UK-based Jonathan Keep has been experimenting with chocolate 3D printing, with rather delicious results.
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Friction Welding Your 3D Prints
A common technique to successfully 3D print complex objects is to print separate pieces and then glue them together. But are there other techniques for joining pieces together? Apparently yes.
NASA’s 3D Printed Instruments
NASA is experimenting with 3D printing techniques to develop not one, but at least three different solutions to space instrument manufacturing issues.
At NYC’s 3D Printshow This Week
Team Fabbaloo will be roaming the streets of NYC this week looking for stories, machines and more at and around the first NYC 3D Printshow. Will you be there?
BotObjects, Again
You might recall the controversial BotObjects ProDesk3D full color personal 3D printer? It’s controversial because many believe it doesn’t really exist. Or does it?
How To Replicate a Miniature Outboard Motor
The R/C community is always making custom items for remote controlled machines, but sometimes you just can’t do it by yourself.
3D Printing Ad During The Super Bowl?
Everyone knows that purchasing ad space during the Super Bowl is prohibitively expensive. It’s so expensive that no 3D printing company could afford an ad. Or could they?
New York City’s First 3D Printshow: This Week!
We’re busily packing our bags for another visit to the Big Apple this week for the very first 3D Printshow in that metropolis.
Design of the Week: Hatch for Eyewear Kit
This week’s selection is Michiel Cornelissen’s Hatch for Eyewear Kit. It’s a frame for lenses, but unlike any you’ve likely seen before.
MakerBot’s Hiring: What Does This Mean?
From time to time we see MakerBot advertising for new hires, and today there’s another such call. What’s going on behind the scenes?
It’s A New Day at Fabbaloo!
If you’re a long time reader of this publication, you’re probably noticing the significant changes we’ve made to the site today. The changes are perhaps the most significant in our seven year history. So what’s changed?
The Robo3D Printer
It’s a familiar story: a group of makers wants a 3D printer, but they can’t afford one. So they build their own and realize it’s good enough to sell. That’s the genesis of the Robo3D personal 3D printer.
Another 3D Printing Patent Set to Expire: What Does This Mean?
US Patent number 5,597,589, “Apparatus for producing parts by selective sintering”, is to expire this May. Originally filed on May 31, 1994, the patent expires exactly 20 years hence, on May 31, 2014. But what will this mean?
Laser Sintering Moves Into the Bike Market
As metal additive manufacturing techniques continue to increase the fidelity of the parts they produce, more industries are beginning to experiment with the technology.
MakerBot’s MakerWare Passes a Key Milestone
MakerBot’s latest release of their 3D printing management software, MakerWare, has passed what we believe to be a significant milestone.
Questions Trouble 3D BioPrinting
The ability to 3D print living human tissues, including skin and even organs, is under rapid development. When the technology becomes available, ethical questions must be answered.
Ultimaker 2 Unboxing
Barnacules Nerdgasm documents his Ultimaker 2 unboxing experience. If you’re at all interested in acquiring Ultimaker’s latest personal 3D printer, you’ll want to watch this video.
The Pegasus Touch 3D Printer
Everyone’s getting in on the laser-resin 3D printer market, it seems. Now we see Full Spectrum Laser, a company previously dedicated to traditional laser equipment, has produced their very first 3D printer, the Pegasus Touch.
3D Printer Built by Thirteen Year Old
The Times of India reports on a teenager who’s successfully constructed his own DIY 3D printer. While many people have built 3D printers from kits or parts, it’s interesting to see the age of builders decrease to the mid-teens. What are the implications?
3D Print Your Honda Concept Car
Honda Motors has taken a big step into the consumer 3D printing world by offering cars for download.
The OWL Nano 3D Printer
The OWL Nano 3D printer joins the growing ranks of personal 3D printers based on photo-cured resin technology. It’s a curious design, but this 3D printer can deliver incredibly good resolution.
Stratasys to be Acquired?
Bloomberg speculates on the future of 3D printing giant Stratasys. They believe the company could be acquired by one of two existing 2D printing companies.
Bow & Drape’s 3D Printing Venture
According to a report in the Wall St. Journal, New York startup Bow & Drape has raised USD$1.2M in new investment, specifically for developing new lines of customized fashion accessories using 3D printing.
DELL Offers Multiple 3D Printers?
The venerable PC maker DELL has signed a deal to resell 3D printers from not one, but two 3D printer manufacturers.
Can You 3D Print Cotton?
Probably you can’t 3D print cotton, but a new project hopes to find a way to do so.
Design of the Week: P6*6 120 Pinhole Camera
This week’s selection is the the P6*6 120 Pinhole Camera by Todd Schlemmer. It definitely looks like a camera and indeed if you print the parts and assemble them you can actually capture real images using standard 120 analog film.
More 3D Printing Hubs in the USA Planned
A brief mention of 3D printing occurred during US President Barack Obama’s annual State of the Union Address last week. Apparently the high-tech manufacturing hubs previously announced by that administration were successful.
Why Was the Connex3 Delayed So Long?
You might have noticed that Stratasys announced a new, powerful color 3D printer this week, the Connex3. The new device is the world’s first 3D printer that can mix both differing materials and colors to produce more than 500 possible combo materials. But evidence of the machines existence has been apparent for some time.… Continue reading Why Was the Connex3 Delayed So Long?
The Spectrum of Color 3D Printers
You have a monocolor 3D printer and you want colors? You have a few options, but not all of them may fit into your budget. The simplest approach is simply buy differently-colored filament. However, you’re still printing in one color unless you print multiple pieces in different colors and then connect them together.… Continue reading The Spectrum of Color 3D Printers
Implications of Mark Forg3D’s Web-Based 3D Print Slicing
Mark Forg3D’s carbon fiber printer is a definitely a revolutionary concept, but that wasn’t the only feature that really impressed us. The other sleeper feature of the Mark One is its software. But wait, you say, every 3D printer includes software to drive the printer. That’s true, but Mark Forg3D’s software is cloud based.… Continue reading Implications of Mark Forg3D’s Web-Based 3D Print Slicing
Credit Suisse Revises Their 3D Printing Projections
In light of new analysis, banking giant Credit Suisse has recalculated its 3D printing projection, stating that the manufacturing tech’s market will increase to $800M by 2016. Led by market researcher Jonathan Shaffer, the revised projection is a startling 357% increase from Credit Suisse’s $175M market estimate late last year. Driving that claim is… Continue reading Credit Suisse Revises Their 3D Printing Projections
How Clear are “Transparent” 3D Prints, Anyway?
With the release of Connex3 color 3D printing technology this week, we started thinking more about “transparent” 3D printing. Stratasys provides a transparent material for their Connex series of printers and it’s often mixed with other colors to produce hybrid objects. But exactly how “transparent” is Transparent? We did an experiment. Stratasys often… Continue reading How Clear are “Transparent” 3D Prints, Anyway?
3D Printshow Comes to the Big Apple
Last November we had the pleasure of attending the second London 3D Printshow, in London, of course. The event was spectacular, but attended mostly by Europeans who live close to the city of London. Due to distance people from North America often found it difficult to travel so far to attend. But all that’s… Continue reading 3D Printshow Comes to the Big Apple
Making Figurines with the Form 1
CultureJapan’s Danny Choo has posted a detailed hands-on experience with Formlab’s Form 1 resin-based 3D printer. As we’ve not yet been able to check one out in our lab, we thought we’d see how blogger Danny Choo felt about using the Form 1. Choo found Form 1’s driver software, PreForm, to be pretty easy… Continue reading Making Figurines with the Form 1
An Additional 3D Printer Buying Factor
The other week we wrote a piece on the major factors to consider when deciding on purchasing a 3D printer. While we stand by our list, a readers suggested another key factor. Operating System: One reader suggested the ability to run the printer’s software on Linux would be a deciding factor for him. We… Continue reading An Additional 3D Printer Buying Factor
Metal Powder Gets Cheaper
Metal producer Metalysis has invented a much more efficient method to make fine metal powder. Currently the price of titanium powder ranges from USD$200-400 per kg as it is made through a complex multi-step process. Metalysis’ new process involves a single step and should reduce the price accordingly. While this is quite important for… Continue reading Metal Powder Gets Cheaper
Color Mixing on the Connex3
Stratasys’ latest 3D printer series, the Connex3, is able to produce a wide variety of 3D objects with multiple properties. As we posted earlier, the technology permits rigid, color, transparent and flexible materials to be produced within a single 3D print operation. The Connex3’s can hold and print three unique materials simultaneously, with some… Continue reading Color Mixing on the Connex3
The Connex3 Materials Cabinet
The Connex3 also comes with a powerful materials cabinet. It’s a separate unit typically installed beside the main Connex3 and is intended to house cartridges containing color resins. The resins are pumped into the printer during active printing. Now you’d think there would need to be extra space for cartridges servicing the new third… Continue reading The Connex3 Materials Cabinet
The Mark One Carbon Fiber 3D Printer
We took a look at a surprise 3D printer unveiled this week: Mark Forg3D’s Mark One, after a year of secret development work. At a glance, it looks like any other personal-sized 3D printer, albeit with a very slick metal case. But then you look at what’s being printed. Carbon Fiber. Yes, this… Continue reading The Mark One Carbon Fiber 3D Printer
More on the Objet 500 Connex3
The Objet 500 Connex3 deserves another post as we weren’t able to fit in the specs and other details in just one post. Let’s review some questions: How big can you print with it? It has the same volume as the Objet 500 Connex. How much does it cost? We believe the MSRP… Continue reading More on the Objet 500 Connex3
Design of the Week: Forms in Nature
This week’s selection is Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz’s Forms in Nature. This work uses a technique we’ve not seen previously: using a centrally illuminated 3D printed structure to cast shadows on the walls of a room. Don’t believe us? Just check out the image above. The artists say: Forms in Nature is… Continue reading Design of the Week: Forms in Nature
Stratasys Announces The Objet 500 Connex3 Advanced Color 3D Printer
During yesterday’s press conference at the San Diego Convention Center Stratasys publicly revealed what many had speculated about for months: a vastly improved color 3D printer. It’s called the Objet 500 Connex3. The name follows the pattern of the previous “Connex”, which referred to the technology of dynamically mixing two different types of materials in… Continue reading Stratasys Announces The Objet 500 Connex3 Advanced Color 3D Printer
ABS Plastic On The Way Out?
We’re beginning to notice a significant trend. When looking at new emerging personal 3D printers we are seeing fewer that offer ABS plastic as an option as a 3D printing material. ABS was among the very first materials used by historic personal 3D printers, as it was commonly available due to its heavy use… Continue reading ABS Plastic On The Way Out?
The Lightforge 3D Printer
Lightforge is developing a personal resin-based 3D printer, a device that apparently doesn’t have an official name yet. We checked out the machine, which was actually a “version 1 prototype”, built after some fifteen months of development. A spokesperson indicated they’re currently working on a version 2 prototype that may be part of a… Continue reading The Lightforge 3D Printer
3D Systems’ Digital Content Strategy
Or should we say, “Strategies”. We’re having a very hard time keeping track of 3D Systems content products. They’ve been rapidly acquiring existing 3D content providers while at the same time developing their own. They’ve entered into partnerships with untold numbers of other 3D services as well. Why are they doing this? To promote… Continue reading 3D Systems’ Digital Content Strategy
A Swashbuckling Update from Pirate 3D
Arr! The folks from Pirate 3D say they’re now in active production of their low-cost 3D printer, the Buccaneer. We’re not certain when it will ship, but it sounds like it will be very soon. According to a spokesperson, the number of orders have been “substantial”. This may grow even larger as we understand… Continue reading A Swashbuckling Update from Pirate 3D
UK to Invest £15M in 3D Printing Hub Focused on Aerospace Engineering
In a statement earlier this week, the UK’s Finance Minister has announced that the British government will set aside £15M to create a national 3D Printing Hub. With this massive investment the government plans to open the 3D Printing Hub by 2015, focusing on the development of technologies suited for aerospace engineering. According… Continue reading UK to Invest £15M in 3D Printing Hub Focused on Aerospace Engineering
Cubify’s 3D New Content
Up to now Cubify’s 3D model content has been somewhat simplistic. Toys, simple personalized items and the like have been the staple of online 3D content within 3D Systems’s Cubify operation. But now they’re taking a different and far more serious direction. If you hit the Cubify site now, (dubbed “2.0” by 3D Systems),… Continue reading Cubify’s 3D New Content
Klone World
At CES we encountered Klone World in the 3D Systems’ booth. Klone World is a service that provides the increasingly popular ability to implant your 3D face on a figurine. Klone World offers a number of different figurine scenarios and poses, different than those offered by 3D Systems’ 3DMe service. Amazingly, the service works… Continue reading Klone World
MakerBot’s Colorful Plastics
MakerBot is making a big deal out of their plastic selection, and they should. It’s a far cry from their initial selection of plain old colors years ago. Today you’ll find it includes a really terrific set of colors that they’ve grouped into: true colors, translucents and specialties. They offer ABS, PLA, dissolvable and flexible… Continue reading MakerBot’s Colorful Plastics
The Sweet ChefJet 3D Printers
3D Systems announced not one, but two edible food 3D printers last week, creating an entirely new genre of commercial 3D printing. The two models are the ChefJet and the ChefJet Pro. As you might imagine, the “Pro” version has more functions than it’s lesser sibling. The base ChefJet is a monochrome 3D… Continue reading The Sweet ChefJet 3D Printers
The Amazing 3DMe Photo Booth
We got a close look at 3D Systems’ new “3DMe Photo Booth” at CES and found a lot more than we bargained for. The system is set up to transfer a 3D representation of a subject’s face onto any of several pre-made fun 3D character models. We’ve seen the functionality of this before; 3D… Continue reading The Amazing 3DMe Photo Booth
The Urbee Car: Destroyed?
This picture tells the story. Evidently the world’s first 3D printed car, the Urbee, incurred significant damage while being shipped home to North America from the recent 3D Printshow in London. It looks to us that either the car was not properly tied down or the shipping container took a bit of a tumble. … Continue reading The Urbee Car: Destroyed?
3D Systems is Cooking Up a Chocolate 3D Printer with Hershey’s
3D Systems has fully committed to a food 3D printing strategy. After the surprise announcements of the ChefJet 3D printers, which can print sugar structures in full color (and flavor, too), they’ve announced a joint deal with chocolate conglomerate Hershey’s to develop “innovative opportunities for using 3D printing technology in creating edible foods, including confectionery… Continue reading 3D Systems is Cooking Up a Chocolate 3D Printer with Hershey’s
The Scoop on ABS and PLA
Most personal 3D printers use PLA or ABS plastic, but how much do you actually know about these materials? Aside from the fact that ABS’s melting temperature is somewhat higher than PLA, and that ABS is somewhat stronger than PLA, most 3D printer owners could be challenged to say more. Don’t fear: there is… Continue reading The Scoop on ABS and PLA
A 100% Plastic 3D Printer?
Many designs of self-reproducing 3D printers have been produced and built; that’s the goal of the RepRap project. But are they truly reproducing themselves? Not exactly; the machines are – so far – only capable of reproducing most of the major plastic components, such as the image above, which was apparently the very first… Continue reading A 100% Plastic 3D Printer?
Five 3D Printer Buying Decisions
When you’ve decided to buy a 3D printer there are some questions you should ask yourself before proceeding. The current array of buyable 3D printers is the largest in the history of the world, so having some parameters to make a decision is a good thing. The questions are actually not about 3D printers,… Continue reading Five 3D Printer Buying Decisions
The Boiling Cauldron of 3D Printing: China
For some time now we’ve been interested in detailing the 3D printing space in China, but it seems that it’s a lot harder to analyze. Every time we take a look there seems to be new 3D printers and new 3D printing companies. That’s the norm in China these days: huge competition and a… Continue reading The Boiling Cauldron of 3D Printing: China
Design of the Week: 3D Lying Kitten
This week’s selection is Dotsan’s 3D Lying Kitten. It’s a wireframe version of a kitten, and we apologize profusely to readers for not selecting a kitten as the Design of the Week previously. The 3D Lying Kitten is a simple design, but it works best when you have several placed together as in the… Continue reading Design of the Week: 3D Lying Kitten
MakerBot’s Digital Content
While Thingiverse has been a wonderful source for 3D models for the initial wave of 3D printing, it’s not exactly consumer-friendly. It has a large number of models (over 218,000, according to a recent statement by MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis), which is good and bad. It’s good because the model you want is somewhere in… Continue reading MakerBot’s Digital Content
Battle of the Mini 3D Printers
Some say the pricing of assembled 3D printers from the major manufacturers has risen, and in some cases they have, but usually accompanied with a series of new useful features. To counteract the “price barrier”, as perceived by new members of the 3D printing community, the majors have developed “mini” 3D printers. The first… Continue reading Battle of the Mini 3D Printers
3D System’s Color 3D Printers
3D Systems recently made a couple of announcements regarding their full-color 3D printers, releasing the new ProJet 4500 and the CubeJet. Both 3D printers are capable of producing full-RGB color solid objects. They’re both evolutions of the technology 3D Systems obtained when they acquired ZCorp some years ago. ZCorp offered various models that printed… Continue reading 3D System’s Color 3D Printers
Makeraser’s Smooth Launch
Finally Makeraser is available for purchase, having launched on Kickstarter this week. It’s not a 3D printer, but everyone who owns a 3D printer should certainly get one. It’s a multi-use accessory that leverages acetone’s peculiar property of dissolving ABS plastic. In the past we’ve seen various attempts to use acetone to smooth ABS… Continue reading Makeraser’s Smooth Launch
The World’s First Snap Together 3D Printer
Designed in 2011 at a local machine shop in Fullerton, California, the modular Snap 3D printer has come a long way in the past few years. Originally constructed from wood and held together with store bought components, today’s Snap 3D has become a fully functional 3D printer capable of servicing the prototyping needs of… Continue reading The World’s First Snap Together 3D Printer
Cubify’s Advanced Material Cartridges
Cubify’s new Cube 3 includes a fascinating new feature: extremely simplified material loading, made possible only through the development of a new way to handle plastic filament. The new cartridges are quite different from any generic spool you’ve seen before. They’re sealed to prevent dust and dirt from contaminating the filament (which eventually clogs… Continue reading Cubify’s Advanced Material Cartridges
3D Printing… From Photoshop???
It’s true. Adobe announced new 3D printing capabilities within its current Photoshop Creative Cloud web service. At first, this seems to be an unusual function for a product dedicated, literally, to 2D images. But then it makes more sense when we thought about it. First, what does the new 3D print service actually do… Continue reading 3D Printing… From Photoshop???
Thoughts on MakerBot’s Curious Replicator Z18
Of all the 3D printers marketed by MakerBot since its founding, we find the Replicator Z18 to be the most curious. While previous models (and even the new Mini and Replicator) seemed to be logical extensions and modifications of prior units, the Z18 is quite different: It’s in a completely different price range: whereas… Continue reading Thoughts on MakerBot’s Curious Replicator Z18
The Rise of Resin 3D Printers
There was something quite unusual about the 3D printer manufacturers exhibiting at CES 2014 versus those exhibiting the previous year. At the London 3D Printshow, for example, we saw dozens of plastic filament machines, typically regionally focused. At CES 2014 we saw multiple resin-based 3D printers. It seems that the expiration of patents has… Continue reading The Rise of Resin 3D Printers
Matterform’s 3D Scanner in the Flesh
We managed to chat with Adam Brandejs of Matterform at CES, where he and colleagues demonstrated their powerful and inexpensive tabletop 3D scanner. We wondered how they felt about recent announcements by other companies of various kinds of 3D scanners. Matterform is not concerned and reports that “pre-sales have been going very well” for… Continue reading Matterform’s 3D Scanner in the Flesh
Two 3D Printing Companies, Two Big Stars
Some outside the 3D printing community have a hard time connecting with the latest happenings. It can be quite technical at times and it’s even more difficult to relate that technology to one’s personal life. This connection is critical for 3D printing companies because that’s how you persuade the public to buy your products: find… Continue reading Two 3D Printing Companies, Two Big Stars
Finally, a 3D Printer Statistic
At CES 2014 MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis dropped a stat we’d been waiting to hear. Pettis claimed that MakerBot has sold and shipped over 44,000 MakerBot 3D printers so far. We’re excited because such information is very hard to come by from 3D printer manufacturers. While most manufacturers will claim (correctly) that their sales… Continue reading Finally, a 3D Printer Statistic
Sculpteo’s Factory Button
If you’ve been learning about 3D printing, you’ll know that the best things to print are those that are one-offs. Unique, custom items that are made once for someone. They’re special and “fit” only one use or person. If you want to make many of an item, you should not 3D print but instead… Continue reading Sculpteo’s Factory Button
The Surprising Da Vinci 3D Printer Series
At CES 2014 we bumbled into a rather large booth (which we estimate cost around USD$40,000 just for the floor space at CES) from XYZ Printing. You may not have heard of XYZ Printing before, but we think they could be a contender. How could such a new entrant afford a gigantic booth at… Continue reading The Surprising Da Vinci 3D Printer Series
How’s Afinia Doing After that Stratasys Patent Claim?
3D printing giant Stratasys made a claim against Afinia, saying the latter has violated not one, but four of their patents related to plastic extrusion-based 3D printing. Now, you’d think having the weight of a major patent suit against you would have an effect on sales. Would prospective customer be scared off by the legal… Continue reading How’s Afinia Doing After that Stratasys Patent Claim?
Kodak Alaris Partnering with MCOR?
We observed something rather strange at CES last week. MCOR showed their amazing paper-based color 3D printer, the Iris, as you might expect, but we noticed ANOTHER MCOR Iris hiding on the show floor. It was secretly hidden behind the door to this private meeting room, owned by Kodak Alaris. If you’re not… Continue reading Kodak Alaris Partnering with MCOR?
Design of the Week: Reverberating Across the Divide
This week’s selection is Madeline Gannon’s Reverberating Across the Divide project, a 3D printed, custom-fitted decorative collar. Gannon, a doctoral student studying generative fabrication and computational design in the CMU School of Architecture, developed a technique for generating this collar using a combination of computational and manual processes. Please watch the video… Continue reading Design of the Week: Reverberating Across the Divide
Hands on with ColorFabb’s PLA Filament
We happened to score some ColorFabb filament and gave it a test in our lab. This material, as we’ve written before, is not actually pure PLA plastic. It’s a hybrid mix of PLA and PHA, intended to provide a bit better flex and durability. We found the filament to have a rather different unboxing… Continue reading Hands on with ColorFabb’s PLA Filament
t-glase: A Clear Plastic for your 3D Printer
As the market for personal 3D printers expands, so do your options for plastic filaments. Along with the standard ABS and PLA filaments that have been available for many years, we’ve seen a number of fascinating experiments with different filaments, including some involving wood and ceramics. Now Taulman offers another unique filament: t-glase. What makes… Continue reading t-glase: A Clear Plastic for your 3D Printer
One of These 3D Metal Printers Will Be Acquired?
We speculated the other day regarding Stratasys’ lack of metal 3D printing capability and suggested that they have been raising money to execute a major corporate acquisition to put that missing tech in their portfolio. Several spy reports seem to confirm this type of acquisition is in the works. But who will they acquire? … Continue reading One of These 3D Metal Printers Will Be Acquired?
SLS 3D Printing: At Home?
Patents related to the SLS 3D printing process are about to expire. SLS stands for Selective Laser Sintering, a process where a layer of powder is selectively melted by a laser, gradually forming an object. Up to now, the technology has been exclusively used by 3D Systems, who owns the relevant patents. After Stratasys’… Continue reading SLS 3D Printing: At Home?
Low Cost, 3D Printed UAV Test Bed
3D Printing firm Solid Concepts has partnered with aerospace engineering firm Area-I to create a scale model of a 737 used to simulate real-world aerodynamics. Named the Prototype-Technology Evaluation and Research Aircraft (PTERA), the model craft serves as an inexpensive and safe bridge between wind tunnel evaluations and manned flight tests. During each flight… Continue reading Low Cost, 3D Printed UAV Test Bed
3D Systems Names Will.I.Am as Chief Creative Officer
We were assembled in sardine-quality packed formation in 3D Systems’ massive booth at CES2014, awaiting some kind of event involving mega-recording star Will.I.Am. Some suspected the artist would play us some tunes, although it seemed quite unlikely as the only musical equipment in the vicinity was 3D Systems’ usual 3D printed band instruments, which are… Continue reading 3D Systems Names Will.I.Am as Chief Creative Officer
The Newton3D Metal 3D Printer
Personal 3D printers have a limitation: materials. Typically used with plastic, many people would like to 3D print in metal. Now there seems to be an option for personal metal 3D printing: the Newton3D, “built from the research of Esteban Schunemann, PhD student at Brunel University”. We don’t know very much about this mysterious… Continue reading The Newton3D Metal 3D Printer
Keeping The Heat in 3D Printing
Most 3D printer owners quickly discover the perils of printing ABS plastic in a cold or even room temperature environment. The quirky material shrinks a small amount when it cools after emerging from the hot extruder. This often leads to warping, as the lower portions of the print shrink and the newer portions are still… Continue reading Keeping The Heat in 3D Printing
3D Systems Announces… Everything!
Yesterday as CES 2014 opened we had to drop by the 3D Systems booth as they had just that morning released information on multiple new products and services. It’s not the old days when one or perhaps two products appear; today they arrive in batches. We were toured through the new products by a very… Continue reading 3D Systems Announces… Everything!
Rehabilitating Lame Horses With 3D Printing
Readers may recall a story we did late last year in which custom titanium horseshoes were 3D printed for race horses in Australia. It turns out that this development was noted by Australian veterinarians treating horses afflicted with Laminitis, an inflammation in the area between the horse’s hoof and bone. The idea was to… Continue reading Rehabilitating Lame Horses With 3D Printing
The Six Challenges of 3D Food Printing
Yesterday we wrote on TNO’s work towards the challenge of 3D printed food. They’ve been experimenting with various processes and even combined their work with that of traditional chefs to create unique high-end dishes. But from a 3D printing point of view, we see a series of rather difficult challenges that must be worked… Continue reading The Six Challenges of 3D Food Printing
Developments in 3D Food Printing
We’re looking at a video from TNO, who have been developing various forms of 3D food printing. 3D printed food seems to be a topic of great interest among the public, although we’re not quite sure why. Perhaps it’s because almost everyone finds themselves in a kitchen sooner or later and reckons they’re a kind… Continue reading Developments in 3D Food Printing
MakerBot’s Stunning Announcements
A very excited MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis took the stage at a Las Vegas hotel yesterday and presented what must have been MakerBot’s most profound – and certainly biggest – set of product announcements in its history. Not one, not two, but three new 3D printers were announced, along with a series of related software,… Continue reading MakerBot’s Stunning Announcements
Formlabs Now Accepting Bitcoin
Formlabs, makers of the most popular resin-based personal 3D printer, announced they will now accept Bitcoin for purchases at their online store. While there may be other 3D printer manufacturers accepting Bitcoin, Formlabs seems to be the only big player doing so. Bitcoin, if you somehow haven’t heard, is a new digital currency enabling… Continue reading Formlabs Now Accepting Bitcoin
Top 10 Handheld 3D Scanning Tips
At the Fabbaloo Lab we’ve performed 3D scans using a variety of handheld scanning equipment, ranging from el-cheapo Microsoft Kinect hacks to pricey USD$50K units. The experience can be both frustrating and elating; it’s normally a learning process of discovering what to do and what not to do. Today we thought we’d list a few… Continue reading Top 10 Handheld 3D Scanning Tips
What Will Happen at CES 2014?
This week is the annual Consumer Electronics Show, where in recent years the 3D printing industry has gained a foothold; many 3D printing companies now present their story at booths on the trade show floor. So many 3D printing companies now exhibit at the show that organizers have placed them all within a kind of… Continue reading What Will Happen at CES 2014?
Design of the Week: Morphologic
This week’s selection is Morphologic, by the team of Chien Shuo Pai, Alberto Herrera Salas, Nishanth Peethala and Zhu Kele. Their purpose was to develop a structure that could become an architectural component. In the image you can see a miniature version demonstrating how the basic component can be recombined into potentially colossal structures. … Continue reading Design of the Week: Morphologic
The Staggering Implications of Afinia’s Countersuit
After last week’s blockbuster announcement of Afinia’s response to Stratasys’ allegations of patent infringement, we got thinking about what this might mean. We’re anxiously awaiting further developments, that likely being a full-on court case where a judge and jury hear detailed technical arguments from both sides. That hasn’t even begun yet and we suspect… Continue reading The Staggering Implications of Afinia’s Countersuit
What Will 3D Systems Announce at CES 2014?
We knew 3D Systems was set to make significant announcements at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, but now we have a preview. In a press release they said they would make not one, but TWELVE announcements. This is startling, as they previously announced a dozen or so new items at last month’s EuroMold conference in… Continue reading What Will 3D Systems Announce at CES 2014?