The MX3D: A Robotic 3D Printer

On the heels of its debut in May 2013, the MX3D-resin printer has already evolved from a machine only capable of building in plastic to one that can print in a variety of metals.

3D Printed Robotic Futures

Michael Overstreet has written his thoughts on the future of robotics as affected by 3D printing on i.Materialise. He believes that 3D printing should encourage rapid creation of new forms of robotics over the next few years.    Clearly, the first and most obvious point is that robotic models and associated ideas are accessible via… Continue reading 3D Printed Robotic Futures

Adorable 3D Printed Humanoid Robot

Researchers studying bipedalism and human-robot interaction at France’s INRIA have created an affordable 3D printed humanoid robot.   Called Poppy, the 33 inch tall robot was designed, printed, and built for about US$11,000. This is around one third of the cost of comparable robots.   Most of the budget is spent on complex servo motors.… Continue reading Adorable 3D Printed Humanoid Robot

3D Scans Obtained By Drones

A new approach to capturing 3D scans of extremely large objects has been pioneered by senseFly, who produce the eBee drone series. They teamed with Drone Adventures, an organization dedicated to demonstrating the power of drones, to capture a detailed scan of the Matterhorn, Europe’s tallest mountain.      A team scaled the mountain and… Continue reading 3D Scans Obtained By Drones

3D Printed Robotic Arm

Over the last week the London Science Museum has been showcasing 600 objects created by 3D printers. While every piece in the show highlights the strength of the technology, one object, a transparent robotic prosthetic, is unique in that it offers a forecast of where 3D printing is headed.   Created by researchers at the… Continue reading 3D Printed Robotic Arm

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Mataerial Offers a New Way to 3D Print

Virtually all 3D printers today use a layered approach, where the object being printed is “sliced” into layers, or horizontal planes, which are printed using whichever technology is at hand. But a project by researchers from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Joris Laarman Lab proves there is another way.    The Mataerial… Continue reading Mataerial Offers a New Way to 3D Print

A 3D Printed Snowblower

Supermaker Kris Kortright has been building a “Snow Droid”. The project involved adding robotic capability to a standard Snapper 24″ Snow Blower using electronics from Adafruit. While winter is now officially over, the project began last fall, and as far as we can tell, is still in progress.    The Snow Droid’s key feature is… Continue reading A 3D Printed Snowblower

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iRobot Moving Into 3D Printing?

A very detailed patent was recently issued to iRobot and Raytheon for a “Robot Fabricator”.    iRobot is well-known for their Roomba series of household cleaning ‘bots, but they’re also manufacturers of many commercial and military robots. Raytheon is a long-time high-tech industrial focusing on military and electronics markets. Together they bring a huge amount… Continue reading iRobot Moving Into 3D Printing?

Cubify’s Robots

3D Systems now has robots! Well, not actual robots, but instead a system of 3D models that can be assembled into a huge variety of robot shapes. The robot pieces include arms, legs, torsos, etc., but also accessories such as ray guns and backpacks.   The pieces are intended to be assembled and fit together… Continue reading Cubify’s Robots

A Real Robot 3D Printer

The folks at Hackaday found a 190 pound experimental 3D printer made from a scrap industrial robot arm – and it actually works. Made by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute undergrad and maker extraordinary Dane Kouttron, this project required an enormous amount of effort to convert the surplus robot arm into a working 3D printer.    The… Continue reading A Real Robot 3D Printer

On Demand 3D Printed Robots?

MIT has organized a US$10M grant to fund a new project that will attempt to “reinvent how robots are designed and produced“.    They feel this could have a “profound impact on society”, when one could “order” a special purpose robot on demand and very quickly receive it. They’re trying to bypass the current methods… Continue reading On Demand 3D Printed Robots?

3D Systems Picks Up Robots, And More

Industry giant 3D Systems has made another acquisition, and this one appears to be a little different than previous purchases. They’ve acquired specialty 3D print service MyRobotNation, whom we’ve written about in the past. MyRobotNation’s specialty is, well, robots. Personalized robots.    The service provides users with a very easy to use (and fun) interface… Continue reading 3D Systems Picks Up Robots, And More

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

My Robot Nation Lives

This past August we learned of a new specialized 3D print service under development, My Robot Nation. It specializes (obviously) in printed robots.  The service works much like 2D web-based composition tools and games, where you select parts from a library to build up your robot.    My Robot Nation provides a variety of stickers,… Continue reading My Robot Nation Lives

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My Robot Nation is Coming

Design News tells of a not-quite-opened 3D printing service: My Robot Nation. It’s a joint venture between ZCorp, Kodama Studios and Offload Studios (one of ZCorp’s print services clients). They’re attempting to bridge the gap that exists in the 3D printing space right now: where are some great printable objects? Specifically, robots.   There’s not… Continue reading My Robot Nation is Coming

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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Wallpaper Magazine Awards “R-O-B” Best Builder Award

Normally we who follow the 3D printing world expect to see a (probably) beige printer-like box containing a steamy build chamber from which excellent 3D objects are extracted. But the R-O-B is a very different kind of additive “printer”. It’s actually a full-scale industrial robot that’s mounted inside a standard shipping container. The shipping container… Continue reading Wallpaper Magazine Awards “R-O-B” Best Builder Award