This week’s selection is Flux by artist Daniel Hilldrup. This fascinating piece is obviously quite simple in its exterior structure, but it’s interior is far more complex. Functionally, it’s a simple capacity-three candelabra formed from a square box. However, the interior structure is almost in motion as it seems to exude from the inserted… Continue reading Design of the Week: Flux
All
3D Systems Announces Quarterly Results
As one of the two mega-3D publicly-held printing companies in existence today, 3D Systems is obligated to formally report on their finances periodically. We like view them as a kind of bellwether on the state of the 3D printing industry. So how did they do this quarter? Apparently very well. Their revenue increased a… Continue reading 3D Systems Announces Quarterly Results
TeamPlatform’s API Released
You might recall TeamPlatform, the new service that enables secure sharing of 3D models? They’ve released a software API that enables much wider use of their service. But first let’s back up a bit: TeamPlatform is a web service specifically designed around handling 3D model development. You can create a secure, private “workspace” in… Continue reading TeamPlatform’s API Released
Another Extreme Personalization Experiment
We’ve just been pointed at the JB Figurines Kickstarter project. This is an artistic experiment involving 3D printing and extreme personalization. The project intends to create a totally unique 3D “superhero” printed figurine for each backer. Each figurine customer will have a designer create a 3D model that will be printed only once on… Continue reading Another Extreme Personalization Experiment
3D Systems Receives U.S. Air Force Rapid Innovation Fund Award
3D Systems Corporation announced that its Paramount advanced manufacturing team has received a $2.95M award to transition specially engineered materials and the company’s Selective Laser Sintering technology to the production of various components in the F-35 and other weapons systems to improve affordability and sustainability. The two-year project will reduce cost within the manufacturing process… Continue reading 3D Systems Receives U.S. Air Force Rapid Innovation Fund Award
Found in the 3D Printing Mailbox
As a popular and rapidly growing 3D printing blog, Fabbaloo receives a lot of email. We receive a great many tips, suggestions, questions, press releases and offers for guest posts. We also receive the usual gamut of “SEO expert advice”, “mutual links” and similarly suspicious business offers. Lately we’re seeing a new class of… Continue reading Found in the 3D Printing Mailbox
3D Printing Makes a Soldier Walk Again
One of the several tragedies of global conflict is those permanently maimed by explosions and weapons fire. One UK soldier, shot “above and through the knee”, has been unable to recover despite several reconstructive surgeries. But now there’s new hope through the use of advanced 3D scanning, 3D printing and new surgical techniques. … Continue reading 3D Printing Makes a Soldier Walk Again
Sandy Impacts 3D Printing
Massive hurricane Sandy slammed into the east coast of the USA this week and caused a tremendous amount of damage, but how did 3D printing fare during the event? Aside from the numerous individual “we can’t make it to work” scenarios, there has been only limited affects. We’ve seen no announcements from 3D Systems, whose… Continue reading Sandy Impacts 3D Printing
3D Print Your Own iPhone Stand (Instructions Included!)
A great many of us own iPhones and some might want a stand for it. But being 3D print people, we’d obviously want to print our own. But how, exactly, does one go about designing an iPhone stand? The answer can be found in a new Instructables by Damon Ahola, an MFA student at… Continue reading 3D Print Your Own iPhone Stand (Instructions Included!)
Shapeways to Open NY Factory
Popular consumer-focused 3D print service is expanding! In New York, specifically Long Island, they’re spending USD$28M to set up a 25,000sf, 50-person facility that Shapeways calls, “The Factory of The Future”. The facility is expected to hold some 30-50 advanced 3D printers as well as providing a physical space for maker community innovation. The… Continue reading Shapeways to Open NY Factory
Form 1 Spotted!
The folks at Engadget spotted the elusive Form 1 resin-based personal 3D printer in the wild at London’s 3D Printshow and managed to capture a short video of it in action. In the video you can see the machine’s laser fusing each layer of an exquisite 3D print, slowly emerging from the photo-curable resin.… Continue reading Form 1 Spotted!
There’s Only One One Just One
Some say that 3D printing is not useful for manufacturing due to the per unit cost of printing versus traditional mass manufacturing. That’s true, and so 3D printing is often used for prototypes and low-quantity production. Or even one-off personalized items. But now a venture attempts to push that concept to the limit. One… Continue reading There’s Only One One Just One
Design of the Week: Würfel in Würfel 2
This week’s selection is Thingiverse user Achim Esslinger’s beautiful “Würfel in Würfel 2”. The title in English means “Cube in Cubes”, which it clearly is. It’s a two-part item that you could easily print on most personal 3D printers. When assembled it should clearly demonstrate your ability to produce amazing objects right in your… Continue reading Design of the Week: Würfel in Würfel 2
PandaBot Succeeds – and Fails
We wondered what might happen to the Toronto-based project attempting to produce a user-friendly personal 3D printer. Their Kickstarter campaign languished and didn’t seem to have the momentum to make to their target, and it seems they didn’t. Their campaign was abruptly closed with a total slightly south of USD$40K. That’s the bad news.… Continue reading PandaBot Succeeds – and Fails
Microscopic Metal 3D Printing
Scientists have invented a way to form 3D metallic objects at nanoscale. While it’s not 3D printing, per se, it is quite interesting. The approach was to mimic traditional methods of forming metal: bending, shearing, etc. They’ve found a way to deform portions of a microscopic metal object in a controlled manner. Using… Continue reading Microscopic Metal 3D Printing
3D4D Challenge Claimed By WOOF
The 3D4D challenge winner was announced and it’s the University of Washington Open Object Fabricators, a.k.a. “WOOF”. They received the prize of USD$100,000 during the recent 3D Printshow in London. Their winning entry was a method to “enable waste plastic to be used as filament for 3D printing machines, to create new products”, and… Continue reading 3D4D Challenge Claimed By WOOF
Millions To Form 1
We’ve all heard about the success of Formlab’s incredible fundraising success on the launch of their new Form 1 resin-based 3D printer, but how well did they do? Their Kickstarter campaign has officially closed today and the results are beyond startling: They’ve raised exactly USD$2,945,885 They’ve received orders for 1,028 Form 1 machines by… Continue reading Millions To Form 1
UK to Invest an Additional £7 million in A.M.
On the heels of a story we reported last week, the Technology Strategy Board, an advisory group to the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, has announced it will invest £7 million to help spur innovation in additive manufacturing. MP David Willet’s had this to say about the program, “3D printing technologies offer… Continue reading UK to Invest an Additional £7 million in A.M.
Preventing 3D Printed Piracy… Or What?
A patent has been awarded to The Invention Science Fund, an organization holding patents for former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures company. What does this patent do? It’s a method to implement copy-protection on your 3D printer! Wait a moment – Does this mean we will be unable to print some of… Continue reading Preventing 3D Printed Piracy… Or What?
MediaGoblin Shares 3D Models
MediaGoblin, the open source project that enables easy sharing of media, has added the ability to share 3D models. Not familiar with MediaGoblin? Here’s their own explanation: MediaGoblin is a free software media publishing platform that anyone can run. You can think of it as a decentralized alternative to Flickr, YouTube, SoundCloud,… Continue reading MediaGoblin Shares 3D Models
One Way to Reduce 3D Print Warping
One of the persistent issues with many personal 3D printers has been the tendency of ABS plastic to warp. ABS shrinks as it cools, and this all too often means your ABS prints (and sometimes even your allegedly warp-resistant PLA prints) start curling up at the bottom corners while printing, resulting in a distorted model.… Continue reading One Way to Reduce 3D Print Warping
BFB’s AXON 3’s Colorful Speed
Bits From Bytes has suddenly released AXON 3, a new version of the software they use to slice models for their line of personal 3D printers, including the RapMan, BFB 3000 and 3D Touch. The new version has two incredible new features: multi-material capability and one more we’ll save for a moment. The… Continue reading BFB’s AXON 3’s Colorful Speed
It’s Magnificently Big!
California artist Cosmo Wenman has created something pretty amazing with his MakerBot Replicator: a replica of a horse head sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens. The first very noticeable aspect of this work is the startlingly realistic bronze patina applied after printing. The second is the size of the work, as you can see… Continue reading It’s Magnificently Big!
MakerBot Expands Retail Presence in Europe
Shortly after opening its own dedicated retail shop in New York, MakerBot announced it’s pursuing retail arrangements in France. They’ve partnered with le FabShop to resell all current MakerBot products, including their most recent device, the Replicator 2. Le FabShop, a French makerspace based in Brittany, does not have a physical retail store, but… Continue reading MakerBot Expands Retail Presence in Europe
Will PandaBot Make It?
We’re watching the PandaBot 3D printer fundraising campaign closely and we’re wondering if the project will reach its goal of USD$50,000. Currently they’re running over USD$10,000 short with over a week to go. If you read through the comments on their Kickstarter page, you’ll encounter some controversy surrounding the print quality and ability of… Continue reading Will PandaBot Make It?
Design of the Week: Rollercoaster
This week’s selection is famed 3D print designer Janne Kyttänen’s 2006 piece, “Rollercoaster”. It’s a stunningly beautiful fruit tray – which evidently holds up to nine oranges. We like not only its visual attractiveness, but its simplicity and utility. You can indeed store oranges or perhaps other lesser fruit on said tray. However,… Continue reading Design of the Week: Rollercoaster
A Swiss 3D Printer Seller
We just noticed a business selling 3D printers in Switzerland. Zurich-based 3D-Model (German: 3D Drucker kaufen) appears to resell a variety of 3D Systems gear, including not only the large commercial units such as the Projet, but also 3D Systems’ personal 3D printer line, Bits From Bytes. The company also offers 3D print services,… Continue reading A Swiss 3D Printer Seller
MCOR Rolls Out the Matrix 300+
MCOR announced their new Matrix 300+ paper-based 3D printer. This device is similar to the 300, but offers improved performance in how the models are constructed. They’ve included a new feature called “Selectable Layer Thickness”, in which you could print in either “Draft” or “Presentation”. We suspect what might be happening here is that… Continue reading MCOR Rolls Out the Matrix 300+
High Detailed Stainless Steel Prints at i.Materialise
3D print service i.Materialise now offers “high detailed stainless steel” materials for prints. As you can see in the sample print above, there is indeed a lot of detail visible. i.Materialise says that the new material is “between silver and titanium”. In other words, it’s shiny but still strong. The detail is such… Continue reading High Detailed Stainless Steel Prints at i.Materialise
TCT Live – What You Missed and Why You Need to Attend
If you are looking for big ballrooms filled with paid conference attendees or a boondoggle to a resort destination, TCT Live (Birmingham, England) is not for you. This event is for both novice and experienced users that are in search of answers to the questions of what is available and what is possible. It is… Continue reading TCT Live – What You Missed and Why You Need to Attend
Rapidform Joins 3D Systems
In yet another acquisition, 3D Systems has acquired 3D software maker Rapidform. Rapidform is well known in the 3D industry and provides reverse-engineering software. That means their software accepts a 3D scan and then transforms it into a usable, parametric CAD model. In practice it isn’t totally magic and produce the CAD model at… Continue reading Rapidform Joins 3D Systems
Free For You: A 3D Photo Booth
Computer engineer Jeremy Herrman has developed an amazing software configuration that dramatically simplifies the process of scanning humans. Or anything, really. It’s the software you need to set up a kind of 3D Photo Booth, called ScanBooth. Readers who have attempted scans of people with open source gear will know very well the issues… Continue reading Free For You: A 3D Photo Booth
There is a Reason For Individuals To Have A 3D Printer In Their Home
Jon Evans’ piece on TechCrunch entitled, “There Is No Reason For Any Individual To Have A 3D Printer In Their Home” explains just that. He believes the future of 3D printing (at least in the short term) lies in centralized services rather than personal devices. Other than “passionate artists/hobbyists and home manufacturing businesses” you… Continue reading There is a Reason For Individuals To Have A 3D Printer In Their Home
3D Printing Event Next Week
Don’t forget to attend the 3D Printing Event in Eindhoven, Netherlands next week if you happen to be nearby. The event now includes over 30 speakers, including representatives from a wide variety of 3D print-related companies, including: Ultimaker, GrabCAD, Shapeways, Makielab, Protospace, DUS Architects, University Medical Center Utrecht, Loughborough Design School, Stone Spray, Faberdashery and… Continue reading 3D Printing Event Next Week
Oh, The Hype, The Hype!
It’s beginning to hurt. We’re seeing a minor explosion of wildly excited posts about 3D printing on a wide variety of blogs that attempt to shock and amaze. But they’re mostly just hype. Consider these recent headlines: This Incredible 3D Printer Can Produce Entire Rooms Automation poses dilemma in labour market 3D… Continue reading Oh, The Hype, The Hype!
EuroMold Set For November
The definitive conference for 3D printing seems to be Euromold, a large manufacturing conference held in Frankfurt, Germany each November. It’s called the “World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development”. Yes, it’s the big one. Euromold has existed for years providing information on manufacturing, but within the over 1000 exhibitors are… Continue reading EuroMold Set For November
PandaBot is on Kickstarter
Toronto-based Panda Robotics has finally launched their first personal 3D printer, the PandaBot, on Kickstarter. They’re raising funds for their first big production run, a modest USD$50,000. In their video, Panda Robotics’ Design Engineer Liav Koren explains their goal is to produce a unit suitable for anyone to have on their desk. This means… Continue reading PandaBot is on Kickstarter
Design of the Week: Humming
This week’s selection is Eric van Straaten’s “Humming” Statuette. With the simple description, “Girl holding a hummingbird”, van Straaten’s statuette clearly demonstrates the power of color 3D printing. Polychemy says: Eric van Straaten is a Hyper Surreal artist and a noteable 3D Print artist and sculptor. His work has been featured in… Continue reading Design of the Week: Humming
Popular Mechanics Likes The Cube
3D Systems’ new personal 3D printer, The Cube, has been awarded the 2012 Breakthrough Award by Popular Mechanics magazine. This annual award is presented to a selection of innovators and inventions that the magazine believes have advanced society in some important way. The Cube was not the only winner; other awardees included: SpaceX’s… Continue reading Popular Mechanics Likes The Cube
Gigantic Titanium Printing: Aeroswift
A brief press release from CSIR, South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research announced a three-way partnership to develop “titanium powder-based additive layer manufacturing for fabrication of large and complex aerospace components.” The other partners in this venture are Aerosud, a South African-based aerospace manufacturer and the more well-known Airbus. CSIR provides… Continue reading Gigantic Titanium Printing: Aeroswift
The Craziness of 3D Printing Stocks
As we’re now in the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” of 3D printing, according to Gartner, the stock market is taking a very close look at publicly available stocks for 3D printing companies. Needless to say, the prices of the two publicly traded 3D printing companies, 3D Systems and Stratasys, have been exhibiting some unusual… Continue reading The Craziness of 3D Printing Stocks
Rocket Moonlighting Used DMLS to Build Homemade Rockets
Anyone even a little bit interested in rocketry, space travel or just cool engineering should head over to Rocket Moonlighting for a peek into one of the most interesting DIY projects I’ve seen in a while… building homemade rockets! Read More at Engineering.com
3D Printed Optics
We were contacted by Karl D. D. WIllis of the Disney Research Institute, who wished to show us the work they’ve been doing on 3D printing optical mechanisms. This past June we speculated on the importance of clear materials, but we had no idea how far along researchers have taken the concept. The… Continue reading 3D Printed Optics
The B9Creator Creator Speaks
Core77 published a detailed interview with Michael Joyce (of Deadwood, South Dakota), the creator of the B9Creator. The B9Creator was a hugely successful Kickstarter project to fund the development of a resin-based personal 3D printer. How successful? Over USD$500,000 was raised, enabling Joyce to get production going. We encourage you to read the… Continue reading The B9Creator Creator Speaks
Fabbster’s Flexy Experiment
We’ve just viewed an interesting video of what appears to be a 3D print of a very flexible material, evidently performed on a Fabbster. You’ll recall Fabbster; the personal 3D printer that accepts pre-made plastic “sticks” of different materials and colors. Apparently they’ve somehow made sticks out of a flexible plastic material and printed out… Continue reading Fabbster’s Flexy Experiment
Now Real: Printing Your Own Replacement Parts
Eventually it had to come to this: a company providing 3D models of their spare parts so that you could print your own copies. Traditionally one would have mail-ordered for the spare parts or had to find a local reseller that carried the inevitably over-priced replacement knob. But now that’s changing due to 3D… Continue reading Now Real: Printing Your Own Replacement Parts
Bre’s Not A Bad Guy
One has to sympathize with Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. While he’s had huge successes in the past few years, most recently by announcing the professional-targeted Replicator 2, he’s also caught some flack from the open source community. As we explained the other week, some members of the open source community are upset because… Continue reading Bre’s Not A Bad Guy
MOST Needs Your Help
The Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Research Group is investigating the mechanical properties of parts produced with RepRap-style 3D printers and they need samples to put through extensive testing. They require a very large number of samples of “tensile bars” to undergo testing. They say: We are currently asking for companies/individuals with 3D… Continue reading MOST Needs Your Help
More 3D Gun Printing Controversy
This topic just won’t go away. Last week 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys revoked the 3D printer lease of Defense Distributed, a team intent on producing an open source, 3D-printable gun design – using a Stratasys 3D printer. No doubt Stratasys was concerned they might be sued by someone in the future or the subject… Continue reading More 3D Gun Printing Controversy
The Ultra-Bot 3D Printer
The Ultra-Bot is yet another Kickstarter project producing a unique 3D printer. This one is already successful, raising over 5x its goal of USD$7,500. Project creator William Steele of Indiana did indeed do something very unique on this project. No, he didn’t invent or incorporate a new technology. No, he didn’t make something incredibly… Continue reading The Ultra-Bot 3D Printer
Design Of The Week: Sunken Coffee Mug
This delightful and shocking design by German Thingiverse user FMMT666 has been selected as this week’s Design of the Week. What is it? Simply a coffee mug, but with a surprising difference: the lower portion is sliced off, making it appear to be embedded in the table. You’d visually expect it to either be… Continue reading Design Of The Week: Sunken Coffee Mug
3D Systems Gets A TIM
3D Systems has acquired another regional 3D print service bureau: The Innovative Modelmakers BV, a Dutch company. According to 3D System’s press release, TIM is a “leading full service provider of on-demand custom parts services”. They plan on integrating TIM’s business into the 3D Systems’ already operating On Demand parts service, specifically 3D Systems… Continue reading 3D Systems Gets A TIM
The 2013 Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge
Each year Stratasys sponsors an excellent competition between students to determine the most interesting and useful 3D printable designs. This year they’re launching the 2013 edition of the Extreme Redesign Challenge. The rules are very similar to previous years: submitted designs compete for scholarships and an opportunity to print out their design. Nine winners… Continue reading The 2013 Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge
3D Print Your Dream House?
The folks at RepRapCentral have produced a short video demonstrating what could become an interesting application of 3D printing tech: producing tactile 3D models of your dream house. While the video appears to be a concept print, the idea is to address the uncertainty home buyers face when evaluating possible home designs. At the… Continue reading 3D Print Your Dream House?
A New Program Creates Stronger Prototypes
Most of us have come across this problem before: We create a model and send it out for a print, and when it returns it isn’t as structurally sound as it should be. Over at Laboratory Equipment there is a great article about a new program that can detect a model’s deficiencies and create structural… Continue reading A New Program Creates Stronger Prototypes
Smithsonian Partners with 3D Systems
In an interesting move the venerable Smithsonian Institution has partnered with 3D Systems to provide “3D printing services and technology”. 3D Systems President and CEO Abe Reichental said: The Smithsonian has shown both foresight and technological leadership in embracing the potential of 3D printing to preserve and showcase today’s and tomorrow’s collections, making them readily… Continue reading Smithsonian Partners with 3D Systems
Cubify’s Bugdroids
3D Systems’ Cubify service announced yet another 3D model creation service: Bugdroids! The new service joins several existing services that enable anyone to create fun 3D models directly from your browser. Like their previously released Robot Nation app, Bugdroids permits tons of droid customization, including various structural adornments as well as colored stamps. … Continue reading Cubify’s Bugdroids
Up! Sharpens Its Output
3D printer manufacturer PP3DP improved the resolution on both its Up! Plus and Up! Mini personal 3D printers. The Up! Plus previously was capable of printing as fine as 200 microns (0.20mm), but with this upgrade it will be improved to 150 microns (0.15mm). Similarly, the Up! Mini 3D printer will be improved from… Continue reading Up! Sharpens Its Output
The Trouble With 3D Printers
You’re so intensely interested in 3D printing that you bought yourself a 3D printer. Great! You can design and print objects right in your own home. But then what? The problem then starts. The problem of renewal. Yes, your 3D printer still produces objects for you on demand, but you’re now suddenly aware… Continue reading The Trouble With 3D Printers
Transmuting PLA Into Metal
You can’t transmute lead into gold, but these days it is apparently possible to change a part, 3D printed in PLA plastic, into a metal part. The method used by maker Jeshua Lacock of 3DTOPO, emulated the eternal lost-wax casting method. He printed parts in PLA on his Ultimaker 3D printer and then surrounded… Continue reading Transmuting PLA Into Metal
De-Extincting a Mollusk
3D printing is an amazing process, not only to simply watch a print appear from thin air, but also for the things it makes possible. We’re reading how a species of mollusk, the multiplacophoran Protobalanus spinicoronatus, extinct for 390 million years has been re-created using 3D printing. Researchers at the Jackson School of Geosciences… Continue reading De-Extincting a Mollusk
Nick Ervnick’s Sculptures
Belgian sculptor Nick Ervnick has been working with Materialise to print several of his works for exhibition. One of his sculptures is featured in Tongeren, Belgium’s town centre, right in front of the Gallo-Romeins Museum, “one of the most important archaeological museums in Europe”. That’s not all. Ervnick’s works are being shown in… Continue reading Nick Ervnick’s Sculptures
Design of the Week: Antique Scandinavian Stoves
This week’s selection is a set of Antique Scandinavian Stoves by New York-based Thingiverse user PrettySmallThings, also known as Kacie Hultgren. Hultgren’s design represents a class of 3D print we’ve been seeing more frequently lately: miniature furniture. She says: I’m a scenic designer in the theatre industry, using my makerbot to make amazing… Continue reading Design of the Week: Antique Scandinavian Stoves
BFB’s AXON Updated
For readers using BitsFromBytes personal 3D printing equipment (that means a RapMan, BFB 3000 or 3D Touch), there’s a present for you to download: a new version of AXON. AXON is the software used by BFB devices to prep the files for printing on BFB’s line of 3D printers. It accepts STL and converts… Continue reading BFB’s AXON Updated
Canadian Plastic
The pattern seems to be regionalization. Plastic filament supply shops specifically focused on 3D printing are emerging in many countries supplying primarily their local markets. We’ve seen shops open up in the US, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands and other places. Now there’s one in Canada, based in Montreal: Voxel Factory offers an extensive list of… Continue reading Canadian Plastic
Wooden Filament? Yes!
We’re not kidding. It really is filament made of wood – and you can print actual wooden objects with it. Developed by Thingiverse user Kaipa, the “LAYWOO-D” filament is a hybrid mix of recycled wood particles and secret binders. You may use this material in RepRap-style 3D printers at a temperature of between 185-200C,… Continue reading Wooden Filament? Yes!
Knocking off a few Gas Stations…
I’m guilty of conceiving elaborate plans and trying to make them perfect from the start. Seeing this, my father once said to me, “Son, you have to knock off a few gas stations on the way to the perfect crime.” What he tried to instill in me is that you have to be moving forward,… Continue reading Knocking off a few Gas Stations…
An Interview with the Ceramics Master
We managed to obtain an exclusive interview with one of the world’s leading print researchers, Professor Stephen Hoskins. Professor Hoskins’ group has recently been investigating the potential of 3D printing. Fabbaloo: You’re the Hewlett Packard Professor of Fine Print and Director of the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of… Continue reading An Interview with the Ceramics Master
Startling Form 1 Update
We discussed the sudden announcement of Formlabs’ amazing Form 1 resin-based 3D printer yesterday, but we need to talk about it some more. Something amazing is happening. The Formlabs is raising funds for device production on Kickstarter and set a goal of USD$100,000 within 30 days of launch. How close are they to meeting… Continue reading Startling Form 1 Update
A West-Coast 3D Printer Store
Two 3D printer stores, one on the east coast (MakerBot in Brooklyn, NY) and now another one to tell you about on the west cost: Deezmaker in Pasadena, CA. Deezmaker is the fruit of maker Diego Porqueras, who is also behind the Bukobot Kickstarter project. The intention is to sell not only the Bukobot,… Continue reading A West-Coast 3D Printer Store
The Incredible Form 1 3D Printer
You heard the rumors, as did we. Formlabs has been working on a top secret “revolutionary” personal 3D printer and today it’s unveiled for your consideration. We consider the new Form 1 3D printer to be a very important step in the development of personal 3D printing, and something you’ll want to check out. … Continue reading The Incredible Form 1 3D Printer
The Massive Kamermaker 3D Printer
Unveiled this month, the Kamermaker 3D printer must be one of the largest RepRap-technology based devices yet. How big is it? Let’s just say that the exterior case was originally a standard 20 ft metal container! How big is its build envelope? Well, normally we quote build envelopes in millimeters, but this goes well… Continue reading The Massive Kamermaker 3D Printer
MakerBot’s Bumpy Transition
Perhaps the biggest controversy in the history of 3D printing erupted this past week when an excited MakerBot community took a deeper look at the company’s new personal 3D printer, the Replicator 2. What did they find so upsetting? It seems that they’ve noticed en masse that MakerBot is changing much about how it… Continue reading MakerBot’s Bumpy Transition
3D Printing Shows Up in 2035
At least that’s the indication from a work commissioned by the US Air Force. The “Welcome to 2035… The Age of Surprise” video attempts to show some of the technologies that will be key in the year 2035. If we look at the frame captured at left, you’ll see “3D Printing” shown prominently among other… Continue reading 3D Printing Shows Up in 2035
Design of the Week: Mobius Sake Cup
This week’s selected design is Ovidiu Opresco’s Mobius Sake Cup. How simple is a Sake cup? What could transform such a straightforward object into the unusual? Ovidiu Opresco’s idea was to blend the concept of a an endless Mobius strip with the cup to create a very unusual piece. The cup is functional… Continue reading Design of the Week: Mobius Sake Cup
Sculpteo’s iPhone Case Maker
3D print service Sculpteo adds to the ever-increasing set of 3D model-generating apps by creating a custom iPhone design service. It’s similar to most other apps: a basic model is display and limited customization capability is provided. Sculpteo first requires you to download their 3DPcase iPhone app. Within the app you’re presented with several… Continue reading Sculpteo’s iPhone Case Maker
123D Catch In Your Pocket
Autodesk has released an iOS version of its staggeringly easy-to-use 3D model generator, 123D Catch. The tool isn’t a 3D scanner, exactly, but the results are similar. You collect a series of images of a 3D subject from many angles, then submit them to 123D Catch for processing. Autodesk’s magic algorithms in the sky… Continue reading 123D Catch In Your Pocket
Lunar 3D Printing
NASA’s goal is to develop revolutionary technologies to assist in space exploration and they often start the process with funded studies of promising ideas. If these work out, they are developed further, ultimately becoming a reality if they are feasible and beneficial. One very interesting study in their “Early Stage Innovation” program is entitled,… Continue reading Lunar 3D Printing
Printing Vascular Structures
While rapid prototyping of mechanical parts is still the mainstay of 3D printing, recent adoption of the technology by biomedical researchers has sparked interest in how additive manufacturing might be used in the future. Doug Hendrie at Gizmag recently profiled a new advancement that couples 3D printing with tissue engineering. Read More at… Continue reading Printing Vascular Structures
Analysis: MakerBot’s Monster Announcements
Yesterday a series of startling announcements erupted from MakerBot’s Brooklyn NY headquarters, changing the flavor of MakerBot forever. MakerBot announced two new personal 3D printers, the Replicator 2 and Replicator 2X, as well as new software, a service program and a retail operation. The announcements appeared to us to take a huge step in… Continue reading Analysis: MakerBot’s Monster Announcements
New Software From MakerBot: MakerWare
Along with yesterday’s blockbuster announcement of MakerBot’s Replicator 2, MakerBot also announced, MakerWare, new software to supersede the long-used ReplicatorG, at least on the Replicator line. MakerWare performs the usual 3D printer management tasks: loading and orienting a model onto the print bed; resizing models; slicing the model into GCODE; sending GCODE to the… Continue reading New Software From MakerBot: MakerWare
MakerBot’s 4th Gen 3D Printer: The Replicator 2
We waited nine months and guess what happens? It’s another new 3D printer from MakerBot, their most awesome device yet: the Replicator 2. Visually, the Rep2 appears structurally similar to its predecessor, the un-numbered Replicator. But there’s a major difference: The Rep2 is made from “Industrial strength powder coated steel” painted a sleek black.… Continue reading MakerBot’s 4th Gen 3D Printer: The Replicator 2
Diving Deep into Art with 3D Technology
A detailed interview with Liz Neely, Director of Digital Information & Access at the Art Institute of Chicago by Fresh & New reveals some very interesting approaches to art now enabled by inexpensive 3D scanning and 3D printing technology. Among the new approaches being investigated by Neely’s team are: Detailed 3D scanning of… Continue reading Diving Deep into Art with 3D Technology
The Economist Speculates on 3D Piracy
The venerable magazine The Economist has a long piece speculating on the potential for 3D printed piracy. That is to say, the digital capture of items with a 3D scanner and subsequent reproduction with 3D printers. They say: But while the pirates’ labour rates and material costs may be far lower, the tools… Continue reading The Economist Speculates on 3D Piracy
Formlabs’ Secret Project To Be Revealed
Readers may recall a post from last year in which we introduced the mysterious Formlabs, a startup by three folks from the famous MIT Media Lab, who evidently were working on “something”. Something interesting to the 3D printing space, apparently. Now we see their website has suddenly livened up a bit with the words: … Continue reading Formlabs’ Secret Project To Be Revealed
ExOne’s M-FLEX 3D Printing System
ExOne announced a new metal 3D printer, the M-FLEX 3D Printing System. This device is capable of printing metal parts within a rather large build chamber of 400mm x 250mm x 250mm (15.75 x 9.8 x 9.8 inches). The M-FLEX prints in metal, but it appears it will be able to do a lot… Continue reading ExOne’s M-FLEX 3D Printing System
The HYREL 3D Printer
Another KickStarter project is launching an inexpensive 3D printer. It’s the HYREL 3D Printer by Daniel Hutchison of Alpharetta, Georgia. There are so many similar crowd funded 3D printing projects up at the moment it’s becoming difficult to distinguish between them. So what’s different about the HYREL? It’s fully assembled, calibrated and tested,… Continue reading The HYREL 3D Printer
Is ABS Killing You?
There are two plastics most commonly used in home 3D plastic extrusion printers: ABS and PLA. When you’re printing, you definitely notice them – or, your nose does. PLA, also known as Polylactic acid or polylactide, has a rather pleasant aroma when heated, sometimes described as “waffles” or “honey”. Along with its lack of… Continue reading Is ABS Killing You?
Design Of The Week: Doublefeature
We’ve selected designer Paul Kweton’s Doublefeature as this week’s noted design. What is it? It’s a dual wristwatch, apparently “custom made for a client in Houston, TX”. If you’re interested in getting one, don’t fear, as Kweton says: “For custom orders please contact us via email at …” Obviously the intricate time-telling watch… Continue reading Design Of The Week: Doublefeature
3D Print Speed Advice From Stratasys
Stratasys has published a very informative white paper detailing their thoughts on the speed of 3D printing. This is sometimes a touchy subject, as 3D prints often take many hours to complete and some manufacturers may claim their printer is faster than another’s. But what’s the whole story? Stratasys says, correctly we believe,… Continue reading 3D Print Speed Advice From Stratasys
3D Printing Survey
We just noticed an online survey of 3D printing usage that readers may be interested in filling out. Created by Spanish mechanical/product engineer JulioHCD, the survey is intended to assist in his research: I have been involved in 3D print for building product models and prototypes…My interests include design inspired by nature, plastic… Continue reading 3D Printing Survey
A 3D Printed Camera – Almost!
The folks at RepRapCentral have just printed what appears to be an entire DSLR system on their MakerBot Replicator. This startling print by Sergey includes the camera body and a permanently attached zoom lens. However, closer inspection shows that there is no optical lenses in the print, as one would expect. Nevertheless, as… Continue reading A 3D Printed Camera – Almost!
EnvisionTEC Unveils New Materials
EnvisionTEC, Inc. will showcase the company’s expanded range of 3D printing materials at the IMTS exhibition in Chicago. EnvisionTEC announced the launch of its new AB Material resins, with the first two commercially available offerings: ABflex and ABStuff. Both are used with the company’s DLP 3D printers. Read More at Engineering.com
3D Printed Beaks!
Grist reports on a touching story involving an American Bald Eagle, injured years ago by a poacher’s shotgun, who has had its beak replaced by a 3D printed equivalent. The injured bird was rescued by animal workers and gradually brought back to health. However, it turns out that the beak is an essential component… Continue reading 3D Printed Beaks!
Freshfiber Offers 3D Printed iPhone 5 Cases
Mere hours after Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement, custom case vendor Freshfiber announced they now offer cases for said device. In all, Freshfiber announced six different case styles, all of which are quite interesting, uniquely functional and offered in several cool colors. The cases include one that doubles as a business card holder; another… Continue reading Freshfiber Offers 3D Printed iPhone 5 Cases