We had a chat with the nice folks from Stilnest, who operate an online 3D print store. Many such shops have recently emerged, so many that it’s getting difficult to distinguish them. So what does Stilnest do? They practice what we might call, “extreme curation”. Where other shops go for quantity, Stilnest focuses… Continue reading The Stilnest Option
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123D Offers More 3D Content
One of the best introductory 3D toolsets you can use is Autodesk’s 123D Suite, particularly the 123D Design tool. But when you’re designing something, it’s often very helpful to begin your design with an existing model that you can modify. 123D does this by providing a library of thousands of starter models you can… Continue reading 123D Offers More 3D Content
3D Systems’ New Scanning Solution
3D Systems announced an inexpensive personal 3D scanner last week, but they also announced a professional 3D scanning solution, too. The new GeoMagic Capture bundle is a combination of a blue-LED 3D scanner and application-specific software to integrate the scan directly into several high-end 3D modeling solutions, including: SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, Design X, Design Direct,… Continue reading 3D Systems’ New Scanning Solution
Design of the Week: Wit’s End
This week’s selection is Ravi Venkataraman’s Wit’s End, which as you can see above, captures that feeling quite distinctly. It’s part of Venkataraman’s “Emotions in 3D” series, where a variety of emotions, from profound to fun are explored in 3D sculptures. We’ve seen several of these works but this one somehow resonates the best;… Continue reading Design of the Week: Wit’s End
New Ways to Resurrect Dinosaurs with 3D Printing
A paper published in the journal Radiology explores new techniques used to capture 3D information from dinosaur fossils. The new approach overcomes the problem of removing non-fossil material from the actual fossil during excavation and subsequent processing. Apparently when surrounding material is removed, small portions of the true fossil can be lost. The new… Continue reading New Ways to Resurrect Dinosaurs with 3D Printing
Cubes In Harrods!
3D Systems’ Cubify division has made another notable retail move, this time sealing a deal with Harrods of London to display the Cube personal 3D printer at their flagship store in Knightsbridge. Cubify has been rapidly expanding their network of resellers recently, but to be at Harrods is a big accomplishment. Harrods is a… Continue reading Cubes In Harrods!
The FilaFab Filament Maker
We had a close look at the FilaFab, a “Desktop Filament Fabricator”. It’s pretty simple in concept: put in some plastic bits and usable 3D printer filament comes out the nozzle. But there’s a lot more to it than that. The device has been carefully designed to ensure consistent melting temperature and flow rate… Continue reading The FilaFab Filament Maker
Apple Takes a Big Step Towards 3D Printing
Reports this week that Apple has purchased 3D sensor maker Primesense got us thinking about what this might mean in the future. But first, what happened? An Israeli news site broke the story of Israel-based Primesense in negotiations with Apple for an acquisition said to be in the more-than-USD$300M range. Primesense produces 3D sensors… Continue reading Apple Takes a Big Step Towards 3D Printing
Lawmakers Hope to Regulate 3D Printed Guns with an Act from the 1980s
US Senator Chuck Schumer (D) is sounding the alarm about the proliferation of 3D printed weapons as a law banning undetectable firearms is set to end on December 9, 2013. The Undetectable Firearms Act, which was adopted in the 1980s, sought to make firearms more easily detectable by requiring that they contain a minimum… Continue reading Lawmakers Hope to Regulate 3D Printed Guns with an Act from the 1980s
USC Investigating Multi-Material 3D Printing
Researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering led by Professor Yong Chen have demonstrated a new method of 3D printing multiple materials. By “multiple” we mean two materials that can be combined in different ratios. For example, the process can print an object that has both hard and soft portions – in different degrees… Continue reading USC Investigating Multi-Material 3D Printing
Shapeways Announces Programmable Models
3D printing service Shapeways has released “ShapeJS”, a programming environment that can generate 3D models using Javascript programs. In other words, if you know how to use Javascript, one of the most popular tools for creating dynamic web pages, you’ll be able to produce 3D models simply by describing them with code, including complex… Continue reading Shapeways Announces Programmable Models
Walmart Selling Cube 3D Printers – in Brazil
We know Staples sells Cubify’s entry-level personal 3D printer, the Cube, at an undetermined number of physical outlets in the USA. But now we learn Walmart also sells the Cube – but not in the USA; they’re available in Brazil. The Cube is priced at R$5,758 (USD$2,478), quite a bit more than the standard… Continue reading Walmart Selling Cube 3D Printers – in Brazil
The War on 3D Printed ABS
It was the first plastic used in personal 3D printers, but are ABS’s days coming to an end? The once popular plastic seems to be supplanted by PLA. In fact during the recent 3D Printshow in London we encountered many 3D printer manufacturers who simply dismissed ABS as something they didn’t want to support… Continue reading The War on 3D Printed ABS
What is it Like at a 3D Printed Fashion Show?
Many of you may have never attended a proper fashion show and we thought it might be interesting to give you a little bit of the flavor of such an event with video from the London 2013 3D Printed Fashion Show. First we have a video of one model showing “Half Entity” by… Continue reading What is it Like at a 3D Printed Fashion Show?
The WASP Project 3D Prints Clay
Need something 3D printed in clay? Something very large? If so you’ll want to check out the WASP project from Italy. WASP is actually an acronym, standing for World’s Advanced Saving Project. Their goal is to be able to build homes in third world countries with advanced technology like 3D printing, yet use… Continue reading The WASP Project 3D Prints Clay
Have You Joined 3D Hubs?
There are several initiatives seeking to link 3D print owners with 3D print buyers, but as time passes only a few are going to succeed. One of them is likely to be 3D Hubs, currently the leader in number of participants. The idea is pretty straightforward: if you have an idle 3D printer, sign… Continue reading Have You Joined 3D Hubs?
The WitBox 3D Printer
There’s an explosion of extrusion-based personal 3D printers occurring now, with new entries emerging from all corners. One of them is the WitBox by Spanish company BQ. Unlike many new entrants, the WitBox comes from an already established company. BQ “is a Spanish company dedicated to the multimedia devices and 3D printers sale.” According… Continue reading The WitBox 3D Printer
Tasting the ChocEdge Chocolate 3D Printer
We had a chance to speak with Christina Zheng, Business Development Director for ChocEdge. It’s one of the very few personal 3D printers capable of extruding chocolate, and perhaps the only one you can easily buy yourself. The ChocEdge looks much like many other personal 3D printers, until you notice the extruder. It’s basically… Continue reading Tasting the ChocEdge Chocolate 3D Printer
The CADScan Cubik 3D Scanner
We spoke with Dr. Alastair Buchanan, the man behind the Cubik full-color tabletop 3D scanner at the London 2013 3D Printshow. The device is a tabletop unit, meaning you can only scan items that will fit into its scan chamber. It’s also a sealed chamber, meaning that you can operate the scanner in a… Continue reading The CADScan Cubik 3D Scanner
Ultimaker Reorganizes
You may have heard about Ultimaker’s new personal 3D printer, the not-so-surprisingly named Ultimaker 2, but that’s not all that’s going down at the Dutch manufacturer. We listened to a talk by their new CEO, Henk van Gils at the London 3D Printshow 2013, in which he revealed some corporate moves at the growing… Continue reading Ultimaker Reorganizes
Design of the Week: Imprinted Bodies
This week’s selection is Imprinted Bodies by NYC-based sculptor Lilia Ziamou. It’s actually two pieces, #1 and #2. While the pieces are certainly not as dramatic as some by other artists, there is a story behind these unusual works. Ziamou explores the “concept of the female body”, using “curve and crevice”. She initially develops… Continue reading Design of the Week: Imprinted Bodies
The Smithsonian Releases 3D Scans
We’ve written about the Smithsonian’s forays into 3D scanning previously, but now you can access some of the 3D scans they’ve been collecting. Last week the institution released the first batch of 3D scans, all of which can be viewed online and several are suitable for 3D printing. As of this writing, some 17… Continue reading The Smithsonian Releases 3D Scans
A New Printrbot, the Plus
One of the first big-time winners in 3D printing Kickstarter campaigns was the Printrbot, which raised a then-record USD$830,827 (with an original goal of USD$25,000). We suspect it was Printrbot’s success that led to the explosion of subsequent 3D printer launches on the crowdfunding site. We chatted with Brook Drumm of Printrbot at the… Continue reading A New Printrbot, the Plus
The World’s Largest 3D Print Gallery
In retrospect, we hadn’t realized what we were looking at, when, at the 3D Printshow we stumbled into the covertly-located 3D print gallery. The large area held many examples of 3D printed art, some already famous and some about to be famous. We met some of the artists who had produced the work, as… Continue reading The World’s Largest 3D Print Gallery
3D Printed Coral Reefs
Forbes published more information on the 3D printed reef produced by concrete 3D printer D-Shape, whom we met with earlier this year. Why 3D print a reef when you can simply drop concrete blocks or sink redundant ships at the correct locations? The answer lies in the shape of the reef. Evidently artificial… Continue reading 3D Printed Coral Reefs
3D Printing Be Could Be Worth $8.41B by 2020
According to a recent study, the market for 3D printers could be worth nearly $8.5 billion by 2020. The study, conducted by Indian research firm MarketsandMarkets, forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 23% for 3D printing technology over the next seven years. According to MarketsandMarkets, one of the motivations for this growth is… Continue reading 3D Printing Be Could Be Worth $8.41B by 2020
The World’s First 3D Printed Car Needs Your Help
You might recall the Urbee, the world’s first 3D printed car (or at least 3D printed body), unveiled in 2011. Now the folks behind the project are looking to build interest and funding to proceed to Urbee-2, a more advanced vehicle. The new vehicle will have not only a 3D printed body, but also… Continue reading The World’s First 3D Printed Car Needs Your Help
Cosmo’s Patina Kit
During 3D Printshow 2013 we spent some time with Cosmo Wenman, the fellow who has captured 3D scans of numerous famous sculptures over the past year. But it’s what he does with the scans afterwards that is so much more interesting. Wenman 3D prints the sculptures on his aging yet still reliable MakerBot Replicator… Continue reading Cosmo’s Patina Kit
Making Prints Stick: Some Tips
The folks at ProtoParadigm have produced a terrific list of tips on how to reduce or eliminate the deadly warping effect that plagues personal 3D printers. There’s nothing worse than discovering a time-consuming mess caused by a print that lifted off the bed. The warping itself isn’t such a problem; it’s that the warping… Continue reading Making Prints Stick: Some Tips
MakerBot’s Leap into Classrooms
At this year’s 3D Printshow, MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis expressed his unhappiness with the current US educational system, which has largely removed “making” courses from the curriculum. As a student, Pettis enjoyed “shop classes” where he no doubt picked up the making bug. But how can this happen today? MakerBot is attempting to change… Continue reading MakerBot’s Leap into Classrooms
Cubify’s New Handheld Scanner
Cubify announced the “Sense 3D Scanner” in a surprise announcement. The 3D printer manufacturer has thus far produced only 3D printers, making the Sense a completely new product line. It’s a handheld 3D scanner capable of rapidly capturing 3D shapes. We examined the specifications for the device and noted the following: The scan… Continue reading Cubify’s New Handheld Scanner
Shapeways Plus Swarovski Plus Victoria’s Secret Equals?
When Victoria’s Secret is putting on a fashion show, you know it’s going to be interesting, especially when they asked Shapeways to help produce a “Snow Queen” costume for the event. Shapeways asked designer Bradley Rothenberg to design the costume, which is “festooned with thousands of Swarovski crystals”. You’ll be able to see this… Continue reading Shapeways Plus Swarovski Plus Victoria’s Secret Equals?
The Masters & Munn Code
Earlier this week our design of the week featured Icarus Had a Sister, by Masters & Munn. While we’re certain you’ll agree the work is astonishing, we also must tell the incredible story of how it came to be, as revealed during a long conversation at the close of the 2013 3D Printshow. The… Continue reading The Masters & Munn Code
Let’sMakeStuff
Yet another 3D print making-sharing-selling site has launched, Let’sMakeStuff. The site provides an ability for designers to sign up and submit 3D models for sale on the site, and for consumers to browse the site and select 3D models for purchase. The service also will 3D print items on request. It’s a basic… Continue reading Let’sMakeStuff
The Fashion Show at 3D Printshow 2013
Unaccustomed to attending any fashion show, let alone a 3D printed show, we were surprised and perhaps even shocked to see startling works displayed on the runway by professional models. The works ranged from simple accessories, such as bangles or necklaces, to highly complex headdresses and apparel that defied description. We noted audience members… Continue reading The Fashion Show at 3D Printshow 2013
3D Printed Robotic Futures
Michael Overstreet has written his thoughts on the future of robotics as affected by 3D printing on i.Materialise. He believes that 3D printing should encourage rapid creation of new forms of robotics over the next few years. Clearly, the first and most obvious point is that robotic models and associated ideas are accessible via… Continue reading 3D Printed Robotic Futures
3D Scanning and Lighting
MakerBot recently issued some tips and instructions on how to best use their new Digitizer 3D scanner, with a focus on lighting. We’ve been fiddling with 3D scanners in the lab and have to agree: lighting is critical. Regardless of the scanner used, be it MakerBot’s, a cheap Kinect or a USD$50K scanner, lighting… Continue reading 3D Scanning and Lighting
Design of the Week: Icarus Had a Sister
This week’s selection is the stunning “Icarus Had a Sister” by artists Masters & Munn, a.k.a. André Masters and his partner, CJ Munn. It’s the obvious selection, as this piece helped the pair win the “Rising Star” award at last week’s Global 3D Print Awards at the 2013 3D Printshow. (Note the actual award trophy… Continue reading Design of the Week: Icarus Had a Sister
Thoughts On What Might Have Been The Best 3D Printing Conference In History
We’ve just finished this year’s London 3D Printshow, and while our feet still ache and our brains still explode, we must tell you about this astounding event. It’s only the second of this series; the first, in 2012, planned on 1,500 attendees. Four thousand showed up. This year, organizers noted the previous demand and… Continue reading Thoughts On What Might Have Been The Best 3D Printing Conference In History
Something Interesting is Inside the new Builder 3D Printer
At the 2013 3D Printshow we stopped by the Code-p west BV booth, who produce the Builder personal 3D printer. These folks produce a typical personal 3D printer, but as we talked with their spokesman, something very interesting was revealed. At first, their machine appears much like many other personal 3D printers: a cubic… Continue reading Something Interesting is Inside the new Builder 3D Printer
McDonald’s Considering 3D Printed Toys?
A report in The Register quotes the Director of IT for McDonald’s UK operation as stating at an event in Munich that the giant food mega-corp may be considering using 3D printers to produce small toys to be included in their popular (amongst youngsters) Happy Meals. We suspect the idea would be that customers… Continue reading McDonald’s Considering 3D Printed Toys?
The 2013 Global 3D Printing Awards
At this year’s 3D Printshow we witnessed the awards ceremony in which 14 awards were presented to leaders in the 3D printing community. Who were they? Read on to find out. Artist of the Year: Isaie Bloch, who produces amazing 3D printed art using geometric structures impossible to produce in any other way. … Continue reading The 2013 Global 3D Printing Awards
3D Printed Dinosaurs So Large They Could Eat You
If you manage to make your way to the rear of this year’s 3D Printshow in London, you’re in for a treat – and a shock. There, you will be face to face with not one, but several full-size 3D dinosaurs. They have many teeth. Big teeth. They are so gigantic they could not… Continue reading 3D Printed Dinosaurs So Large They Could Eat You
How to Print Everything on a Single Machine
Modern 3D printers are built for one thing: reproducing 3D designs in a printer’s native material. If you want your design in a different material, you’ll need to use a different printer; or at least that used to be the case. A new 3D printing technique, developed by researchers at the Chinese Academy of… Continue reading How to Print Everything on a Single Machine
Open Source Metal 3D Printing
We ran across an interesting project that’s attempting to create a system for 3D printing metal at very low cost. The idea is to do for metal manufacturing what was done for plastic manufacturing with current open source 3D printers. The project, by Andreas Bastian, is entitled “An Open Source Selective Laser Sintering 3D… Continue reading Open Source Metal 3D Printing
We Found a 3D Zinjanthropus!
There are a great many exhibits among the booths at this year’s 3D Printshow in London, but one caught our eye. In spite of perhaps the least adorned booth in the entire hall, African Fossils provides something we’ve been seeking for quite some time: 3D models of our ancient ancestors. We’ve searched high and… Continue reading We Found a 3D Zinjanthropus!
Skip the Draft; Cubify Gets You Into the NBA Now
Cubify announced another terrific addition to their “3DMe” service, which puts your face on different 3D printed figurines. The awkwardly named but legally correct “3DMe™ Sports featuring NBA® app!” accepts as input a couple of facial images and applies them to a selection of basketball figurine poses. The NBA part comes in when you… Continue reading Skip the Draft; Cubify Gets You Into the NBA Now
The Helix 3D Printer
Created by Acuity Design of Montana, the Helix is a higher-grade personal 3D printer focusing on professional markets, unlike the countless other low-cost 3D printers appearing on Kickstarter that hope to address consumer needs. While professional offices currently have commercial 3D printer options that range from USD$10-20K, that price, although lower than industrial 3D… Continue reading The Helix 3D Printer
Shapeways Reduces Ceramics Cost
3D print service Shapeways has reduced the cost of ceramic materials to “be more consistent with how we price the rest of our materials – by volume of material used instead of surface area.” It’s a methodology switch, really. Instead of charging by surface area (which we suspect they began with as the ceramic… Continue reading Shapeways Reduces Ceramics Cost
University of Pennsylvania’s Take on 3D Print Liability Law
Nora Freeman Engstrom, Associate Professor of Law at Stanford has published a paper in which she examines some aspects of the legal implications of 3D printing. Many of us have been concerned about what may happen, but she states the problem eloquently: Following any significant technological breakthrough, legal scholars, practitioners, and policymakers must consider… Continue reading University of Pennsylvania’s Take on 3D Print Liability Law
Want To Catch Up in London?
It seems we’re in the UK often lately – and the trend continues this week as we visit the 3D Printshow. While we’re in the UK capital it’s possible we may be able to check out some interesting 3D printing projects. If you happen to have something you’d like us to see, drop us… Continue reading Want To Catch Up in London?
Can You Say, “Five Color 3D Printer”?
In the beginning, personal 3D printers had but a single extruder, meaning you could print only one color at a time. Finally, after years of research, some manufacturers brought out machines with two extruders – and BFB had an amazing three extruders. Now there’s a proposal from ORD Solutions of Canada to produce not… Continue reading Can You Say, “Five Color 3D Printer”?
The $200 Ready-To-Rock 3D Printer
We’ve heard about the USD$100 3D printer – but it’s an experimental resin-based 3D printer. What if you’re interested in acquiring a low-cost plastic filament 3D printer? You might want to consider the QU-BD One Up, billed as a sub-USD$200 “production ready” personal 3D printer. This no-frills device is in fact a kit, but… Continue reading The $200 Ready-To-Rock 3D Printer
3D Printshow Nears
For those of you located in or near London, there’s an easy way to get introduced to the magic technology of 3D printing. Simply attend the 3D Printshow taking place from November 7th through the 9th. The event takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington. There will be exhibits, talks and much… Continue reading 3D Printshow Nears
Shapeways Teams with Neiman Marcus
Popular 3D print service Shapeways may become even more popular if a new relationship with Neiman Marcus plays out. They’ve teamed with the upscale US retailer to provide a small selection of very cool 3D printed items on Neiman Marcus Online. The idea is that a selection of elite Shapeways designers may have their… Continue reading Shapeways Teams with Neiman Marcus
Design of the Week: A Sweet Crania Anatomica Filigre
This week’s selection is Joshua Harker’s Crania Anatomica Filigre – but with a difference. Harker’s Crania Anatomica Filigre emerged quite a while ago in a rather successful Kickstarter campaign. But this instance of the Crania Anatomica Filigre is a little different: it’s made entirely from Sugar! It is the same design, but simply rendered… Continue reading Design of the Week: A Sweet Crania Anatomica Filigre
New Tease From BotObjects
Remember BotObjects? They’re the company that’s producing a “Full Color” personal 3D printer, the ProDesk3D. They have been releasing very little information about their upcoming device, leading to much speculation whether it’s real or not. Now, thanks to a video recently posted on their site, we know a little bit more about this very mysterious… Continue reading New Tease From BotObjects
Cube Wins Award
The entry-level Cube personal 3D printer from Cubify has been placed on the list of “Top 10 Gadgets” at the Gitex Technology Week, which is a major conference for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia regions. The award states: 3D printing is the biggest tech trend of the year (fact) and… Continue reading Cube Wins Award
Smithsonian To Display Transformative 3D Tech
The venerable Smithsonian Institution plans an event to display how the technologies of 3D scanning and 3D printing will transform how they do their work. The event, Smithsonian X 3D, takes place November 13-14 in Washington DC. They say: For the first time ever, state-of-the-art 3D scanning and image-based modeling technology paired with… Continue reading Smithsonian To Display Transformative 3D Tech
A Peek Inside Shapeways’ Eindhoven Workshop
Shapeways community manager Bart Veldhuizen offers a video tour of the 3D print service company’s Eindhoven site in The Netherlands. Veldhuizen walks through and explains each stage of the Shapeways process, including verification of incoming 3D models, printing, cleaning, finishing, quality control and packing. For some, Shapeways is like a black box,… Continue reading A Peek Inside Shapeways’ Eindhoven Workshop
Adorable 3D Printed Humanoid Robot
Researchers studying bipedalism and human-robot interaction at France’s INRIA have created an affordable 3D printed humanoid robot. Called Poppy, the 33 inch tall robot was designed, printed, and built for about US$11,000. This is around one third of the cost of comparable robots. Most of the budget is spent on complex servo motors.… Continue reading Adorable 3D Printed Humanoid Robot
3D Bioprinting Saved by Vitamins
Researchers developing techniques to 3D print extremely small objects for medical purposes have had a problem. To fuse material at the nano scale, a “two photon” technique is used. The material becomes solid when exposed to the targeted photons. However, bio material is not typically fusible, so researchers often print a scaffold on which… Continue reading 3D Bioprinting Saved by Vitamins
Capture 3D Images with your iPhone
There’s a fascinating new iOS app that can capture true 3D images: Seene. The app, available at no charge, requires you to take four still images of a subject from slightly different viewpoints. Typically you’d image from “four corners”, upper left, upper right, lower right and lower left. The app then digests the images… Continue reading Capture 3D Images with your iPhone
3D Printing Not Ready for Disaster Relief
An article on Motherboard suggests that 3D printers may soon be a key part of disaster relief efforts. The idea is that if you had a “replicator” onsite that could rapidly produce whatever items are required (which obviously vary considerably from disaster to disaster), you could reduce delays in gathering up and sending specific… Continue reading 3D Printing Not Ready for Disaster Relief
3D Printed Horseshoes Opens Up Human Possibilities
Researchers at Australia’s CSIRO have 3D printed metal horseshoes – but there’s a lot more to this story. The titanium shoes were produced for a particular horse: its hooves were 3D scanned in detail with a handheld scanner. The 3D capture was used to engineer new horseshoes that fit the horse perfectly. Four shoes… Continue reading 3D Printed Horseshoes Opens Up Human Possibilities
iMakr’s Scanning Booth at Selfridges
Independent 3D printer retail store iMakr has set up a temporary exhibition where you can have yourself 3D scanned and printed at a premier retail location: London’s venerable Selfridges on Oxford street. iMakr is also using the Oxford street location to offer 3D printed art pieces for sale to the public. While… Continue reading iMakr’s Scanning Booth at Selfridges
Ancient 3D Printer Converted Into a Laser Engraver
Some months ago we proposed a list of things you could do with your now-expired ancient personal 3D printers. We said you could upgrade them; use them for simple prints; donate them; toss them out; or make them into a museum piece. At the time we considered museuming as the best option for our… Continue reading Ancient 3D Printer Converted Into a Laser Engraver
3D Printing Fears Jump the Shark
With the deployment of personal 3D printers to thousands of private homes, it was inevitable that some people would focus on the bad instead of the good. Now those fears have truly jumped the shark, when police in Manchester, UK raided what they believed to be a “3D printed gun factory”. Unfortunately, their search… Continue reading 3D Printing Fears Jump the Shark
Cubify’s Software Pricing Breakthrough: Cubify Design
In a rather underplayed announcement, Cubify announced new software yesterday that deserves much more splash. Cubify Design could significantly change how people use their personal 3D printers. Cubify Design is a low-priced 3D modeling tool, but it’s quite different from other free or inexpensive modeling tools. The key feature is that Cubify Design can… Continue reading Cubify’s Software Pricing Breakthrough: Cubify Design
3D Printing a Living Object: Furniture
Designer Eric Klarenbeek has used 3D printing in a revolutionary way we’ve not seen before: printing a living piece of furniture. The Dutch designer 3D printed a chair (with an amazing design) from straw material (not seen before) and added living fungus (also not seen before). The “Mycelium Chair” includes a very thin… Continue reading 3D Printing a Living Object: Furniture
Stratasys Strategy in a Post-Patent World
Stratasys, one of the largest 3D printing companies in the world today, faces transition. While the company built itself upon the FDM (fused deposition modeling) process it invented years ago, the patent for that process has expired. With the expiration of the key patents, other organizations have replicated (no pun intended) the process and… Continue reading Stratasys Strategy in a Post-Patent World
Blokify: 3D Modeling for Kids
A new modeling option is about to launch: Blokify. It’s a tablet-based app that provides a very simplified interface suitable for kids to develop their own 3D models. In an interview with MAKE, creator Jenny Kortina explained the dilemma facing 3D printer owners who want to design their own objects: The huge gap… Continue reading Blokify: 3D Modeling for Kids
Design of the Week: Liquid Derby Car
This week’s selection is Thomas Davis’ Liquid Pinewood Derby Car. The ISDA (Industrial Design Society of America) and Inventables are sponsoring a Launch Day Challenge, where teams submit designs for 3D printed cars. And some of the designs are very far out, including our Design of the Week, the Liquid Pinewood Derby Car. … Continue reading Design of the Week: Liquid Derby Car
3D Scans Obtained By Drones
A new approach to capturing 3D scans of extremely large objects has been pioneered by senseFly, who produce the eBee drone series. They teamed with Drone Adventures, an organization dedicated to demonstrating the power of drones, to capture a detailed scan of the Matterhorn, Europe’s tallest mountain. A team scaled the mountain and… Continue reading 3D Scans Obtained By Drones
World Heritage Sites Digitally Captured
CyArk, a non-profit initiative, proposes to digitally capture 500 key culturally relevant heritage sites across the world. They are building a repository of 3D information to protect the sites against damage from the environment, terrorism, vandals and any other threats. Their process is to use state-of-the-art laser scanning equipment to capture the physical structure… Continue reading World Heritage Sites Digitally Captured
3D Printing Your House – Really!
There’s an Instructable from AMMONITEa that describes how you can actually 3D print your home. There’s just one catch: it’s only a miniature model. But it could be your home. The model includes a fantastic amount of detail as you can see in this closeup view. There are plenty more detailed images on the… Continue reading 3D Printing Your House – Really!
Canadian Government Investigating 3D Printed Weapons
The 3D printed weapons controversy continues. From the CBC we learn that the Canadian Government, or specifically several of its agencies (the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada) have sponsored a request for contractors to provide insight into 3D printing of firearms, ammunition and associated parts. Our view is that… Continue reading Canadian Government Investigating 3D Printed Weapons
Move over Michelangelo – 3D Printing with Marble
For millennia marble has been one of the most impressive materials for building and sculpture. However, marble quarrying wastes material and creates plumes of calcium carbonate dust. Unfortunately, this dust represents a major environmental and public health risk. In an effort to eliminate the negative effects of marble dust, engineers created MarbleEcoDesign. This company… Continue reading Move over Michelangelo – 3D Printing with Marble
Breaking: HP To Enter 3D Printer Market in 2014
According to a report on The Register, Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman has publicly stated that HP will enter the 3D printing market in 2014. Some intriguing quotes: We are excited about 3D printing. We want to lead this businesses. HP labs is looking at it. To print a bottle can take eight to… Continue reading Breaking: HP To Enter 3D Printer Market in 2014
How to Easily Create 3D Models from 2D Images: Embossify
A new service provides an incredibly simple way to convert any 2D JPG image into a printable 3D model. Embossify accepts a JPG and quickly converts the file into a 3D mesh by using the contrasting colors as “height indicators”. You can see how it converted our logo into a simple 3D model above. … Continue reading How to Easily Create 3D Models from 2D Images: Embossify
Breaking: Formlabs Raises $19M
Formlabs announced today they’ve raised USD$19M investment to help grow their company. Formlabs produces the Form 1, the first popular resin-based personal 3D printer, which raised an amazing USD$3M on its first Kickstarter campaign just a few months ago. The new funding, led by venture capital partner DFJ Growth, now enables Formlabs to embark… Continue reading Breaking: Formlabs Raises $19M
Nine Crazy Features That Should Be Built Into Every 3D Printer
Anyone who owns a personal 3D printer begins to think up features that would make their life easier. A few innovative startup companies actually have implemented some of them, but we’d love to see a personal 3D printer with all of these radically useful capabilities. Failure Detector. The worst is to discover, the next… Continue reading Nine Crazy Features That Should Be Built Into Every 3D Printer
Order Type A Machines’ Series 1 3D Printer Today
Type A Machines’ new Series 1 personal 3D printer is now available for pre-order. This spiffy aluminum and acrylic design houses some interesting internal features, such as the rather large build volume: one cubic foot, or 305 x 305 x 305mm. Big. Some of the Series 1’s features are not particularly visible, yet they… Continue reading Order Type A Machines’ Series 1 3D Printer Today
More Evidence of 3D Printing’s Greenness
After our green filament post earlier discussion of 3D printing greenness continued and resulted in a pointer to a document posted by the American Chemical Society that investigates the electricity consumed and CO2 emitted by different manufacturing materials. What exactly did they examine? The embodied energy and emissions from conventional large-scale production in low-labor… Continue reading More Evidence of 3D Printing’s Greenness
The 3D Prints and Models of Maker6
We’re looking at a new service for 3D printer owners and users, Maker6. The site operates primarily as a source of 3D models, prints and printers for anyone seeking a print. There are three ways to use Maker6: Purchase a 3D print by selecting a design. It will be printed and sent to you… Continue reading The 3D Prints and Models of Maker6
Laser Slicing Technique Scans Microscopic Objects
A new process for scanning microscopic objects has been developed at Penn State. The process involves a nanosecond-pulse laser that slices microscopic objects. You can see the results above in a 3D model obtained from a maize root. This is a destructive process, as the scanned object is placed on a moving platform,… Continue reading Laser Slicing Technique Scans Microscopic Objects
MakerBot’s Retail Expansion
MakerBot opened the first dedicated retail 3D printer store on New York City’s Mulberry street some years ago. While MakerBot continued retail operations by partnering with others, the lone MakerBot store stood alone at the tip of Manhattan Island. Until now. MakerBot has announced they will open not one, but two additional MakerBot… Continue reading MakerBot’s Retail Expansion
Peachy Printer Campaign Ends – But Not Really
The world’s first USD$100 3D printer’s launch campaign has closed, with the Peachy Printer project raising over USD$650,000 on their Kickstarter page. This amount may be somewhat less than other notable crowdfunding launches, such as Formlab’s, which raised USD$3M, but there’s a difference: the Peachy Printer costs only USD$100, while previous printers were much… Continue reading Peachy Printer Campaign Ends – But Not Really
VoxelJet Begins Trading
Commercial 3D printer manufacturer VoxelJet began trading shares on public markets this past week and the results are, well, pretty spectacular. VoxelJet produces large-scale commercial 3D printers for industrial use. We believe they produce the largest commercial 3D printer available today, the massive VX4000 (see above image), capable of 3D printing objects as large… Continue reading VoxelJet Begins Trading
Design of the Week: Orihon
This week’s selection is Manchester, UK, born, but Chicago-based artist Tom Burtonwood’s Orihon, a 3D printed accordion book. The piece is interesting because it involves texture, something not normally found in books. Each “page” of the book contains a different texture based on real-life scans taken with the 123D Catch application. It’s a 3D… Continue reading Design of the Week: Orihon
ESA’s Launch into Metal 3D Printing
The European Space Agency has launched an initiative to develop complex metal 3D printing techniques for space missions. The Amaze initiative (standing for “Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products”, somehow) brings together 28 different organizations that have a stake in the process, either by research (Universities) or industry… Continue reading ESA’s Launch into Metal 3D Printing
Thoughts on Stratasys Growth
We’re reading an interesting article on Investors.com that talks about the investment potential of 3D printing industry giant Stratasys. The author, Marie Beerens, seems keen on Stratasys because she sees their recent additions of Objet and MakerBot as “adding complementary systems to its portfolio” and “give Stratasys an even stronger foothold in the 3D… Continue reading Thoughts on Stratasys Growth
MadeSolid’s Colored 3D Printer Resins
If you happen to have a Form 1 resin-based 3D printer, you’ll likely to have purchased resin from Formlabs, its manufacturer. Formlabs provides resin tuned specifically for their machine, but as of now it comes in only two colors: grey and clear. That’s changing because MadeSolid has launched a new series of resins that… Continue reading MadeSolid’s Colored 3D Printer Resins
A Peachy 3D Printer Update
The makers of the revolutionary USD$100 resin-based Peachy 3D printer, which has raised a launch amount exceeding USD$600K, have issued a video update of their project’s progress. In the video, co-founder James Cooper explains some of the difficulties controlling the laser that they’ve recently overcome. It appears that their team is working through a… Continue reading A Peachy 3D Printer Update
3D Printed Robotic Arm
Over the last week the London Science Museum has been showcasing 600 objects created by 3D printers. While every piece in the show highlights the strength of the technology, one object, a transparent robotic prosthetic, is unique in that it offers a forecast of where 3D printing is headed. Created by researchers at the… Continue reading 3D Printed Robotic Arm