier last week HP CEO Meg Whitman revealed that HP would have some kind of announcement regarding 3D printing this June. We take a look at a possible technology they may use.
A 3D Printing House Becomes Reality
We’ve written many times on the idea of building homes with large-format 3D printers, but now it’s really happening.
The Ultimate Ronin
While some may 3D print their own doorstops or coathooks, others use their 3D printer to produce incredible objects.
3D Printing Creates Napster for Fashion? Nope.
Mashable proposes that 3D printing will enable a “Napster for Fashion”. We don’t think so.
Uncovered: 4 AXYZ’s Secret 3D Wood Machine
For some time now we’ve been hearing rumors of a mysterious “wood machine” from a mysterious company called “4 AXYZ”. Now we know a lot more about it.
What’s Up With Sketchup?
For many of us, SketchUp was our first encounter with 3D modeling. But what’s the latest from SketchUp?
Secured 3D Prints?
A new service could provide a secure solution for for securely 3D printing. But what does that mean?
Another 3D Printing Patent Set to Expire: What Does This Mean?
US Patent number 5,597,589, “Apparatus for producing parts by selective sintering”, is to expire this May. Originally filed on May 31, 1994, the patent expires exactly 20 years hence, on May 31, 2014. But what will this mean?
More 3D Printing Hubs in the USA Planned
A brief mention of 3D printing occurred during US President Barack Obama’s annual State of the Union Address last week. Apparently the high-tech manufacturing hubs previously announced by that administration were successful.
How Clear are “Transparent” 3D Prints, Anyway?
With the release of Connex3 color 3D printing technology this week, we started thinking more about “transparent” 3D printing. Stratasys provides a transparent material for their Connex series of printers and it’s often mixed with other colors to produce hybrid objects. But exactly how “transparent” is Transparent? We did an experiment. Stratasys often… Continue reading How Clear are “Transparent” 3D Prints, Anyway?
A 100% Plastic 3D Printer?
Many designs of self-reproducing 3D printers have been produced and built; that’s the goal of the RepRap project. But are they truly reproducing themselves? Not exactly; the machines are – so far – only capable of reproducing most of the major plastic components, such as the image above, which was apparently the very first… Continue reading A 100% Plastic 3D Printer?
MakerBot’s Digital Content
While Thingiverse has been a wonderful source for 3D models for the initial wave of 3D printing, it’s not exactly consumer-friendly. It has a large number of models (over 218,000, according to a recent statement by MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis), which is good and bad. It’s good because the model you want is somewhere in… Continue reading MakerBot’s Digital Content
The World’s First Snap Together 3D Printer
Designed in 2011 at a local machine shop in Fullerton, California, the modular Snap 3D printer has come a long way in the past few years. Originally constructed from wood and held together with store bought components, today’s Snap 3D has become a fully functional 3D printer capable of servicing the prototyping needs of… Continue reading The World’s First Snap Together 3D Printer
FilaFlex is indeed Flexible
Another filament innovation has emerged from Recreus: Filaflex, a flexible filament. Using this material, your personal 3D printer might be able to 3D objects that are quite flexible, yet durable at the same time. How durable? Well, it seems that Recreus believes you can print usable footwear with this material as shown above. There’s… Continue reading FilaFlex is indeed Flexible
Who Will Stratasys Acquire Next?
While attending EuroMold the other week we happened to listen in to a media talk by Stratasys CEO David Reis, who spoke about Stratasys’ progress over the past year. But one part of his talk was more intriguing than the rest. Reis explained that Stratasys had issued shares several months ago to raise funds.… Continue reading Who Will Stratasys Acquire Next?
Personal 3D Printing In Gold
Can you 3D print in gold at home? Not exactly. But we have found an example of how you can use 3D printing technology to cast gold. In a now-old post on the Ultimaker blog, jeweler Paul Steenbrink (a.k.a. Cardillac) experimented with a technique for preparing gold jewelry: The 3D print is invested… Continue reading Personal 3D Printing In Gold
We. Touched. It.
The rather simple plastic item shown above happened to be in the possession of certain individuals at 3D Systems’ booth at EuroMold 2013. What is it, exactly? We don’t really know or care, because that’s not its important characteristic. It is the very first 3D printed object. Ever. Made some 30 years… Continue reading We. Touched. It.
MakerBot Opens Two New Stores
It’s happened. We reported earlier that MakerBot intended to open not one, but two additional retail outlets to add to the initial store located in lower Manhattan. One of the new stores is located in Boston, a city of some technological innovation activity, particularly in 3D printing. The other store is located in… Continue reading MakerBot Opens Two New Stores
The Masters & Munn Code
Earlier this week our design of the week featured Icarus Had a Sister, by Masters & Munn. While we’re certain you’ll agree the work is astonishing, we also must tell the incredible story of how it came to be, as revealed during a long conversation at the close of the 2013 3D Printshow. The… Continue reading The Masters & Munn Code
Open Source Metal 3D Printing
We ran across an interesting project that’s attempting to create a system for 3D printing metal at very low cost. The idea is to do for metal manufacturing what was done for plastic manufacturing with current open source 3D printers. The project, by Andreas Bastian, is entitled “An Open Source Selective Laser Sintering 3D… Continue reading Open Source Metal 3D Printing
New Tease From BotObjects
Remember BotObjects? They’re the company that’s producing a “Full Color” personal 3D printer, the ProDesk3D. They have been releasing very little information about their upcoming device, leading to much speculation whether it’s real or not. Now, thanks to a video recently posted on their site, we know a little bit more about this very mysterious… Continue reading New Tease From BotObjects
3D Printing Fears Jump the Shark
With the deployment of personal 3D printers to thousands of private homes, it was inevitable that some people would focus on the bad instead of the good. Now those fears have truly jumped the shark, when police in Manchester, UK raided what they believed to be a “3D printed gun factory”. Unfortunately, their search… Continue reading 3D Printing Fears Jump the Shark
More Evidence of 3D Printing’s Greenness
After our green filament post earlier discussion of 3D printing greenness continued and resulted in a pointer to a document posted by the American Chemical Society that investigates the electricity consumed and CO2 emitted by different manufacturing materials. What exactly did they examine? The embodied energy and emissions from conventional large-scale production in low-labor… Continue reading More Evidence of 3D Printing’s Greenness
3D Printing for Math Professors and You, Too
We’re looking at a PDF, strangely stored on Thingiverse, where one normally finds 3D models. The PDF is an academic document entitled, “3D Printing for Math Professors and Their Students”. It’s exactly that: a paper taking the reader through the process of linking mathematics and 3D printing. Yes, this means generating intricate 3D models… Continue reading 3D Printing for Math Professors and You, Too
“Green” 3D Printer Filament
No, no, we don’t mean “Green”. We mean “Green” as in environmentally responsible. We’ve been looking at filament supplier GP3D, who sell a decent selection of ABS and PLA plastic filament in 1kg spools. Their pricing is decent (USD$32-44 per kg depending on the color and choice of material) and their color selection is… Continue reading “Green” 3D Printer Filament
A 3D Printer Made From Scrap
Normally when you embark on building a DIY 3D printer you’d search online shops for the best and least expensive components. Bring them together with the right plan and you’ll soon have an operating 3D printer. But that’s not exactly what Kodjo Afate Gnikou did. He went to the dump. Specifically, he searched through… Continue reading A 3D Printer Made From Scrap
Recycle Your 3D Prints With Filamaker
Fabbaloo friend Joris Peels has written an extensive interview with Marek Senický, whose new venture, Filamaker, promises to shake up the filament industry. The Filamaker is a device that can recycle unwanted ABS 3D prints. It’s not a complex device; it simply grinds up chunks of ABS, heats and extrudes it into precision… Continue reading Recycle Your 3D Prints With Filamaker
Analyzing Rembrandt and Van Gogh in 3D
Most of us have only see society’s most important paintings through 2D reproductions. Unfortunately, painting is actually a 3D art that layers color atop color to create an image. So, without being able to see the actual strokes a painter has made, much of the information stored in a painting is lost. In an… Continue reading Analyzing Rembrandt and Van Gogh in 3D
More ProDesk3D Details Revealed
You might recall the very mysterious ProDesk3D printer from botObjects that is said to be an inexpensive, full color personal 3D printer. A grand claim indeed, as no one can yet explain how an inexpensive 3D printer can manage multi-color printing. Many current 3D printers are multi-color in the sense of “switching” from one… Continue reading More ProDesk3D Details Revealed
Fuel3D’s Harker Offering
We wrote recently on Fuel3D’s new 3D scanner, just launched on Kickstarter. While the project has been quite successful, gaining more than three times their goal of USD$75,000, they’ve created even more reason to buy one of their devices: Fuel3D has teamed with noted 3D print artist Joshua Harker, who has produced a unique design… Continue reading Fuel3D’s Harker Offering
MakerBot Appears at Microsoft Stores
This is an interesting arrangement: MakerBot has partnered with Microsoft to display MakerBot 3D printing gear in select Microsoft retail stores across the USA. MakerBot will be allocated a space within these stores to set up a “store within a store” concept, similar to what Apple did with certain big box stores before they… Continue reading MakerBot Appears at Microsoft Stores
Fab All Thing’s Unusual Business Model
A new startup called Fab All Things is attempting to use a new business model involving 3D printing. Here’s how it works: Every month, we fabricate new products using 3d printing, lasercutting and cnc milling and put them in our marketplace – the twist is that you design the products and you pick what… Continue reading Fab All Thing’s Unusual Business Model
Extremely Rare 3D Printed Sugar Cube
A strange social experiment is underway, in which a plain sugar cube has been created using advanced 3D sugar printing technology. This apparently rare beast is currently on sale on eBay. Wait, what? Who would buy a 3D printed sugar cube? Who would buy any sugar cube? That’s exactly the experiment being undertaken… Continue reading Extremely Rare 3D Printed Sugar Cube
eBay Launches 3D Printing App
eBay, known for its auction and sales system, stepped deeply into 3D printing by launching a 3D print iOS app. The app (and service) isn’t revolutionary as it is similar to services launched by many 3D print companies, which provide a means to customize and print an object. eBay Exact permits users to browse… Continue reading eBay Launches 3D Printing App
There’s More to the 3D Printing Revolution
We’re reading a piece in Forbes that describes what they call the “3D Printing Revolution You Have Not Heard About”. They refer to the less visible industrial application of 3D printing in the hearing aid market. A hearing aid must fit precisely into the patient’s ear and therefore must be custom made. Custom made… Continue reading There’s More to the 3D Printing Revolution
Withings New Scale Rescued By 3D Printing
For those accustomed to digital manufacturing using 3D printing, it’s becoming hard to imagine how companies designed products in the past. Today’s leading companies use a digital process to create their offerings, and that’s precisely what Withings did to develop their latest smart scale. Withings, if you don’t know, produce an amazing personal weight… Continue reading Withings New Scale Rescued By 3D Printing
The Cube Spotted At Staples
For the very first time, a personal 3D printer has been seen on display in a major retail chain. 3D Systems made a deal with Staples to resell the Cube some months ago, but until now the Cube has only been seen in Staples’ online store. Now it’s actually there in person, for real, no… Continue reading The Cube Spotted At Staples
Enabling Octopod Propulsion
Squids, octopi and similar marine animals propel themselves through water by means of a water jet. While this has been known for years, building a mechanism to duplicate it has been challenging – until now, as Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA developed a 3D printed design that does exactly that. … Continue reading Enabling Octopod Propulsion
Are You Ready To Mold 3D Prints?
Most 3D printers produce objects in a very limited set of materials, typically only one or two. But what if there was a way to make items from many kinds of materials? That’s exactly what you can do by combining your 3D printer with ComposiMold, a system for making molds. ComposiMold is a reusable… Continue reading Are You Ready To Mold 3D Prints?
Windows 8.1 Incorporates 3D Printing
You know that something is becoming mainstream when it shows up in Microsoft Windows – and that’s precisely what’s happened in the most recent release of Windows, 8.1. Does this mean any Windows computer can now 3D print? Not exactly – this announcement is really for software developers. Microsoft announced a set of standard… Continue reading Windows 8.1 Incorporates 3D Printing
I Will Not Print You A Gun!
The headline is not exactly what is said on a piece now appearing on Thingiverse. The “guns are bad” 3D model by Gecko is a desktop sign that actually says: NO! I will not print you a f***ing gun 3D printed guns are obviously controversial, so much so that the mandarins at Thingiverse… Continue reading I Will Not Print You A Gun!
3D Printing Price Check Update
What is 3DPrintingPriceCheck? It does exactly that. Jonas Neubert, creator of the online service, just released a significant update to the service, which now includes STL upload, instant quotes from some 3D print services, more materials and even lead time estimates. The service makes shopping for the best deal easy. You simply drag and… Continue reading 3D Printing Price Check Update
3D Printing to Change the Shoe Industry?
James Shorrock writes on Hypebeast his thoughts on how 3D printing could change the future of the shoe manufacturing industry. He proposes that while shoe prototyping has already led to much more rapid shoe design, eventually shoes could be 3D printed directly, based on current experiments with different materials. Once the correct cushioning and… Continue reading 3D Printing to Change the Shoe Industry?
How Many Personal 3D Printers Exist?
With recent furor over 3D printed guns, we started wondering exactly how many people could actually produce them on their 3D printer. In other words, how many personal 3D printers exist? It’s very difficult to cite any specific number, mainly because the major manufacturers are very tight with statistical information. MakerBot used to leak… Continue reading How Many Personal 3D Printers Exist?
Get a Buccaneer 3D Printer for Only USD$247!
Pirate3D is launching their super-inexpensive 3D printer today through Kickstarter. The startup company’s first product, the Buccaneer, is a filament extrusion machine they bill as the “world’s most affordable 3D printer”. The list price of the Buc’ will be USD$347, but a “very limited number” of them will be available for only USD$247, which… Continue reading Get a Buccaneer 3D Printer for Only USD$247!
3D Hacker’s Many Services
We were contacted by Andrew Mazzotta, who, with Adam Pirie, have created “3D Hacker”, a multipurpose website serving the needs of the 3D printing community. The website acts much like a “3D Printing Kijiji”, where members can add listings in several categories, such as: parts, kits, printers, software, tools, tutorials, jobs, events, clubs and… Continue reading 3D Hacker’s Many Services
Voronoization
You may have seen those fascinating 3D models that seem to have replaced the normal shape with a strange, smooth skeletal networked form. The complex structures seem impossibly difficult to design with conventional 3D modeling tools, and indeed they are. Perhaps they’ve been made with mathematical 3D model generation tools operated by a PhD? Sometimes… Continue reading Voronoization
Dynamic 3D Model Apps: Open or Closed?
It’s become apparent that dynamic models are a lot more fun than static models for 3D printing. Wait, what’s a dynamic model? A static model is simply a digital 3D model that is the same for everyone. A nice bracelet, for example. A dynamic model is one that’s created for you at the… Continue reading Dynamic 3D Model Apps: Open or Closed?
Breaking: DEFCAD’s 3D Printable Gun Files Held by US Government
An announcement suddenly appearing on Defense Distributed’s DEFCAD.org notifies visitors that the files containing 3D models of gun parts will no longer be available. The announcement says: DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government… Continue reading Breaking: DEFCAD’s 3D Printable Gun Files Held by US Government
Get Your 3D Printer Filament at Makerstash Soon
We had the opportunity to meet with James Coleman, gentleman and founder of Makerstash, which will provide a wide selection of 3D printer filament for your MakerBot, RepRap or many other 3D printers. The filament business is straightforward, and success occurs simply by executing the business plan perfectly. MakerStash’s Mission describes theirs: At… Continue reading Get Your 3D Printer Filament at Makerstash Soon
MakerBot’s Quality Program
Producing high-quality prints is a complicated business, it turns out. There must be synchronization between the slicing software, the printer hardware and the plastic filament used. 3D printer manufacturers who supply these things must do extensive testing to ensure their product works correctly – and homebuilt 3D printers must undergo similar calibration. MakerBot does… Continue reading MakerBot’s Quality Program
3D Industri.es Launches 3DPartSource
New UK startup company 3D Industri.es has launched its first product: 3D Partsource. It’s a repository specifically designed for 3D models of industrial components. Anyone who searches for 3D models knows the problem these guys are trying to solve immediately: it’s pretty much impossible to find appropriate 3D models using conventional text-based searches. You… Continue reading 3D Industri.es Launches 3DPartSource
3D Printed Goldeneye Remote Mine
We were contacted by Shane Blomberg who was excited to show us his project to create a Goldeneye Remote Mine replica prop from the 007 game from the 90’s. The project originally manifested as an “Instructable”, but it required you to somehow find a now-prehistoric PC Commander Joystick base. Given that such things are… Continue reading 3D Printed Goldeneye Remote Mine
The Mystery of Modelyst
In recent days we’ve observed several printable 3D model repository startups. Some are existing non-printable 3D model repositories hoping to get in on the 3D printing craze, but some are brand new and dedicated to 3D printable models. Which brings us to Modelyst. What is it? Well, we’re not exactly certain. They have… Continue reading The Mystery of Modelyst
Formlabs Forms Form 1’s
True to their pledge, Formlabs has begun production of their resin-based personal 3D printer, the Form 1. In an astonishing Kickstarter campaign last fall, Formlabs busted their speedometer in raising almost USD$3M. Now they have to deliver on those and other subsequent device orders. It’s obviously extremely challenging for a startup to begin… Continue reading Formlabs Forms Form 1’s
Controversy At 3DLT
You may not have heard about 3DLT. It’s an online “innovation hub” that attempts to provide 3D creators a web presence for marketing their designs. If you’re a designer you can join their program and create a mini-marketplace for your designs or receive requests for custom work. But where’s the controversy? Wired… Continue reading Controversy At 3DLT
3D Printers and Airport Security
Just as you are, we’re getting tired of speculative propositions on the prospect of 3D printed weapons and try not to post on it, but we encountered an interesting question of this ilk on Quora. The question read: Could a small 3D printer be brought through security at an airport and then used… Continue reading 3D Printers and Airport Security
LeapFrog Sells 1000 – But How Many More 3D Printers Exist?
We received a note from Netherlands-based Leapfrog 3D Printers who, among other notable achievements, said they’ve sold their 1,000th 3D printer. It was a LeapFrog Creatr, evidently sold to someone also in the Netherlands. This is quite an accomplishment for the small manufacturer, but it leads us to ponder: exactly how many personal 3D… Continue reading LeapFrog Sells 1000 – But How Many More 3D Printers Exist?
BREAKING: Staples to Use Mcor IRIS in Copy Centers
In a blockbuster announcement, Mcor, the makers of the IRIS color 3D printing system based on plain old paper, say they’ve struck a huge deal with print services giant Staples to supply 3D printing equipment for their numerous print and copy centers. This will obviously take a while to implement, so Staples Printing Division… Continue reading BREAKING: Staples to Use Mcor IRIS in Copy Centers
Sculpteo’s Secret iPhone Case-Printing Service
We’ve been investigating Sculpteo’s new iPhone case service. You’ve seen these things before: select a cool iPhone case from a series of astounding designs and receive it in the mail, freshly 3D printed. But there’s quite a difference with Sculpteo’s new service. Yes, you select and receive a cool case. But it has an… Continue reading Sculpteo’s Secret iPhone Case-Printing Service
Design of the Week: Self-portrait 21
Artists often push the envelope of design and technique and that is certainly the case for “Self-portrait 21” by Dutch sculptor Caspar Berger, selected as this week’s Design of the Week. The production of this bronze self-portrait is quite a story. Berger used a medical CT scanner to capture a 3D model of his… Continue reading Design of the Week: Self-portrait 21
MakerBot’s Photo Booth
It doesn’t exactly print photos, however. It prints sculptures! Of you! It can be found at MakerBot’s retail store in Brooklyn, NY. Team MakerBot has combined their Replicator 3D printing technology with ShapeShot 3D capture software into a booth setup to provide a true 3D printing “photo booth”. The ShapeShot involves several fixed cameras… Continue reading MakerBot’s Photo Booth
3D Systems Gets Raided!
No, it’s not what you’re thinking; this raid was a “Bear Raid”. A “Bear Raid” is a stock trading scenario in which pundits attempt to artificially lower the price of a stock for their own profit. It started last week when a couple of provocative articles appeared on Seeking Alpha, suggesting that 3D Systems’… Continue reading 3D Systems Gets Raided!
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 Print Your Own iPhone Stand (Instructions Included!)
A great many of us own iPhones and some might want a stand for it. But being 3D print people, we’d obviously want to print our own. But how, exactly, does one go about designing an iPhone stand? The answer can be found in a new Instructables by Damon Ahola, an MFA student at… Continue reading 3D Print Your Own iPhone Stand (Instructions Included!)
Millions To Form 1
We’ve all heard about the success of Formlab’s incredible fundraising success on the launch of their new Form 1 resin-based 3D printer, but how well did they do? Their Kickstarter campaign has officially closed today and the results are beyond startling: They’ve raised exactly USD$2,945,885 They’ve received orders for 1,028 Form 1 machines by… Continue reading Millions To Form 1
MCOR Rolls Out the Matrix 300+
MCOR announced their new Matrix 300+ paper-based 3D printer. This device is similar to the 300, but offers improved performance in how the models are constructed. They’ve included a new feature called “Selectable Layer Thickness”, in which you could print in either “Draft” or “Presentation”. We suspect what might be happening here is that… Continue reading MCOR Rolls Out the Matrix 300+
Transmuting PLA Into Metal
You can’t transmute lead into gold, but these days it is apparently possible to change a part, 3D printed in PLA plastic, into a metal part. The method used by maker Jeshua Lacock of 3DTOPO, emulated the eternal lost-wax casting method. He printed parts in PLA on his Ultimaker 3D printer and then surrounded… Continue reading Transmuting PLA Into Metal
123D Catch In Your Pocket
Autodesk has released an iOS version of its staggeringly easy-to-use 3D model generator, 123D Catch. The tool isn’t a 3D scanner, exactly, but the results are similar. You collect a series of images of a 3D subject from many angles, then submit them to 123D Catch for processing. Autodesk’s magic algorithms in the sky… Continue reading 123D Catch In Your Pocket
Quantum International Invests in 3D House Printing?
An interesting press release came from Quantum International the other day. Quantum appears to be an investment firm specializing in various robotic technology. In their press release they talk of USC Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis’s work in developing large-scale concrete 3D printers capable of 3D printing whole houses. They say: Quantum International Corp. (OTCBB: QUAN)… Continue reading Quantum International Invests in 3D House Printing?
Answer Those 3D Printing Questions!
If you’re like us, you’ve often fielded many questions about 3D printing technology. And they’re the same questions almost every time. It would certainly be nice to simplify the questioning – and that’s exactly what Thingiverse user Shawn Grover of Calgary, Canada did. He produced a pre-made “brochure” that answers the most commonly observed 3D… Continue reading Answer Those 3D Printing Questions!
Blended Color 3D Printing
It’s been a dream of 3D printing hobbyists to be able to print in glorious color. That dream still is developing, but maker RichRap has taken a big step in that direction by developing a 3-way extruder for RepRap-style 3D printers. It’s not exactly a full color 3D printer, although RichRap’s initial intentions were… Continue reading Blended Color 3D Printing
Ponoko’s Badass Black
Ceramic 3D printing services are not exactly new, but there are limits to the colors offered by popular 3D printing services. Ponoko has announced the availability of black ceramic material. Previously Ponoko offered a variety of pastel-ish colors, including Green, Pale Blue, Peach, Periwinkle, Teal, White and Yellow. The new colors include a choice… Continue reading Ponoko’s Badass Black
Is That A MakerBot? Or a TangiBot?
You have to look closely to tell the difference, because the TangiBot is very similar to a MakerBot Replicator. Extremely similar. In fact, it’s literally a clone. Wait, what? How could the fine Replicator be cloned? It’s a project by Mechanical Engineer Matt Strong of Utah that’s currently on Kickstarter. Strong seeks USD$500,000 to… Continue reading Is That A MakerBot? Or a TangiBot?
Getting a 3D Model For Printing
You have an accessible 3D printer nearby or you have an account at a 3D print service. Filled with the strong feeling that you can make anything, you then realize you must have a 3D model to print. That’s where the problem shows up: models are not always easy to acquire. But here are… Continue reading Getting a 3D Model For Printing
Ice That 3D Cake
The folks at CNCDudez have been experimenting with cakes. Frosting cakes, actually. With a 3D printer. Spokesman Sean says: We have seen videos showing chocolate being extruded out of a syringe and also cake dough being extruded to make cookies. But we wanted to see if we could Ice a cakes, buns etc etc.… Continue reading Ice That 3D Cake
EOS Teams Up For Metal 3D Printing
3D printer manufacturer EOS has signed an agreement with Cookson Precious Metals to jointly develop a variety of applications related to metal 3D printing. According to the press release, “Under this agreement, both companies will introduce and further develop precious metal-based applications to the jewelry and watch industry”. But what does this mean, exactly?… Continue reading EOS Teams Up For Metal 3D Printing
Sculpteo OpenSCADs
A very interesting development appeared at the Sculpteo 3D print service: parameterized OpenSCAD. Whoa, you say, what’s that? Let’s start at the beginning: OpenSCAD is a utility that can produce 3D models by using typed commands to create and bend shapes. Gradually a complex model is created by combining and bending enough shapes together.… Continue reading Sculpteo OpenSCADs