Objet Announces the Objet 30 Pro

The mystery is no longer: Objet indeed announced a new printer, the Objet 30 Pro. 

 

At first glance the Objet Pro 30 is much like the Objet 30, but there's a major difference. The 30 Pro is capable of printing with two new materials: The Vero Clear and High-Temp materials. This means you can now buy a desktop 3D printer capable of using the seven major materials from Objet. 

 

The 30 Pro prints only a single material at a time, unlike its higher priced siblings. Swapping colors is easily done by replacing the material in the drawer as seen here. Completed prints are cleaned up in typically 20 minutes using Objet's WaterJet cleaning station. 

 

The 30 Pro is priced at approximately USD$55K and includes not only the printer, but also the WaterJet cleaning station, starter materials and a service contract. 

 

Via Objet

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. Normally only the model's designer sees the commands that produce the model. 

 

Parameterized input is the key here. It's simply a method of poking the commands to produce slightly different models. Make that hole 10mm instead of 5mm, for example. 

 

But why is this so important? It's because 3D print services face a very difficult problem. 3D printing is most economical when unique, one-off items are produced. Yet the libraries of 3D models available at 3D print services are typically static and unchangeable. The question is, how can you enable customized 3D models? 

 

The answer is to permit designers to use OpenSCAD models, but also accept input from customers that can customize the model. For example, a nameplate model could accept a person's name and instantly generate the 3D name on the plate. That's customization! 

 

Sculpteo just enabled exactly that for their designers. An ingenious designer could create highly customizable models in this way. We expect to see some very interesting models emerge from Sculpteo's library over the next year. 

 

Via Sculpteo

3D Systems Picks Up Bespoke

You may recall Bespoke Innovations, a company dedicated to using 3D printing to produce personalized replacement limbs. The method is to use 3D scanning to prepare a digital model of a remaining limb, then 3D print a mirror image of the model, approximating the original missing limb. Panels are prepared in the correct shape and then mounted on a strong artificial limb structure to produce a replacement limb that appears very close to the original. 

 

But now they've been acquired by industry giant 3D Systems in yet another of their frequent acquisitions. It's not known what the acquisition terms were, but according to the press release: 

 

3D Systems plans to integrate Bespoke into its growing healthcare solutions services and leverage its integrated scan, design and print technology and knowhow to develop and commercialize a full range of innovative, ventilated and lightweight custom fit prosthetics, orthotics and orthopedics.

 

Who will be the next acquisition? 

 

Via 3D Systems

Rapid 2012's Fashion Show: Pics

We weren't able to attend Rapid 2012's 3D printed fashion show, but we obtained photos of for your perusal today courtesy of designer Aaron Trocola, whose work was one of those featured in the show. Incidentally, you can see more of Aaron's work at his Shapeways shop.

 

Model at the aftershow reception wearing an Elvis Pompilio hat.

 

Amazing pieces by Nicolo Casas. 

 

Model Stephanie wears Aaron Trocola's Seed of Life.

 

A closer look at the Seed of Life. 

 

The Lotus Top, also by Aaron Trocola. 

3D Printed Fashion at Rapid 2012

While much of Rapid 2012 centered on manufacturing and part development and analysis, we observed a fair bit of fashion. Here's what we saw. 

 

Among several jewelry items was this amazing bracelet, designed by the Nervous System Design Studio. 

 

Speaking of jewelry, we caught a glimpse of this rather elaborate 3D printed ring on 3D Systems' Cathy Lewis' finger.  

 

Another set of 3D printed rings, perhaps not quite so elaborate, were found on MCOR's Deirdre MacCormack's finger. The "Matrix" is a dead giveaway for how it was produced. 

 

We managed to miss the 3D printed fashion show due to flight shenanigans, but some of the fashions were still on display, such as this cute hat. 

 

A full-size "dress" (?) hung in the 3D Systems booth, made of chain mail. Evidently this particular object was printed some years ago. 

 

A closeup view of the chain mail material. 

 

This, we felt, was the most amazing item: a 3D printed women's shoe found near 3D Systems' ZPrinter. It was not a "science fiction" shoe, but rather one that looked exactly like a real shoe you'd find in a retail store - until you pick it up and realize it's solid and unflexible. We can't emphasize how real this item appeared; even the bottom showed what looked like a new leather sole, with stitching, minor dents and perfect coloring. Simply amazing.  

Around the Show Floor at Rapid 2012

While we're intending on writing up several posts on our observations at Rapid 2012, we thought we'd start with a very cool selection of awesome stuff found on the show floor. 

 

Literally laying on the floor of the gigantic 3D Systems booth, this 3D printed guitar actually plays. 

 

Also in the 3D Systems booth was this unusual object, made from an internal structure wrapped with a white mesh. Of course, by the end of the show someone had punched a hole in the mesh by "testing its strength". Don't touch the objects! 

 

This fascinating study by artist Shane Pennington is entitled, "Leaving The Shade." Look closely, and you'll see 3D printed plants on the left, precisely replicating their real-life counterparts on the right. 

 

The team from Nervous System always produces amazing works, and this is no exception. It's entitled, "Laplacian Growth". "Form grown in software written by the artists that simulates dendritic solidification. Printed via SLS."

 

The Lavalume lamp by Brent R. Lang. 

 

Objet 3D printed and plated this brilliant Iron Man mask. 

 

MakerBot's Bre Pettis passed out these awesome "Keep It Awesome" stickers to everyone. 

 

Stratasys' newly launched Mojo 3D printer was actually one of the first production models, but upon arrival the unit didn't have a logo on it. A logo was quickly shipped from the factory along with this ingenious jig that precisely positioned the logo for fixing to the unit. Great use of 3D printing. But was the jig printed on a Mojo? 

 

This human jaw replication includes an embedded representation of a medical issue of some sort. Wait - how can you print multicolor objects like this on a 3D Systems printer? Easy, we were told - just crank up the power for the areas requiring highlighting and the plastic discolors a bit. Toasty! 

 

3D Systems displayed a number of stunning photo-realistic objects from their ZPrinter line. Above is a drill handle. It is NOT a real handle - it is 3D printed!

 

This multimeter appears to be totally real unless you look very closely. 

 

There were many, many more amazing sights at vendor booths during Rapid 2012. Some you'll see in upcoming posts - but for the rest, you should have attended! 

Self Powered 3D Printed Lamp

Designer Margot Krasojevic has developed a very unique piece: a 3D printed light that provides its own power. How does it do that, exactly? 

 

The shape of the case is the secret. While it appears to be an attractive lamp, aerodynamically its actually a propeller! It's mounted on a rotating axis connected to a tiny generator that produces power when the wind turns the propeller. 

 

Once again, something useful is created using the unique properties of 3D printing technology. 

 

Via Ponoko and Archello

Veloso 3D Printer Update

It's not looking good for Junior Veloso's 3D printer initiative. Two things have emerged that could well affect the success of Veloso's high-resolution resin-based 3D printer project: Funding and Competition. 

  

First, the funding. Veloso opened a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo with a goal of raising USD$300,000 by May 31st. As of this writing, the donations thus far fall well short of that goal and it is highly unlikely it will be reached. It's unclear if the project will continue with the lesser funding. 

 

The second problem is competition. Readers may recall the B9Creator KickStarter project that provides fundamentally similar (and possibly superior) functionality. We suspect B9Creator could draw interest away from potentially investing in Veloso's project because of lower printer costs and most importantly the nature of the project: B9Creator is Open Source, while Veloso's (still unnamed) kit is intended to be proprietary. 

 

Once this style of technology is produced in open source form you can bet there will be multiple versions instantly emerging to compete with Veloso. Soon we'll see the price of resin-based 3D printer kits drop significantly and that's not the greatest time to try introducing a commercial proprietary version. 

 

Meanwhile, Veloso has released CAD renderings of his 3D printer in final form (above). The unit looks very attractive, but we'll see how the project proceeds in the next few months. 

 

Via Junior Veloso