Well, that didn’t take long! Mere days after introducing web applications capable of dynamically generating rings and earrings to your specifications, 3D Systems has fired up another similar application: Bracelets. It’s very easy to use and offers just the right amount of customization for most people. The Bracelet app works in a fashion similar… Continue reading Cubify Introduces Bracelets
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The ShapeWright Experiment
Artist Dolf Veenvliet is experimenting with user-designed custom 3D printed metal jewelry. His new experimental site, ShapeWright, allows anyone to pick and shape components into a unique jewelry item that can be immediately sent for 3D printing in precious metal! The service is incredibly easy to use. The experiment is to customize a “Variable… Continue reading The ShapeWright Experiment
Easy 3D Printing with File2Part
Preparing 3D models for 3D printing is often problematic. They’re in the wrong orientation, wrong size, etc. While most 3D printer-specific operation software can do rudimentary orientation and sizing, you’ll still have to use other programs to fix errors in the model and slice it into printable form. That will change with the introduction of… Continue reading Easy 3D Printing with File2Part
Cirque Du Soleil 3D Prints?
Fabbaloo has learned that international dance company Cirque Du Soleil uses both 3D scanning and 3D printing technology. Evidently most of Cirque Du Soleil’s acrobats are 3D scanned and the models are held in a repository. Custom masks and other personal-fitting equipment are 3D printed for each member of the troupe for use in… Continue reading Cirque Du Soleil 3D Prints?
3D Print Your Escher
Everyone has seen those perplexing drawings by M.C. Escher and marveled at their paradoxical nature. Confusing images that could never be real. Until now. Gershon Elber of the Computer Science Department of Technion, Israel Institute of Technology has done just that. He has designed 3D shapes that, when 3D printed and viewed from specific… Continue reading 3D Print Your Escher
The Series 1 From Type A Machines
Type “A” personalities are known to be leaders, sometimes with an aggressive approach to life. San Francisco-based Type A Machines may take a bit of that attitude with their new product, the Series 1. It’s a personal 3D printer whose design takes it to another level. The Series 1 is a fully assembled unit,… Continue reading The Series 1 From Type A Machines
Design of the Week: The Dragonbite Grip
This week’s chosen design is the Dragonbite grip pencil holder, which was recently chosen by i.Materialise as the winner of their Metal Accessories Challenge. The Dragonbite grip is both artistic and functional, as it securely holds your pencil in a way that offers comfortable writing. And it’s a dragon, too! Created by the… Continue reading Design of the Week: The Dragonbite Grip
The zSpace System
There’s something inherently difficult trying to do 3D modeling on a 2D display. We usually have the ability to spin models around and your mind has to do the “3Ding” of the subject, depending on the software you’re using. But is there a better way to do this? Apparently so, according to JF… Continue reading The zSpace System
Automated Mesh Articulation
When we write “Automated Mesh Articulation” you might be wondering what we’re on about. It’s an advanced technique developed by Harvard’s Moritz Baecher that inspects a 3D model to automatically identifies where “joints” should appear and outputs a new model with said joints. This means one could take any 3D model of a figurine… Continue reading Automated Mesh Articulation
One More Designer: Dizingof
After publishing Chris Waldo’s terrific “Showcase of Influential 3D Print Artists” the other week, we received a suggestion of another artist who might have been missed: Dizingof. Under his real name, Tel Aviv-based Asher Nahmias, specializes in mathematically-generated 3D models, or “math art”. Dizingof’s creations are typically complex, flowing and invariably beautiful. Browsing through… Continue reading One More Designer: Dizingof
Cubify Invent 3D Modeling Software Available
3D Systems has announced a new software tool to accompany their consumer-oriented Cube 3D printer: Cubify Invent. One of the major issues with a 3D printer is getting great content to print. While 3D Systems has Cubify.com to provide pre-made models, there is also the possibility of Cube owners making their own models. However,… Continue reading Cubify Invent 3D Modeling Software Available
3D Printing A Canadian Cabinet Minister
During an official visit to the AssentWorks Makerspace in Winnipeg, Canadian Federal Cabinet Minister Tony Clement had his picture taken numerous times, as typically happens on such public events – but one of those images was a 3D scan. Readers all know what happens when someone is 3D scanned: a 3D print emerges shortly… Continue reading 3D Printing A Canadian Cabinet Minister
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
3D Printing 2012 – Top Prints So Far
Editor’s note: This guest post comes from 3D printing aficionado Chris Waldo, who’s anxious to tell us his thoughts on some very cool 3D prints in 2012. Since the late 1970’s, 3D printing has come a long way. Build sizes, detail levels, material science, and speed have all improved significantly in comparison to the… Continue reading 3D Printing 2012 – Top Prints So Far
The Met’s 3-D Scanning and Printing Hackathon
An interesting experiment took place at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art recently, in which the Met tag-teamed with MakerBot to produce 3D art models. A team of folks from MakerBot were invited by the Met to journey through several collections to perform 3D scans of famous artwork. The scans were then converted… Continue reading The Met’s 3-D Scanning and Printing Hackathon
GrabCAD’s Tool Challenge
GrabCAD is one of the world’s largest repositories of (mostly CAD) 3D models and one of the largest groups of designers, too (250,000+). This means that when they run a contest you can be sure you’ll see some very interesting entries. This month they announced the winner of their “Useful 3D Printed Tool Challenge”, in… Continue reading GrabCAD’s Tool Challenge
Introducing TeamPlatform
Things are advancing from the days of local storage of 3D models and traditional online 3D repositories. Consider TeamPlatform, an online service dedicated to not only storage of 3D models but also the entire development process for producing 3D models. The service operates on a subscription basis, where you are provided with an allocation… Continue reading Introducing TeamPlatform
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
Vortex Salt and Pepper
There are tons of 3D designs available from a variety of sources these days. Some are very simplistic utility objects, like clamps or basic shapes, while others offer incredibly complexity, perhaps even designed through mathematical algorithms. But every once in a while a truly unique design appears that is not only beautiful, ingenious and functional,… Continue reading Vortex Salt and Pepper
Put A Sweater On Your 3D Model
Many 3D models are produced by combining and contorting basic shapes, such as cubes, spheres and cylinders, or by distorting a mesh by pushing and pulling vertices. Highly complex objects are quite possible, but laborious to produce. In other words, they’re rarely attempted by most 3D printer operators. But now there may be a… Continue reading Put A Sweater On Your 3D Model
Printing Craters
Printing landscapes is something that’s been done before on 3D printers, but how about this? Print a 3D replica of an actual lunar crater. Where does the 3D model come from? It all starts with LROC, the camera on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This satellite, launched in 2009, orbits our moon pole to pole… Continue reading Printing Craters
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!
3D Systems Picks Up FreshFiber
In yet another acquisition, 3D Systems has acquired FreshFiber BV, a maker of some very cool mobile phone covers – all using 3D printing techniques. Their tagline: “3D Designed, personal cases for your phone”. The Dutch company made headlines earlier when it became one of the first big-time 3D printed products to make product… Continue reading 3D Systems Picks Up FreshFiber
3D Infographics
Admit it, you’re in love with those beautiful infographics we so often see in newspapers, magazines and online. They convey an idea, concept or statistic in a visual way that is frequently easier to understand that plowing through text. It’s lazy, but oh, so true. Now a Shapeways designer has produced a kind of… Continue reading 3D Infographics
Fujitsu Invents 3D CAD Search
Fujitsu has discovered a very interesting technique that we think will be critical to the growth of 3D printing in the future: it’s a method of searching libraries of 3D models for similar shapes. Currently anyone who’s visited a current 3D model repository is faced with a difficult challenge: finding the right 3D model.… Continue reading Fujitsu Invents 3D CAD Search
Free Autodesk Inventor Fusion for OSX and Windows
Have no money and need fancy 3D modeling software? If that’s your situation, you’re in luck: Autodesk is now offering a free preview of their Inventor Fusion 3D modeling software. Inventor Fusion is Autodesk’s tool that unites both parametric and direct modeling approaches, hence its name, “Fusion”. The new version incorporates some very cool… Continue reading Free Autodesk Inventor Fusion for OSX and Windows
Google Sells SketchUp!
Big news! Google has sold off the hugely popular SketchUp 3D modeling tool to Trimble. Wait, who are Trimble, exactly? They’re a “leading provider of advanced location-based solutions that maximize productivity and enhance profitability”. In other words, they leverage GPS and other location tech to develop point products for quite a few different industries. … Continue reading Google Sells SketchUp!
Haptic A-Go-Go
Anarkik3D has opened a crowd funding initiative at IndieGoGO to raise money for enhancements to their Cloud9 haptic 3D modeling software. The project’s goal is sufficient funding for two full time programmers to develop the improvements, which means USD$120,000 by June 27th. We think this is important, because, as Anarkik3D’s CEO Ann Marie Shillito… Continue reading Haptic A-Go-Go
Tutorial: Fix Your Messed Up 3D Scan
If you ever try to do 3D scanning at home using the rudimentary tools now available, you’ll quickly realize it isn’t particularly easy. Sure, the capture part of the job is relatively straightforward, but the clean up phase is often quite difficult. Typical raw scans contain not only stray data points and somewhat inaccurately… Continue reading Tutorial: Fix Your Messed Up 3D Scan
The Ultimate 3D Print
What is the “Ultimate 3D Print”? We’ve all seen fantastic designs made by incredible artists. Some of them are generated using complex mathematical algorithms, while others are carefully crafted by hand. They’re amazing. But are they the ultimate 3D print? Does the single item you should print exist among them? We think not. … Continue reading The Ultimate 3D Print
Printing a Buckliball?
We’re always fascinated by those gift cards that pop up into ingenious 3D structures when you open them up, but could something like this be done in 3D? It turns out you can with a new design called the “Buckliball”. The Buckliball is a sphere that can grow or shrink by twisting its form… Continue reading Printing a Buckliball?
3Dify From Matherix Labs
Some weeks ago we wrote on a breakthrough in inexpensive 3D scanning by ReconstructMe, which permits true, 360-degree 3D capture of 3D models of real objects. While ReconstructMe works quite well, it requires a super-powerful graphics card in your Windows PC simply because it’s producing the 3D model in real time as you scan. … Continue reading 3Dify From Matherix Labs
The Stelliform Owl
California-based customer service rep Grant Miller is one of many folks who moonlight as a 3D artisan when not doing their day job. Miller’s particular interest lies in “toys, statues and animations” and he’s been freelancing in this area for some time. To produce a “portfolio piece” he drew upon his love for owls… Continue reading The Stelliform Owl
3D Print From Your Android Phone
Several tools have emerged that permit viewing or even development of 3D models on your iPad or iPhone – although intricate modeling on an iPhone with your fat fingers is not particularly fruitful. We had some concerns that those not using iOS devices might be at a disadvantage. But not now as some 3D modeling… Continue reading 3D Print From Your Android Phone
Playing With FreeCAD
Can’t afford a big-time 3D CAD modeling software program? You’re not alone and you’re not without solutions. There are free 3D modeling software options, including the very popular but impossible to learn Blender. But Blender just isn’t CAD. Each 3D modeling system is best used for certain kinds of designs and if you are designing… Continue reading Playing With FreeCAD
GrabCAD Ceramic 3D Printing Contest
GrabCAD is pretty huge library of useful mechanical 3D models – evidently well over 25,000 models as of this writing. But that’s not what we want to talk about. No, we want to talk about their new design contest that closes on Friday, March 16th. The theme for GrabCAD’s contest s unusual and specific: Design… Continue reading GrabCAD Ceramic 3D Printing Contest
Design with ImplicitCAD
Have you heard of OpenSCAD? It’s an open source software project that can be used to produce 3D models without a visual interface. How’s that work again? You write a kind of computer program whose instructions gradually generate all the pieces of your model. It’s a grand idea that we’ll delve deeper into in the… Continue reading Design with ImplicitCAD
3D Model Printed – Literally
3D models are printed on 3D printers every day, yes? This time engineers at Objet attempted to print an actual 3D model – an object that *looks* like a 3D model. And they succeeded. Just look at the image above (click for larger view) and you’ll see what we mean. This image is not computer… Continue reading 3D Model Printed – Literally
DAZ Studio, Bryce and Hexagon Available for Free!
DAZ 3D has a spectacular offer on now for some 3D tools that readers may find of interest. These three software tools retail for over USD$800 and are apparently available at no charge through February. The tools include: DAZ Studio Pro 4 – A tool for designing and animating human shapes and related… Continue reading DAZ Studio, Bryce and Hexagon Available for Free!
Stackable 3D Print Design
Tom Modeen is at it again, developing weird but artistic techniques for producing 3D objects with 3D printers. This time he’s interrupting the 3D print operation before it completes, revealing the usually hidden inner support structure. By printing similarly sized objects, one can take these partial prints and manually assemble them in different combinations to… Continue reading Stackable 3D Print Design
The New Tinkercad
Tinkercad, the amazing web-based solid 3D modeling tool has recently improved its capabilities. This tool permits creation of basic 3D printable objects without an expensive software and more importantly without a lot of training. Tinkercad uses WebGL, so be sure to use a reasonably modern web browser. What did we notice about Tinkercad? Gorgeously… Continue reading The New Tinkercad
T-Splines Eaten by Autodesk
If you use Rhino3D or Solidworks for preparing your 3D models you might have heard of T-Splines. It’s a special plug-in that permits easy creation of organic shapes and thus greatly extends the usefulness of Rhino3D and Solidworks, at least for some designers. But that may change abruptly. The other week 3D software giant Autodesk… Continue reading T-Splines Eaten by Autodesk
Bodyworks Human Models
Want to 3D print a person? Need a 3D body model to put your head on? Go no further than Bodyworks – an online store specializing in sales of 3D models of people. All of their products are SolidWorks models, suitable for modification for your own purposes. Prices range from USD$99-149 for body models… Continue reading Bodyworks Human Models
The New Teardrop
Maker Zaggo has discovered a truly useful design tip for 3D models. The new design helps overcome a deficiency in many low-cost 3D printers: no support material. Support material is typically extruded from a second print head during the print to add support for overhangs and difficult object geometries. The support material is then removed… Continue reading The New Teardrop
SimCity or RealCity?
Yet another surprise source for 3D models has emerged: the game SimCity. SimCity, for those of you who have somehow never encountered it, is a simulation of a city. By tweaking various civic parameters, your city may thrive and grow – or die. It’s a great tool for learning some of the basics of city… Continue reading SimCity or RealCity?
Uformia – Saving The World From Polygons
Our rant regarding STL the other day provoked some interest from the not-yet-well-known company Uformia of Norway. While we all agree that there are serious problems with STL format, some are starting to do something about it. One group with an interesting approach is Uformia, who are developing a new approach to 3D modeling specifically… Continue reading Uformia – Saving The World From Polygons
Printing An Earthquake
If you happen to come by some digital data of any kind, watch out – it might become a 3D print! Now we see artist Luke Jerram has produced a 3D print of an earthquake, taking the digital data from a seismometer, applying a bit of rotation and voila, a very cool 3D model. Called… Continue reading Printing An Earthquake
The Shapesmith Alternative
A new alternative to web-based 3D modeling tools is emerging: Shapesmith. We say emerging because it’s an unfinished work. Shapesmith is an open source project that offers anyone the chance of running their own 3D modeling tool from a website. The interface is truly beautiful and aesthetically simplistic, but as such it has some… Continue reading The Shapesmith Alternative
Tinkercad Gets Funding
First it was MakerBot with a USD$10M injection, and now it’s Tinkercad, that friendly online 3D modeling service that practically anyone can use. They’ve just received a boost of USD$1M from True Ventures with angel investment from Eghosa Omoigui, Taher Haveliwala, Jyri Engestrom, and Joshua Schachter. This is huge news for the small startup… Continue reading Tinkercad Gets Funding
Modeen’s Meat and Bone Experiments
3D design dxperimenter extraordinaire Dr. Thomas Modeen continues his radical 3D printing design experiments in his “Meat and Bone” series. This technique is incredibly simple yet the results are startlingly beautiful. His approach retains the normally discarded support structures as part of the printed work. By thinking of the design in this way right… Continue reading Modeen’s Meat and Bone Experiments
The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
Pete Prodoehl of RasterWeb tells an interesting tale of his experience in making a replacement part using a home 3D printer. We’ve gone through this scenario ourselves, and you should hear this tale as it typifies the current state of affairs for home repair using 3D printers. Pete required a light switch button and… Continue reading The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
Keep Up The Support
Designer Dr. Thomas Modeen, whom we’ve written about recently, has come up with another unusual design: various species of bowls and bottles. The unique aspect of this design is that he’s incorporated support material into the final object. Normally this stuff is used only to support overhangs and is swiftly removed after the print completes.… Continue reading Keep Up The Support
3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?
We’re always fascinated when someone takes some raw data and somehow converts it into a printable object. Recently Thingiverse user TheNewHobbyist created a great model using the United States Electoral College. For those unfamiliar with obscure US election rituals, it is simply a quantity of votes assigned to each state for purposes of presidential voting. … Continue reading 3D US Electoral Map or 3D Excel Chart?
AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved
The new beta 6 of Autodesk’s free 3D modelling tool includes a couple of very interesting features for 3D print operators. First, there’s the ability to convert text into 3D shapes using solid creation tools. You can place vector text on any plane and then apply extrude, bend, taper or other deformations. This, we… Continue reading AutoDesk’s 123D Gets Improved
Tinkercad Adds Shapeways
As we suspected, another 3D print service has added Tinkercad integration into their interface. Shapeways joins i.Materialise as an option for printing your 3D models developed in Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a web-based, very easy to use 3D solid modeling tool. The addition of a Shapeways interface permits direct 3D printing capability, very similar to… Continue reading Tinkercad Adds Shapeways
Evolve Your Objects with Endless Forms
The creation of objects is often the biggest challenge to those using 3D printers, and thus we’re always interested in new ways to obtain or generate them. A new method of generation appeared that uses a Genetic Approach. Endless Forms provides an online dashboard in which you evolve objects into desired or at… Continue reading Evolve Your Objects with Endless Forms
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
What’s Next for RapCAD?
Some months ago we wrote about a new 3D modeling software venture, RapCAD. We hadn’t heard too much about it recently, so we thought we’d have a chat with RapCAD chief Giles Bathgate: Fabbaloo: How did you come to be interested in CAD and 3D modeling? Giles Bathgate: From an early age I… Continue reading What’s Next for RapCAD?
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!
3D Printing From Minecraft
Minecraft must be one of the most popular online games these days. partly because it’s simple interface allows almost anyone to create semi-complex 3D environments. Now we see that an MIT Media Lab project headed by Cody Sumter and Jason Boggess has created a new tool to enable real-life 3D printing of objects made in… Continue reading 3D Printing From Minecraft
Inexpensive 3D Modeling with AC3D
We bumped into the AC3D 3D modeling tool and we like the price: only USD$89. But what do you get with AC3D? This multiplatform tool (multiplatform meaning Windows, Mac and Linux) includes the ability to work with almost 40 different 3D formats including most of the 3D printing-related ones: 3DS, Collada, KML (Google Earth), OBJ,… Continue reading Inexpensive 3D Modeling with AC3D
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
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?
Autodesk 123D
Autodesk has released a free-for-use true 3D solid modeling software called 123D. The massive 521Mb download is not the only thing you get; there’s also a pretty comprehensive online repository of whole objects and basic components you can draw from to create awesome things. We think 123D is a big deal, as it’s relatively… Continue reading Autodesk 123D
Photofly Makes 3D Models Easy
There are several ways to produce 3D models of real-life objects and Autodesk has provided another one: Photofly. This is a service and software combination, in which you take around 50 overlapping photographs of your subject and then upload them to Photofly. The service then grinds through some very serious processing to produce detailed 3D… Continue reading Photofly Makes 3D Models Easy
Web-Based 3D Modeling
A couple of months ago we wrote about a new web-based 3D modeling tool, 3DTin. Now there’s another web-based tool: TinkerCAD. The two tools are different. While 3DTin takes an extremely simplistic approach, TinkerCAD is somewhat more capable. 3DTin is essentially visual LEGO. You build your object by placing blocks in the intended arrangement. … Continue reading Web-Based 3D Modeling
Sketch to 3D Makes Modeling Easy
It’s always been a challenge to get the right models for printing. You may get lucky and find what you want in a freebie repository; you might find it for sale in a 3D print service’s library, or you might have to resort to designing the object yourself with a 3D modelling tool – if… Continue reading Sketch to 3D Makes Modeling Easy
3D Modeling in Your Web Browser
Benjamin Nortier of London is our hero. Why? He’s taken on a huge challenge: create a 3D modelling program that everyone can use. He’s performed an analysis of available 3D modeling tools and came to pretty much the same conclusion we did: tools are too hard, too expensive or not usable for solid modeling. What’s… Continue reading 3D Modeling in Your Web Browser
See It Before You Download It
Content is king once you have a 3D printer. You need things to print, after all! But one of the main repositories for free printable 3D models, Thingiverse, has prepared a wonderful upgrade to their service: 3D viewing of models – before you print them! While there are a ton of models at Thingiverse,… Continue reading See It Before You Download It
Molding a 3D Printer
The RepRap project attempts to design a printer that is capable of printing all the parts required to build another copy of itself. While they are quite successful in doing so, work continues – and much of that work is focused on optimizing the replication process. For some, this means simplifying the design so fewer… Continue reading Molding a 3D Printer
LiveCAD’s iPad 3D Modeler
We’re checking out new software from LiveCAD: Home Design 3D iPad. This sweet package lets you design an apartment or house floor by merely dragging, dropping and positioning walls and common objects onto a 2D view. Then you hit the 3D button and see your new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom in glorious finger-scrolling 3D. … Continue reading LiveCAD’s iPad 3D Modeler
3DTin’s Buzz
We heard the huge chatter across the 3D world recently about 3DTin, an impressive web-based 3D modelling tool. What? 3D modelling in a browser? Yes. True. There are tons of limitations, however. Essentially, 3DTin uses a simple building block approach, much like assembling a structure out of Lego blocks. In this way rudimentary models… Continue reading 3DTin’s Buzz
Share That Model With OurBricks
You’ve cooked up an amazing 3D model and you’d like to show it off. . . to your mum who doesn’t have a 3D modelling tool install or have any hope of getting one. What do you do? You use OurBricks – a new beta service that lets you share your 3D models online.… Continue reading Share That Model With OurBricks
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!
Replicating The Volcano
Students at Clevedon School in North Somerset made a volcano. A tiny one – based on NASA 3D data they downloaded and converted into a 3D model. The model was then pushed through a Bits From Bytes RapMan, giving the students the opportunity to see and touch the shape of an actual volcano. In this… Continue reading Replicating The Volcano
3D Modelling Contract Work
You’re an experienced 3D modeller and have some time on your hands? Why not try doing some contract work for extra cash? One way to do this is at Projects For Freelancers, a site where the needy can post a job and the skilled can bid on a job. The site works as an… Continue reading 3D Modelling Contract Work
Hands on With Cheetah3D
Many 3D modeling tools exist for Windows, but what about OS/X? We’ve been testing a very useful 3D modeling tool for OS/X: Cheetah3D. This software isn’t a Maya, SolidWorks or Cinema 4D, but it actually includes a great many functions that you’d find in those much more highly priced tools. Cheetah3D includes all the… Continue reading Hands on With Cheetah3D
3Data Expert
Finnish software company DeskArtes has released version 9.1 of their 3Data Expert product, which is a professional tool for “repair, conversion and manipulation of 3D CAD data for 3D printing, Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Manufacturing as well as for simulation.” It can import a variety of formats and prepare – and repair – accurate models. As… Continue reading 3Data Expert
Idea: What Can I Model For You?
We re-read last week’s post on the new “What Can I Make For You?” service and had an idea. If you recall, the WCIMFY service was quite simple: type what you want (in natural language) into a box and hit submit. The service then figures out how to match your desired “thing” with someone who… Continue reading Idea: What Can I Model For You?
Things Growing Out Of Your Head
Inspired by our previous post detailing MeshMixer, a fabulous 3D modelling tool that easily allows arbitrary 3D models to be pasted together, tipster Ken has found further examples of making things grow out of your head. And these have been printed! (Click for larger images) What causes people to want things protruding from their… Continue reading Things Growing Out Of Your Head
Reality Mixed Up By MeshMixer
Once in a while we bump into a truly amazing product and today its MeshMixer. This software permits easy manipulation of 3D mesh objects – that is to say, cut/paste/resize/move about, etc. The creation of unreal models such as the fellow with the unusual nose above is almost trivial using MeshMixer. Here’s some highlights: … Continue reading Reality Mixed Up By MeshMixer
RapCAD Announced
If you are into personal 3D printing, one of the first things you’ll observe is the disconnected nature of the required software. You might design models in one environment, then convert them for printing in another, and finally drive the 3D printer to produce the object. This is awkward to say the least, and is… Continue reading RapCAD Announced
OpenSCAD
There are several free 3D modeling tools available, including Blender and the ubiquitous Google Sketchup, but each has the advantages and drawbacks. Some are designed to produce viewable or artistic 3D scenes, rather than 3D objects. These are often usable for designing 3D printable objects, but they are not optimized for engineering of solid machine… Continue reading OpenSCAD
FormZ
Have you ever used form.Z for preparing 3D models? As shown in this video, it’s fully capable of doing so. form.z is known for its 3D modeling capability, but it also includes features enabling exporting model files to formats suitable for 3D printing. This video demonstrates some of the 3D printing features, including fixing up… Continue reading FormZ
NetFabb in the Clouds
Having trouble submitting your 3D model file to one of the popular print services? The model isn’t watertight? Not sure how to fix it? Don’t have the right software or training? Never fear, 3D software maker NetFabb is here to rescue you with their new beta Cloud Service – and it’s totally free! How… Continue reading NetFabb in the Clouds
K-3D Is Free
Baffled by Blender? Why not try an alternative, open source 3D modelling tool: K-3D. Version 0.8 is available for download for Windows, Mac, and a variety of Unix/Linux environments. K-3D can handle 3DS, Collada, OBJ, MD2, Ogre, PLY, STL, and SVG files and includes many industrial-level features. From their wiki: K-3D is free-as-in-freedom 3D… Continue reading K-3D Is Free
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
The Freedom to Print
John of hackable:news complains that whenever they show off their 3D printer, viewers inevitably ask: “Could you print me this, could you print me that”. They just don’t realize how difficult it can be to produce a 3D object. Unless the exact object model is readily available (and findable) within a repository like Thingiverse or… Continue reading The Freedom to Print
Print a Viewfinder for your Canon DSLR
That’s just what Marc Schreibman did after taking a course in fabrication. After a “5-6 hour print”, he had a new LCD viewfinder in his hands. It wasn’t easy, however: I took many measurements of the camera body and LCD screen, designed it in Rhino 3D, and printed it out on a 3D printer.… Continue reading Print a Viewfinder for your Canon DSLR
Cloud9 V2 Leads to Chameleon Bliss
A flurry of press releases rained down upon us this week to announce the availability a new version of Anarkik Angels’ amazing software modelling tool Cloud9 and its inclusion in A1 Technologies Chameleon Package. If you don’t know about Cloud9 or Chameleon and you are a 3D modeller, you should. Cloud9 is a 3D… Continue reading Cloud9 V2 Leads to Chameleon Bliss
Sculptris!
Tomas Pettersson has created a pretty amazing sculpting tool in his spare time: Sculptris. The Windows-based software provides a very intuitive way to model freeform sculptures. Using simple controls, a designer can quickly produce symmetrical shapes of great detail and beauty. You must watch the video to appreciate how easily an artist can produce amazing… Continue reading Sculptris!
TurboSquid
Model makers and consumers might head over to TurboSquid to find and market 3D models. Fabbaloo readers are both makers and consumers, so we felt it was time to point out the benefits of TurboSquid’s amazing service. What is TurboSquid? It’s perhaps the largest commercial online marketplace for 3D models today. Operating like eBay,… Continue reading TurboSquid
The Doctor is In at Shapeways
That’s him in the image, Doctor Shapeways! Well, not exactly. Always an innovator, Shapeways has released another terrific feature for those submitting 3D models to their printing service: MeshMedic. MeshMedic automatically corrects very common mistakes made in 3D models that render the model unprintable. While the model might look tremendously beautiful on your 24… Continue reading The Doctor is In at Shapeways
Human Brain!
Admit it: you did something wrong sometime in your life and someone told you: “Get a brain!” Well, now you can! A recent .STL upload to the Thingiverse model repository does just that. It’s a 3D model of an actual human brain! Now before you speculate on exactly *how* Jordan Miller obtained this anatomical… Continue reading Human Brain!
Make No Mistakes
One of the wonderful aspects of online services is the communities that form around them. These communities can not only share ideas, but sometimes they create very useful tools and add-ons that make the original service even better. That’s just what happened when Shapeway user Virtox created a special script for 3DS Max that computes… Continue reading Make No Mistakes