The University of Exeter’s Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM) recently hosted a collaboration between 30 artists and its engineers to leverage 3D printing technology. The event was intended to introduce 3D printing technology to curious artists who expressed an interest in trying out the new approach. According to the University: The… Continue reading Thirty Artists are CALMed with 3D Printing
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The CB-Printer
There were a number of new 3D printers on display at Euromold, including this one, the CB-Printer. Designed by Bartosz Cieluch in Poznan, Poland, the CB-Printer is targeted at “domestic use and for small and medium size businesses”. The CB-Printer is a RepRap-style device with open sides. The distinguishing feature is solid engineering using… Continue reading The CB-Printer
The CeraFab 7500 3D Printer
We spoke with Dr. Martin Schwentenwein, who’s associated with Lithoz, a new Austrian company based in Vienna that has just developed a brand new ceramic 3D printer, the CeraFab 7500. This fridge-sized device is specifically designed to 3D print ceramic materials. Lithoz’s LCM technology prints Objects by repeatedly photo-curing whole layers within a… Continue reading The CeraFab 7500 3D Printer
Inside the Mcor IRIS
At Euromold 2012 we managed to get deep inside the Mcor IRIS color 3D paper printer. This device uses standard paper as it’s build material. Each layer (or page in this case) is formed by cutting the outline of each page appropriately. That’s perfectly understandable, but how do they print in color? The answer… Continue reading Inside the Mcor IRIS
LulzBot Sponsors Mars Expedition
We’re not sure what to make of this. Evidently Aleph Objects, Inc., the producers of the LulzBot personal 3D printer have announced their sponsorship of the Mars One initiative. Ok, wait. What’s Mars One? It’s a Dutch-based project with the intention of sending a human expedition to the Planet Mars in 2023. No, really.… Continue reading LulzBot Sponsors Mars Expedition
A 3D Printer Invades a High School
At Dublin Coffman High School in the not-quite metropolis of Dublin, Ohio (population 41,751) you’ll find a 3D printer. It’s not a massive color, multi material, commercial 3D printer. It’s merely a hobby 3D printer built from scratch for USD$600. But it’s impact will be far more than any commercial 3D printer. Teacher Jim… Continue reading A 3D Printer Invades a High School
Design of the Week: Accommo
This week’s selection was seen at Euromold 2012: Accommo by artists Levin Wagner and Jannis Thiele of the University of Arts, Berlin, Germany. This design was also selected as one of the top ten finishers in the 2012 Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge by Dimension/Stratasys. The Accommo at first appears to be a… Continue reading Design of the Week: Accommo
Stratasys Completes Merger with Objet
After an overly long journey through regulations and legalities, two 3D printing industry giants Objet and Stratasys have completed their merger. The new company, which will be among the largest in the industry, will be known as Stratasys, with dual headquarters in both Minnesota (former Stratasys HQ) and Israel (former Objet HQ). The… Continue reading Stratasys Completes Merger with Objet
The Highly Defined 3D Systems ProJet 3500 HDmax
We took a very close look at 3D Systems’ new professional 3D printer, the ProJet 3500 HDmax. This new 3D printer is quite an update over its predecessors, beyond the rather nice exterior rework. It definitely does not look like any other ProJet. What else has changed? The internal change mainly is the processing… Continue reading The Highly Defined 3D Systems ProJet 3500 HDmax
Objet’s New 1000
Perhaps the “biggest” announcement at Euromold was Objet’s new “Wide Format” 3D printer, the Objet 1000. Indeed, it is truly massive, as you can see in the image above. Essentially it’s the same as its smaller siblings, except everything is oversized, notably the print volume, which is a staggering 1000 x 800 x 500mm.… Continue reading Objet’s New 1000
Art and Sound at Euromold 2012
At trade shows vendors wish to thrill visitors by showing example prints from their machinery. Often the most impressive prints are artwork. That being so, Euromold is riddled with 3D printed artwork everywhere you look, at least in Hall 11, the home of 3D printing technologies during this year’s event. We thought you’d like to… Continue reading Art and Sound at Euromold 2012
MIT Creates Lens for Radio Waves
Metamaterials are, by their very definition, awesome. The first sentence of the Metamaterials entry on Wikipedia reads: Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties that may not be found in nature. And as should be expected of materials that are supernatural, they can endow objects with properties that seem uncanny. In recent years, researchers have used… Continue reading MIT Creates Lens for Radio Waves
The Spiderbot Project
Ben Peters of the MIT Media Lab is working on something called the “Spiderbot”, which is: A lightweight self-contained cable suspended robot, moving similar to a SkyCam in stadiums, for 3d printing structures by attaching to high points in surrounding environments (trees, buildings, etc.) We have seen several approaches for 3D printing large… Continue reading The Spiderbot Project
Visit the Cube Bar!
There are many interesting things to see at Euromold if you’re into 3D printing, but perhaps the most noticeable is 3D Systems’ incredible “Cube Shop and Cafe”. Yes, it’s an actual bar, the first thing you see upon entering Hall 11, home of all 3D printing vendors at this year’s Euromold conference. The bar’s… Continue reading Visit the Cube Bar!
BREAKING: Staples to Use Mcor IRIS in Copy Centers
In a blockbuster announcement, Mcor, the makers of the IRIS color 3D printing system based on plain old paper, say they’ve struck a huge deal with print services giant Staples to supply 3D printing equipment for their numerous print and copy centers. This will obviously take a while to implement, so Staples Printing Division… Continue reading BREAKING: Staples to Use Mcor IRIS in Copy Centers
Solidoodle Turns 3
Solidoodle has announced a ten 3 version of their personal 3D printer. This very “solid” 3D printer was designed by aerospace engineers to ensure a very robust product. How robust is it? Check this: The all-steel frame is so strong, in fact, that a 200lb man can literally stand on top of the machine… Continue reading Solidoodle Turns 3
Q & A With Bre Pettis
Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot talked with Mashable about the 3D printing and his views on the future direction of the industry. He believes in the rise of innovation, partially triggered by the wider accessibility of making equipment, specifically the MakerBot (of course.) He says: Even on a small scale, you have parents who… Continue reading Q & A With Bre Pettis
Attending Euromold?
Are you visiting Euromold this week? We are! Euromold is the “World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development”, where we’re likely to see the announcement of several new 3D printers from major manufacturers. If you’re in Frankfurt and would like to show us something interesting or have a chat, feel free… Continue reading Attending Euromold?
Sculpteo’s Secret iPhone Case-Printing Service
We’ve been investigating Sculpteo’s new iPhone case service. You’ve seen these things before: select a cool iPhone case from a series of astounding designs and receive it in the mail, freshly 3D printed. But there’s quite a difference with Sculpteo’s new service. Yes, you select and receive a cool case. But it has an… Continue reading Sculpteo’s Secret iPhone Case-Printing Service
3D Printed Electronics Demonstration
Optomec and Stratasys are set to demonstrate their hybrid technology that permits a type of 3D printed electronics. We’ve written about this before, but now they intend on demonstrating the process to the public. The process does not involve a mutant plastic-and-metal 3D printer. Instead it simply is a way for the two companies… Continue reading 3D Printed Electronics Demonstration
Design of the Week: Self-portrait 21
Artists often push the envelope of design and technique and that is certainly the case for “Self-portrait 21” by Dutch sculptor Caspar Berger, selected as this week’s Design of the Week. The production of this bronze self-portrait is quite a story. Berger used a medical CT scanner to capture a 3D model of his… Continue reading Design of the Week: Self-portrait 21
Objet Adds to its List of Materials
3D Printer maker Objet Geometries announced new additions to its now massive selection of materials available to its 3D printers. The new additions include a “rigid black” material and no less than sixteen different “rubber-like” materials that offer varying degrees of hardness (or flexibility, if you prefer). This brings their current complement of materials… Continue reading Objet Adds to its List of Materials
Another Cubify App: Pics
3D Systems’ Cubify division certainly likes you to do the designing. They’ve been pumping out “generator apps” for various 3D models for several months and now they’ve added on for pictures. The “Pics” app is rather simple compared to their other customizable models. You need only select a “frame” shape, upload your picture and… Continue reading Another Cubify App: Pics
MakerBot’s Photo Booth
It doesn’t exactly print photos, however. It prints sculptures! Of you! It can be found at MakerBot’s retail store in Brooklyn, NY. Team MakerBot has combined their Replicator 3D printing technology with ShapeShot 3D capture software into a booth setup to provide a true 3D printing “photo booth”. The ShapeShot involves several fixed cameras… Continue reading MakerBot’s Photo Booth
Start-Up Offers Blueprints For 3D Printed Parts
Stratasys founder Scott Crump offered the following commentary on Swedish company Teenage Engineering, which has started offering its customers 3D CAD files as blueprints for replacement parts so they can produce their own parts: It’s the first company I’m aware of that has taken this step, so I see it as a significant milestone… Continue reading Start-Up Offers Blueprints For 3D Printed Parts
Fashion Design For 3D Printers
If you’re looking for fashion accessories produced on your own 3D printer you may have difficulty finding 3D models in public repositories. Instead you might consider designing 3D fashion accessories yourself – and there’s an Instructables guide to show you how. Instructables user kaadee404 produced a lengthy set of instructions for producing a Lip… Continue reading Fashion Design For 3D Printers
Using SketchUp for 3D Printing
SketchUp is a free 3D modeling tool that is quite often the very first exposure to 3D modeling for many people. But is it appropriate for producing 3D models for printing? First off, we must say that SketchUp was not designed with 3D printing in mind; instead it was, like many 3D modeling tools,… Continue reading Using SketchUp for 3D Printing
3D Systems Gets Raided!
No, it’s not what you’re thinking; this raid was a “Bear Raid”. A “Bear Raid” is a stock trading scenario in which pundits attempt to artificially lower the price of a stock for their own profit. It started last week when a couple of provocative articles appeared on Seeking Alpha, suggesting that 3D Systems’… Continue reading 3D Systems Gets Raided!
Formlabs Vs. 3D Systems
Even more 3D Systems news today! Perhaps this was inevitable, but 3D printing giant 3D Systems has filed lawsuits against Kickstarter-fueled Formlabs, who recently closed a USD$3M campaign to raise funds to produce their new resin-based personal 3D printer. Resin-based 3D printing, also known as Stereolithography, was invented by 3D Systems’ founder, Chuck Hull… Continue reading Formlabs Vs. 3D Systems
Objet’s Flexy Materials
An interesting video from Objet shows off many of their latest materials. While many Fabbaloo readers have 3D printers capable of printing in hard plastic, the items in this video demonstrate what can be achieved when you are able to print in flexible material. Oh, did we say that Objet has an almost perfectly… Continue reading Objet’s Flexy Materials
007’s 3D Printed Cars
Not one, but three 3D printed cars were created for secret agent 007 James Bond for his recent film, Skyfall. No, they weren’t full size, but instead were one third of original size. The three Aston Martin DB5’s were used for used rather destructively in the film to avoid the expense (and tragedy) of… Continue reading 007’s 3D Printed Cars
Mixee Me Launches
There’s always room for another design-it-yourself service and today is the launch of Mixee Me, a service specializing in personal design of figurines. The concept is straightforward: you aren’t able to design in 3D yourself, so you’d go to Mixee Me and use their incredibly easy web interface to design a personalized figurine. Your… Continue reading Mixee Me Launches
Design of the Week: Anatomica di Revolutis
This week’s design is Anatomica di Revolutis by Chicago’s Joshua Harker. You may recall Harker as the artist who showed the world how to get it done on Kickstarter: his work, Crania Anatomica Filigre, scored a very healthy USD$77,271 when it closed over a year ago. That 3D print was one of the most popular… Continue reading Design of the Week: Anatomica di Revolutis
Digital Reality Announces Pro-Quote
Digital Factory announced a new plug-in service, Pro-Quote that can handle the preparation of cost estimates for 3D printing. Who can use this service? If you have a commercial 3D printer available and a website you can place Pro-Quote on your site and immediately accept 3D print requests. The Pro-Quote software presents a web… Continue reading Digital Reality Announces Pro-Quote
Cubify Now Macify’d
3D Systems has abruptly introduced a new version of their Cube 3D printer management software (Cubify) specifically for OSX. This is a major step by 3D Systems, who up to now have not offered OS/X-based software for, um, well, anything as far as we can tell. The software performs well, offering an extremely simple… Continue reading Cubify Now Macify’d
The 2BEIGH3 3D Printer Prints Nylon
The 2BEIGH3 is a 3D printer – but it’s also a CNC machine. This unique (and experimental) design permits both functions within the same device by undergoing a 1 hour conversion process. For those wanting both kinds of machine, this could be your answer. Normally we’d provide the specs for a 3D printer, but… Continue reading The 2BEIGH3 3D Printer Prints Nylon
Furniture That Can Carry Its Own Weight
Multithread, a furniture collection that is currently on display at the 2012 Istanbul Design Biennial, has an interesting story behind its creation. Designed by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, the Multithread collection was built using custom-created CAD software that can analyze the support forces acting on a piece of furniture’s joints and modify the… Continue reading Furniture That Can Carry Its Own Weight
Mixing Digital Sculpture With Real Objects
We’re fascinated with this beautiful mashup of reality and fantasy using 3D printing by artist Greg Petchkovsky, who created it as his entry to the Instructables “Make It Real” contest. Petchkovsky first scans a broken brick corner and then using a combination of Agisoft Photoscan and 3DS Max he designed and 3D printed a… Continue reading Mixing Digital Sculpture With Real Objects
AutoDesk Releases 123D Design
Software giant AutoDesk took a big plunge into the 3D consumer space by releasing 123D Design, a very user-friendly 3D modeling tool. The software is available for iPad, Mac or PC and also directly on the web if you don’t have any of those platforms. We took 123D Design for a spin and found… Continue reading AutoDesk Releases 123D Design
Softkill’s Protohouse
We’ve previously written about experiments in 3D printing for building construction and while these experiments have experienced varying degrees of success, there remains the question of “what do you print” if you can build house-sized objects. That was the question answered by design firm Softkill, whose exhibit at the recent 3D Printshow displayed a… Continue reading Softkill’s Protohouse
HP To Produce 3D Printers?
Seeking Alpha presents a cogent argument for HP producing 3D printers in the near future, even though no such announcements or signals have been emitted from that company, recently or in the past. HP has had some involvement with 3D printers, in that it had an arrangement with Stratasys to resell HP-labelled Stratasys uPrint… Continue reading HP To Produce 3D Printers?
NASA’s Space Launch System is 3D Printed
Yes, the venerable Space Shuttle is now retired and host to gawking tourists across the United States, but that doesn’t mean NASA is sitting idle. In fact they’ve embarked on the development of a massive new rocket to take on the task of heavy lifting to outer space: The Space Launch System or “SLS”. … Continue reading NASA’s Space Launch System is 3D Printed
Two 3D Printing Downers
We’ve just read not one, but two articles from reputable publications that appear to dismiss the notion of personal 3D printing. TechCrunch’s Jon Evans wrote “3D Printers Are Not Like 2D Printers: A Rant”, while Scientific American’s Gary Stix wrote “3-D Printing: The Great American Tchotchke Machine”. Stix’s premise is that personal 3D printers… Continue reading Two 3D Printing Downers
CubeHero Manages Your 3D Models
If you’ve made many 3D models you’ll soon encounter the problem of managing them. Which one is the correct one? Which copies are old and which are new? What changed between this version and that one? The software world has long solved these issues through the use of “change management software”, such as the… Continue reading CubeHero Manages Your 3D Models
Design of the Week: Holy (USB) Hand
Occasionally great designs can happen accidentally. This week’s selection is the “Holy (USB) Hand” by Newcastle University’s Dr. Javier Munguia’s team of three mechanical engineering students. The origins of the hand were practical: the team required a “hand” to test an experimental wrist splint concept and prepared a “hand” model to print on their… Continue reading Design of the Week: Holy (USB) Hand
Stratasys Reports 3Q12 Results
As one of the two publicly-traded major 3D printing companies, Stratasys’ financial results are always interesting to examine. They’ve been on a tear in recent years, consistently setting new records for various financial statistics. This quarter seems no different: their revenue increased a massive 40% in 3Q12 from 3Q11, while units increased 52% to… Continue reading Stratasys Reports 3Q12 Results
i.Materialise Reduces Ceramics Price
If you’ve got a model requiring a cubic centimeter of ceramic to print, i.Materialise can print it for you at a lowered price of USD$0.18. Their ceramic material is particularly useful due to its smooth appearance, wide variety of kitchy colors, heat resistance and the fact that it’s food safe. You can produce functional… Continue reading i.Materialise Reduces Ceramics Price
Makers By Chris Anderson
There’s a new book from former WIRED editor Chris Anderson specifically on the topic of entrepreneurship in the 21st century. Makers: The New Industrial Revolution investigates the development of entrepreneurship in the software industry, where vast business empires have been built that run much of the world today. Then he asks a truly profound… Continue reading Makers By Chris Anderson
3D Systems’ VisiJet Jewel Automates Jewelry Manufacturing
3D Systems announced the immediate availability of VisiJet Jewel, a new specialized material formulated for high volume jewelry production. Developed expressly for use with the ProJet 6000 and 7000 professional 3D printers, VisiJet Jewel allows manufacturers to produce master models for direct casting of cost effective jewelry with unparalleled detail, accuracy and quality, in hours… Continue reading 3D Systems’ VisiJet Jewel Automates Jewelry Manufacturing
3D Print Design Contest
Engineering.com has launched a four week 3D print design contest. Readers may consider entering this contest as it has few rules and a grand prize of USD$2,000. Engineering.com will print nine winning entries on their Stratasys MOJO 3D printer and ship them directly to you. Three winners will be announced each week, beginning… Continue reading 3D Print Design Contest
New Calibration Software For Your Up!
The accursed leveling problem is present in many personal 3D printers. Before you can use your printer, you must ensure that the print head is synchronized with the print bed so that the plastic extrusion lands correctly. Since the print head usually cannot be adjusted, the synchronization is done by “leveling the bed”. The… Continue reading New Calibration Software For Your Up!
Weta’s 3D Printed Hobbit Stuff
We’ve just reviewed a report on film studio Weta’s use of 3D printing technology. Weta is the studio responsible for the upcoming movie, “The Hobbit”, as well as the massively successful Lord of the Rings series. What are they printing? According to the report, they’re making various custom props for The Hobbit, including “helmets,… Continue reading Weta’s 3D Printed Hobbit Stuff
3D Printed Eyeglass Frames
Sandra Battistel of Eyespectacle (the “Story behind the frame”) has done a bit of investigation on how eyeglass maker Mykita recently produced the “Mylon”, a unique frame design made through 3D printing. Battistel takes us through the process used by Mykita, including images of the equipment and frames through the production process. It appears… Continue reading 3D Printed Eyeglass Frames
3D Printing with Dilbert
This week Dilbert got into the 3D printing space by publishing a cartoon of the character making very effective use of his 3D printer. Hit the link below for the full strip. Amusing, but not yet possible. Printing a body-sized item would take days on any of today’s machines and the results would be… Continue reading 3D Printing with Dilbert
Printing Bricks
Fabbaloo readers are most familiar with the idea of 3D printing plastic, metal or sometimes food, but how about bricks? The method of making common ceramic brick for centuries is giving way for an experiment in 3D printing building bricks. The experiment is being conducted by Building Bytes, who have already designed three styles… Continue reading Printing Bricks
3D Systems Donates to Singularity U
Singularity University is a specialized institution dedicated to leveraging “the power of exponential technologies to solve humanity’s grand challenges”, and created by forward-looking entrepreneurs Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil. The grand challenges include research in very diverse areas, including energy, security, poverty and space exploration. The institution attracts top level students to work on these… Continue reading 3D Systems Donates to Singularity U
Design of the Week: Flux
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
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