Fabbaloo Blog

BotMill!

2010-09-02T06:00:25Z

There's a new shop in town: BotMill. They're addressing the growing DIY 3D Printing space:

At BotMill.com, we cater to the growing number of 3D DIY enthusiasts with quality products at discounted prices. We are constantly on the look out for new and innovative products…

They appear to market a wide variety of relevant 3D items, including their flagship product, a RepRap Mendel - either in kit form (USD$799 on sale now) or fully assembled and tested (USD$1545 also on sale). The Mendels come in Blue, Black, Red or Yellow - get one and then print your own Mendel offspring in more colors if you wish.

BotMill also sells electronics, hardware and various parts for the printers at pretty reasonable prices. In fact, their print material is less expensive than MakerBot's store. Example: 5 lbs of Black ABS are USD$65 from MakerBot, while BotMill's price is only USD$60 (but on sale now for only USD$52.45).

Once you've got your Mendel working and need something to print, you can also purchase a David Laser 3D Scanner kit for only USD$499.

It looks like BotMill's marketing plans are extensive, as their well-organized web shop includes a currency feature (only USD$ at the moment) and translation into fourteen languages!

Via BotMill (Hat tip to Fred and Rami)

MakerBot Extrudes The Mk5

2010-09-01T06:00:18Z

At long last MakerBot has finally released their new extruder design: the MK5.

This design incorporates a number of learnings gathered from MakerBot operators' experiments. Key features:

Greatly simplified filament drive that completely eliminates the troublesome idler wheel and replaces it with an easily adjustable chunk of Delrin, as well as a custom designed contoured gear for reliably grabbing input filament.
Redesigned heater core, which incorporates a pair of power resistors that provide even, predictable heat (unlike the hap-hazard every-time-unique Nichrome windings of the MK4 that assured no two MakerBots were the same). The new core is extremely tight and should prevent troublesome leaks.

We're really excited about this development, since the plastruder seemed to be the weakest point of the MakerBot, where most operators spent their time rebuilding after various failure modes. The new MK5 should do away with most of the problems. Well, done, MakerBot!

Via MakerBot

Design-Worthy Cement Printing

2010-08-31T06:00:08Z

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 fresh cement). We haven't seen many further developments since then in the world of concrete printing other than D-Shape's amazing printed monument.

However today we ran across Factum Arte and Anish Kapoor, who have been experimenting with cement printing for some years. They're not printing buildings, but instead are focusing on sculptures with a technique that "combines intention with chance and the live properties of the different cement mixes".

Kapoor has published a book detailing the entire process, entitled "Unconformity and Entropy", available right here. From the book:

Some three years ago, Adam Lowe and I wondered if it were possible to make a machine that could generate form. The printing machine formed a model for the basis of our thinking. After much trial and error, we found a surprisingly simple way of making a workable engine.

Once we had started making objects, a new reality began to emerge. These were objects like no others; they seemed to obscure the border between artifice and event. These are objects that are more akin to natural things than to those made by design.

One issue we foresee is the weight; moving tons of cement sculpture could be tricky. In the case of printing an onsite building or monument, weight is less important, but for sculptures you simply must print them on a moveable pallet.

Be sure to watch the videos that show the rather swift cement printer. It reminds us of a room-sized RepRap. Watch out for that Y-axis!

Via Factum-Arte and Magpie Aesthetic

Dimension's STARBASE

2010-08-30T06:00:32Z

3D printer manufacturer Dimension is contributing back to the community by working with STARBASE Minnesota on a way to deeply involve students in the process of 3D manufacturing. The students, from Minneapolis area public schools, are shown problems, data and techniques and they work out solutions.

One of their projects has been to design a mission to the Planet Mars. They design the rocket parts using 3D modelling tools, which are then actually produced on a Dimension printer. The rockets are then launched (if they work) and the students learn what works and what doesn't. Experimentation is the path to the truth.

Via StarbaseMN and YouTube (Hat tip to Jessica)

3D Print Post Processing: A Wiki

2010-08-29T06:00:36Z

So you've 3D printed your object, and hold it in your hand. Are you finished? Not at all - there's the often-required "post processing" step, in which your object is subjected to various treatments leading to its final, perfected state. That might involve manual trimming of extraneous blobs, painting or in some cases removal of support material. All of this activity and more is considered post-processing.

But what kinds of post-processing can be considered? Often it's a word of mouth transfer of knowledge to 3D printing apprentices, but today we're seeing a new Wiki that's specifically dedicated to Post Processing: The 3D PrintCraft Wiki.

This wiki is not well-populated yet, but that's how Wiki's go: share your knowledge with others in a central place. Currently they have information on Dye and Paint, but we believe Fabbaloo readers could contribute hugely to this effort.

Via 3D Print Craft

The Future of 3D Printing

2010-08-28T06:00:11Z

Here's an interesting 50 minute video from the Singularlity University by Scott Summit who speaks of many topics of interesting to our readers. Highlights of the "OK, So You Can Create Anything. Now What?" Talk:

Introduction to the concept of Mass Production - how the making of things became cheap
Some things are simply not compatible with the mass production concept of identical items, such as artificial limbs
He speaks of how to get 3D information into digital form (scanning), how to manipulate and change it (3D modelling) and how to "get it out" (3D printing)
The trend to do these activities at increasingly lower costs
The idea that these new technologies offer the ability to produce complex, unique objects at the same inexpensive cost as mass production

A great video, hope you enjoy it!

Via DesignPlaygrounds (Hat tip to Andy)

Ponoko Arriva in Italia

2010-08-27T06:00:10Z

Distributed manufacturing hub Ponoko continues its invasion of Europe by opening an Italian front. They've partnered with a local fabrication shop, Vectorealism, to produce your items locally in Milan.

The Italian operation joins the Ponoko club, which now boasts manufacturing hubs in San Francisco, London, Berlin and the 10,000 Garages of 100KGarages.com.

Oh, and if you visit the link below, Ponoko will provide a 50% discount coupon for using Vectorealism up until 11 September.

Via Ponoko

Another Slicing Option for BfB

2010-08-26T06:00:07Z

BfB (Bits From Bytes) has announced the availability of a new 3D slicing software option that will be bundled with each of their new 3D printers: Axon. This software is built upon the traditional Skeinforge software that performs the delicate task of converting a 3D model into layered slices suitable for 3D printing. The issue with Skeinforge is a rather difficult interface that appears daunting to new users.

BfB's prime client base are learning institutions, where the majority of users are in fact students, who we believe will benefit from a simplified interface. The other benefit is that the software is free; many current BfB customers use NetFabb, which while being a great program is definitely not free. We think that Universities and other public institutions that are no doubt enduring financial stress will appreciate the Axon option.

The new software bundles in all required bits for quick installation. Good work, BfB!

Via PRLog (Hat tip to Will)

Another Hobby 3D Printer: The Ultimaker

2010-08-25T06:00:24Z

There seems to be a sudden rash of open source, low-cost 3D printer kits lately. In addition to the usual suspects (MakerBot, RepRap, Fab@Home and the very recent UP!), we now have The Ultimaker! This prototype device is being developed at FabLab Utrecht (under the name "elserbot") and seems to build on the experiences of prior projects.

While there are few specifics about this device yet, it appears to us that it may be a simpler design, meaning it may cost less, have fewer parts, easier to assemble, more reliable, etc. Of particular interest is the 2-rod X-Y axis that is much simpler than the 4-rod approach used by MakerBot. This could permit a larger build area than other designs.

There's little information present about the extruder mechanism, which is of course a critical component. Nevertheless, the goals of the project include "designing/developing an easy to build low cost 3D printer with a small form factor but large build envelope".

The result will be open source, meaning everyone will be able to build one themselves; presumably other projects might incorporate some of Ultimaker's ideas into their own designs. Let's keep watching this one develop.

The way developments have gone recently, we should have a few dozen more personal 3D printers to choose from by the end of next year!

Via Ultimaker and BuildLog

3D Systems' Print In 3D

2010-08-24T06:00:27Z

It's a brand new site just announced by industry giant 3D Systems: all you need to know about 3D printing all bundled together in one place. "Your 3D Printer Source", is the tagline, and integrates all their material "into a contemporary, intuitive destination serving customers, prospects and partners with a secure, 24-hour online presence"

The site obviously focuses on 3D Systems' products, so it's mostly useful to their client base. Here's some interesting features:

Videos explaining how the 3D printing process works
A great many images of sample prints (we especially like the Tyrannosaurus head)
An interactive product chooser that asks questions and leads you to the appropriate product page
A massive set of pages explaining a huge variety of common uses, such as architecture, parts, jewelery, etc.
Explanations of materials, software
Training and education
Success stories
Find a reseller service

and a whole lot more. Well done, 3D Systems! There's one more thing that might interest some:

For a chance to receive a complimentary 3D model or a sample print from your own design, just register at www.Printin3D.com.

Via PrintIn3D