3D Printing Discount Available

Some say that 3D printing services are expensive, and that may or may not be the case depending on your situation. However, we do know that students worldwide typically aren't flush with cash, and that's why the new i.Materialise Student Discount is so important. 

 

The 3D print service offers a 20% discount on 3D prints to accredited students until 30 June 2012, coincidentally the end of the school year in many regions. 

 

But there are a few conditions beyond mere student accreditation: 

 

• The items printed must be related to school work
• You must provide i.Materialise with images of your work - but they may place them on their popular blog
• Only non-metal materials may be selected for these prints

 

Those conditions definitely aren't worrisome, so fire up your modeling software and start designing! 

 

Via i.Materialise

Open3DP is Now Open3DP

The busy folks at the University of Washington's Solheim Additive Manufacturing  Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department have opened up again. 

 

Opened up? That's right, they were "intellectual property" closed for several weeks as their legal department imposed a rather crushing IP regime upon them. However, they've managed to overcome this by convincing their authorities to accept use of a Creative Commons license for their works. 

 

This means their amazing developments, formulas and prototypes can now again be shared with the world. Great work!  

 

Via The University of Washington

3D Printing Seeps Into The Arts

When you envision the opening of a new school for the Creative and Performing Arts, sponsored by filmmaker Sir Richard Taylor, head of WETA, you'd think you'd see typical film and acting facilities and equipment. Cameras, stages, studios and the like.  

 

The new Creative and Performing Arts Centre at Scots College in Strathmore, New Zealand includes that kind of thing, but there's something else at the Centre: a graphics and 3D printing facility, and even a robotics workshop. 

 

Why would such equipment be included in a Creative and Performing Arts Centre? We think it's simply because that equipment is now considered normal and required in the film industry. We've seen several films make use of 3D printing, be they for Iron Man costumes or for stop motion animation. 

 

Film in the 21st century. It's 3D. 

 

Via Stuff.co.nz

SparkLab: BuildMobile

Of all the Kickstarter-style 3DP projects we've seen lately, the SparkLab concept may be the most valuable to society. No, you won't get a fancy sculpture but you will get the satisfaction of supporting the spread of 3D printing and DIY making knowledge. 

 

What is the SparkLab concept? It's quite simple. They proponents realized that many schools are unable to procure reasonable making equipment for a variety of reasons. Instead of trying to furnish schools with modern equipment, they intend on bringing the equipment to the schools in a delivery truck: a mobile build lab. 

 

What's in the truck? Here's their equipment list: 

 

• laser cutter
• 3D printer
• vinyl cutter
• materials
• hand tools
• and more

 

They must reach USD$25,000 by March 24th and they need your pledge to do so. Please consider donating to this highly worthwhile project in almost any amount. 

 

Via SparkLab and KickStarter

RMIT's AMP Needs a TC

So many acronyms! Let's translate the headline for you: the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's RMIT University's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct (AMP) is looking to hire a new Technical Coordinator. 

 

Why do we find this posting of interest? Because: 

 

RMIT University's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct (AMP) facility brings together research, design and advanced manufacturing in one location, providing new opportunities for innovation and product development/prototyping. Digital manufacturing technologies housed at the AMP include high-speed multi-axis machining centers and additive manufacturing technologies that include Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).

 

As TC you'll be able to work directly with interesting 3D printing technologies in a university setting. If you're in the Melbourne, Australia area you might want to check out the details at the link below. 

 

Via TheConversation

Adafruit Offers 3D Printing Badge

Do you remember those Boy Scout badges you'd get when you were a lot younger? We don't as no one here was a Scout, but the point is that the scout badges represented the achievement of a particular skill, like swimming or handicrafts. Now we see electronics site Adafruit establishing skill badges for several DIY-style skills. 

 

What skills are represented in the badges? Quite a few, but the one we're interested in is "3D Printing". According to the badge description: 

 

This skill badge is awarded for those who have done amazing things with 3D printing. Whether they've built a kit, designed a system from scratch, or explored a new method,  they're bringing the future home!

 

What else is offered as badges? Quite a few skills: Drawdio (music + drawing), Lasers, Open source hardware, soldering, mini-UAVs, HTML5, High-altitude balloon, Micro-controllers, Ohms law, Oscilloscope, Reverse engineer, Robotics, TV-B-Gone, Ada Lovelace (dedication & perseverance), Bike repair, Biohacking, Catapult, Circuit bender, Dumpster diving (!), Electrostatic discharge, Hacked Kinect, LEDs, Linux, Magic blue smoke (!), Metric system, Multi-meter, Open source upgrade, Programming, QR code, Radiation, Solar panel, Tesla coil, Water jet and Welding.  

 

Anyone achieving the entire set of Adafruit badges would definitely be interesting to meet. 

 

Via Adafruit

3D Printing Stack Exchange?

You may have heard of StackOverflow? It's a very popular question and answer website for computer programming topics. The makers of StackOverflow now permit the same software to be used for question-answer sites on other topics. But which topics get a site? At Area51.StackExhchange.com discussions are held to determine whether a topic warrants a Q/A site in the StackExchange network. 

 

Guess what? There's now a discussion underway to initiate a 3D printing StackExchange site. Check out the link below and you'll see sample questions and other material that may eventually lead to a new QA site for 3D printing.

  

Via Area51

Open3DP Goes Closed3DP?

The folks at the University of Washington who've been doing stellar work researching 3D printing in concrete, ceramics, glass and other unusual materials have gone dark, so to speak. 

 

It appears that the suits at their university have issued new rules regarding participation with outside groups. Specifically, they say:

 

it has become increasingly apparent academic staff are not aware that engaging in outside work with any potential economic benefit triggers the requirement for approval through submission of this form. This includes situations where the economic benefit could arise due to an equity interest in the company for which the work is being performed, or due to potential benefit through intellectual property interests.  It also includes any work where there is an entitlement to compensation, even if that compensation is waived or donated. 

 

While this means Open3DP'rs work silently behind the curtain, it also means the rest of us won't see or benefit from their amazing inventions. We're quite disappointed, as the researchers must be. Hopefully they'll be able to resolve the situation in the future. 

 

Via Open3DP