The Objet Color Mystery: Solved

As we wrote the other week, some startling 3D prints were put on display in Paris' Pompidou Centre. Startling not only because of their intricate shapes and elegant coloring, but also because they were apparently produce on an Objet 3D printer - but Objet does not sell a color 3D printer. When confronted, Objet declined to say anything other than that it's "experimental".

 

What's going on? 

 

We found the answer at Rapid 2012 by speaking to Objet representatives, who said that the art objects were printed on a regular Objet Connex 3D printer. The difference was merely in the materials used. Evidently their experiment is with new, unannounced colored print materials. 

 

But how were they used to create those vivid colors? The answer, it turns out, is quite simple. Objet's technology is capable of mixing two materials together. Up to now this capability has been used to 3D print objects with hard and soft components in an single print operation. Amazing stuff for sure - but what if the two materials had the same rigidity but were different colors? 

 

Sure enough, when we re-examined the photos we took at Centre Pompidou in person last week it is now quite clear what happened. Each of the prints is actually composed of only two colors or mixes of the two. 

 

When will these new colored materials be available? No comment on that from Objet, but we suspect they'll show up not too long in the future. 

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

A New 3D Printer From Objet?

There's something brewing at Objet, makers of the Connex line of commercial 3D printers. First we saw a mysterious art exhibition of color objects apparently produced on a color-capable Objet 3D printer - but there are no color-capable Objet 3D printers! Then we hear that Objet issued a press release indicating the art was produced on an unannounced Objet color-capable 3D printer. 

 

Yesterday we read a post and watched video on Objet's blog saying:

 

"On the 22nd of May we’re launching our latest 3D printer. All I can say for now are 3 words: Professional. Versatile. Desktop."

 

Mysterious for not much longer. 

 

However, we suspect they forgot one thing and need four words: "Professional. Versatile. Desktop. Color."

 

Via Objet

The Secret Color Process

As much as we'd like to have attended Neri Oxman's talk at Centre Pompidou in Paris the other day, we were simply unable to get there. However, we were able to view videos and images from the exhibition, sponsored by 3D printer manufacturer Objet. 

 

Ms. Oxman produced fantastic and beautiful 3D printed objects inspired by biological themes, as we expected. She's been researching this fascinating theme for some time now and it may lead to radically new building techniques. 

 

While admiring the beautiful pieces, we marveled at how well they were finished. Stunning and intricate colors must have taken weeks to prepare for the exhibition at Centre Pompidou. 

 

But we weren't there to see them in person. However, fellow 3DP blogger Rachel Park was. She noticed the same thing - but being able to examine the items more closely discovered that they weren't exactly finished in the way you'd expect. 

 

They were 3D printed directly, according to Rachel. In full, glorious color. 

 

Wow, color you say. Nice! But wait a sec, Objet DOES NOT offer color 3D printing. They do offer multi-material 3D printing, unique among the commercial 3DP manufacturers. So what's going on? 

 

Ms. Park hypothesizes a curious viral marketing campaign by Objet, who have publicly - and mysteriously - "not" announced a new color printing capability. 

 

We hope to visit Centre Pompidou very soon and inspect the works directly. Until then, please read Ms. Park's post for a complete analysis. 

 

Via RPES

Massive News: Objet and Stratasys Merge

Stratasys announced they've merged with the largest remaining large commercial 3D printer manufacturer, Objet of Israel, creating the now-largest 3D printing company with a market capitalization of USD$1.4B. 

 

The newly merged company was created by merging stock such that Stratasys shareholders will own 55 percent and Objet shareholders 45 percent. The new company retains the Stratasys name, unfortunately missing out on the exciting "Stratajet" and avoiding the questionable "Objasys".

 

It's not a takeover by Stratasys; management is merging right up to the top. Stratasys CEO Scott Crump moves to Chairman, while Objet's CEO David Reis becomes CEO of the new Stratasys.   A new board of directors will be composed of selections made by both original companies. The merger activities themselves will be overseen by an executive committee led by Objet chair Elchanan Jaglom. Even the company's headquarters will be shared between Eden Prairie MN and Rehovot, Israel. 

 

It's rumored that Objet had been planning to offer shares publicly in an IPO, but evidently Stratasys' offer to merge provided more return to Objet shareholders. 

 

We had been wondering what might happen to Objet after 3D Systems' recent acquisition of ZCorp, which put the industry on notice that major consolidation was underway. Objet was a big target, with its interesting technology and large size. Was 3D Systems was interested in acquiring Objet? With their recent pattern of acquisitions, probably. However, in this case Stratasys prevailed and now is the largest 3D printing manufacturer in the world today. 

  

Technically, Objet offers its unique PolyJet technology, which enables multiple materials to be printed in a single print operation. For example, you could print an item with hard and soft parts. This could be a very interesting addition to Stratasys' digital manufacturing operations. 

 

Via Stratasys (Hat tip to James)

Print The Eiffel

A post on Objet's blog shows off a totally amazing 3D print of Paris' Eiffel Tower. This 20+ cm version is highly detailed and is made with Objet's clear material. We're particularly impressed with the lack of "stringies" that are so often found on prints from extruded plastic personal 3D printers. 

 

The problem is that within each layer the plastic extruder must "jump" from one pillar to another, and this presents an opportunity for small trails of plastic to develop. While personal 3D printer manufacturers have worked on this problem for some time - and indeed have minimized it - Objet's technology doesn't seem to have the problem, at least on this pathologically-stringy Eiffel Tower model.

 

Via Objet

An Introduction to Dental 3D Printing

Many of our readers are operate or are keenly interested in personal 3D printers, but they are also aware that 3D printing was originally used for industrial uses. One of those uses is in dentistry, where "personalized fit" is essential. Creating one-time unique dental shapes is the business of dentists and 3D printing technology is a natural fit. 

 

That's why several of the larger commercial 3D printer manufacturers address the dental 3D printing market. But what do 3D printers do for dentistry? 

 

In a post by Objet in Today's Medical Developments, Objet's Head of Medical Solutions Avi Cohen provides a complete overview of the latest in dental 3D printing. Cohen describes the change in dentist workflow, from the traditional "artist" who manually sculpted dental implants, to today's digital process, involving "intraoral scanners" that capture a 3D model of your teeth and 3D printers designed specifically for building dental implants.  

 

While dentistry is obviously a discipline that involves highly personalized shapes, we're wondering what other industries require personalization that could be assisted by 3D printing technology. Shoes? Gloves? Sports equipment? Furniture? 

 

Via TMD

Hilldrup's Fragments in Time

We caught news of an interesting artistic application of 3D printing, on display this past week in Munich at the 84Ghz exhibition. Artist Daniel Hilldrup created two works from his series Fragments in Time using 3D printing tech from Objet. 

 

One item is imaged here, showing a candle holder with the wax seemingly melting inside! The candle holder was printed in a single print operation using Objet's multi-material capability, allowing the black "wax" to appear embedded within the otherwise clear candle holder. Very cool!  

 

Via Objet