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Fabbaloo Reader Needs 3D Print Assistance

Reader Andy Robb is a mechanical designer who’s interested in producing real-life versions of models he’s been working on. What kind of project? It’s a series of 1/6th scale model RC tanks, as pictured at left (click for larger image and check out the colored items that are likely what he’s seeking to produce). He’s… Continue reading Fabbaloo Reader Needs 3D Print Assistance

MCOR Prints The President

3D paper printer manufacturer MCOR recently scored a coup by not only meeting with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to discuss 3D printing at the Áras an Uachtaráin (the official residence of the Irish President), but also offered to print a bust of her upon her retirement in October. It’s possible for this paper… Continue reading MCOR Prints The President

3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good

BBC news reports today on scientists at the University of Exeter in the UK who have developed a new chocolate 3D printer. Instead of extruding tasteless plastic, this printer is capable of extruding liquified chocolate into solid – and edible – objects. The process is similar to other extrusion-based 3D printers: squirt and solidify each… Continue reading 3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good

Defeating Warping

If there’s one thing that personal 3D printer operators dislike, it must be the evils of warping. Warping, the phenomenon that occurs when a coincidence of material, temperatures, extruder speed and stretching results in printed models that have curled up corners. Typically warping is much more prevalent with ABS plastic and this may have led… Continue reading Defeating Warping

Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 1

We’ve all seen this button many times. It’s how you produce 2D paper output, and you’ve used it perhaps all your life, maybe every day. It works because it’s easy. It works because it’s familiar. It works because all the hard stuff is already figured out for you behind the scenes. Enter personal 3D… Continue reading Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 1

More Metal Printing Experiments

The RepRap team continue to develop methods of printing electrical conductors. If they succeed, it would be possible for future 3D printers to print objects that include (at least at first) simple electronic circuits embedded directly in their shapes. One can imagine a wide variety of LED lamps or switchboxes emerging quickly once this tech… Continue reading More Metal Printing Experiments

eMAKER Hits The Jackpot

The other week we wrote of eMAKER’s crowdsourced fundraising initiative to kick start their production of a low-priced entry-level 3D printer kit. They hoped to raise up to USD$30,000 by July 1st. They kinda did that. And more. They closed out at USD$158,685. That’s 5.2895 times their target! We’re amazed at the level… Continue reading eMAKER Hits The Jackpot

X-Object Sells Up!

We’ve just noticed another reseller of PP3DP’s Up! personal 3D printer: [x]Object. Shipment apparently starts today, July 1st, and pricing is organized around three bundles that we haven’t yet seen from other Up! resellers. The bundles are: UP! Start Plus USD$2950. This appears to be close to the same Up! models sold elsewhere. UP!… Continue reading X-Object Sells Up!

More Money For 3D Printing?

Last Friday US President Obama announced a new initiative to increase US competitiveness in manufacturing: the Advanced Manufacturing Process Partnership, or AMP. The goal is to create lots of high value manufacturing jobs. A good idea, but what does it involve? It’s a bit of a money shuffle between various existing programs, but in… Continue reading More Money For 3D Printing?

End Of The Beginning for MakerBot?

MakerBot sold their very last CupCake 3D printer kit and now offer only parts for that classic 3D printer. We think the CupCake was a very special device as it was really the first popular consumer 3D printer. In spite of the limitations and peculiarities of the original CupCake, including smallish build size, the… Continue reading End Of The Beginning for MakerBot?

Amazing 3D Printing Infographic

We bumped into this totally amazing infographic that explains pretty much all you need to know about 3D printing, including the process, economy, materials, typical uses, timeline of events, consumer and industrial use, food printing, etc. (Click link below for the full infographic view). The timeline is interesting. It predicts Bioprinted human limbs and… Continue reading Amazing 3D Printing Infographic

The Solar Sinter Project

While home 3D printers typical heat/melt plastic to produce objects, Markus Kayser has developed an eco-friendly 3D printer for “desert manufacturing” using only sand as the print material. The Solar Sinter focuses the heat of the sun to a small point using a large, sun-tracking fresnel lens. The focal point is so hot it… Continue reading The Solar Sinter Project

The Iris van Herpen Exhibition

One of Netherland’s most talented Dutch fashion designers, Iris van Herpen, will display her work at centraal museum utrecht from 29 June to 9 October this year. The exhibition will include not only some of her amazing 3D printed fashions, but there will also be a 3D printer (a Dimension) on site demonstrating the process… Continue reading The Iris van Herpen Exhibition

Ultimaker Operators Needed!

Fabbaloo was contacted by Manhattan-based radio reporter and podcast producer Jon Kalish, who enquired about our experience with the Ultimaker 3D printer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any direct contact with that particular 3D printer yet. We asked why is he so interested? Turns out that Jon is writing a piece on Ultimaker for a major zine and… Continue reading Ultimaker Operators Needed!

Gray Materialises

Who likes gray? It’s a dull, less-than-noticeable color that blends into any background. A gray car? Never! However, there’s something intriguing about i.Materialise’s new 3D printing material: Prime Gray. Objects just seem to look terrific in this color. According to i.Materialise’s Joris Peels: Some of us (OK, me) we’re skeptical about the gray color.… Continue reading Gray Materialises

The BotMill Axis PLUS Assembled 3D Printer

Speaking of assembled 3D printers, which seems to be a sudden trend in the hobby 3D printer industry lately, there’s another one you might want to consider: the BotMill Axis PLUS. This RepRap-based device is priced at only USD$1195, far lower than other assembled 3D printers. Well, it’s not *completely* assembled. BotMill says: “All you… Continue reading The BotMill Axis PLUS Assembled 3D Printer

Inexpensive 3D Modeling with AC3D

We bumped into the AC3D 3D modeling tool and we like the price: only USD$89. But what do you get with AC3D? This multiplatform tool (multiplatform meaning Windows, Mac and Linux) includes the ability to work with almost 40 different 3D formats including most of the 3D printing-related ones: 3DS, Collada, KML (Google Earth), OBJ,… Continue reading Inexpensive 3D Modeling with AC3D

Parametric Clothing

A short while ago we wrote about Shapeways’ 3D printed Bikini, and we speculated on the complexity of software required to develop appropriately fitting 3D clothing. The subtlety of fashionable curves and comfort fit are extraordinarily difficult, as they would necessarily be unique to each and every person. Even slight variations could render a fashion… Continue reading Parametric Clothing

Billions For Organ Printing?

An article in the Washington Post explores the startling proposition of 3D printing human organs. This is an incredibly complex goal, since most 3D printing of today involves rather simplistic models: a shape made of a single consistent material deposited in a uniform manner. Yes, a few advanced commercial 3D printers might be able to… Continue reading Billions For Organ Printing?

Final Fantasy IV Character Lives!

We thought this was perhaps the coolest 3D printed thing we’ve seen this year. As you can see, it’s a version of the Cecil Harvey – Dark Knight character from Final Fantasy IV. It was prepared by Neal Bockhaut on a Dimension 768 3D printer. So what, you might say. Everyone has printed figurines… Continue reading Final Fantasy IV Character Lives!

Domes For All

EFFALO’s latest dome-building venture is perhaps their most ambitious: they are attempting to create two critical items, bundling them together as domekit.cc: A software tool that uses parametric design to generate a dome design of any desired size A DIY flexible connector for geodesic dome construction We’ve followed the progress of NYC-based EFFALO… Continue reading Domes For All

The Mercury Centre At Sheffield U

Thanks to a huge GBP 5M grant from the European Regional Development Fund, Sheffield University’s Mercury Centre is set to expand by adding five new 3D printing machines and paying for operating costs until 2013. The Mercury Centre is already deep into 3D printing, as it produces medical prints and even small parts for… Continue reading The Mercury Centre At Sheffield U

HP 3D Printing Update

At the recent Plastics Design and Moulding show in London, Fabbaloo caught up with Eric Erickson, HP’s Product Manager for their Designjet 3D printers. It’s been over a year since it was announced HP would market 3D printers through an agreement with Stratasys. How well has business been over that period? Has HP found this… Continue reading HP 3D Printing Update

Human Tissue Material?

Nano-engineers at the University of California in San Diego have developed a new biomaterial that evidently is a very close match for human tissue. This material is not a uniform substance, but is rather a particular geometry that exhibits stretching properties useful for bio-engineering. The material is produced from a liquid polymer resin using… Continue reading Human Tissue Material?

The RepRap’s Heritage

The eyechart above (click for a larger, almost readable view) represents the family tree for virtually all low-cost 3D printers today. Almost all of them were derived directly or indirectly from the original RepRap project. We’ve written about many of these devices over the past few years, and we expect that this family tree will… Continue reading The RepRap’s Heritage

eMAKER Sells The Huxley

Yet another source for RepRap-based hobby 3D printers has emerged: eMAKER. They’re producing Huxley kits in several configurations (including one with no printed parts for those who already have a 3D printer and wish to produce as much of their new Huxley as possible themselves.) The kit isn’t quite official. eMAKER is running a… Continue reading eMAKER Sells The Huxley

Big News From MakerBot

In a huge departure from their standard approach, MakerBot is now offering a completely assembled Thing-O-Matic 3D printer option! Previously, MakerBot offered only kits and focused heavily on those who enjoy assembling them. But now there’s an option for people who feel printer assembly is beyond their abilities or time. The assembled Thing-O-Matic contains… Continue reading Big News From MakerBot

What is OHANDA?

OHANDA is the Open Source Hardware and Design Alliance, an initiative that has developed “Four Freedoms” that can be associated with an open design to ensure proper open source use. Their idea is to create an icon that may be displayed on hardware to indicate the permitted usage, similar to a “CC” license in a… Continue reading What is OHANDA?

Cadyou: Where You Share Your CAD

Made by the same folks you brought us the amazing 3D model search tool 3DFilter, Cadyou is a new venture that should enable a lot more model sharing. According to Cadyou chief Tom: the idea is to create a wiki-like experience for 3d and 2d cad models where you can contribute, vote and edit… Continue reading Cadyou: Where You Share Your CAD

3D Printed Bikini: Breakthrough or Barrier?

We were very excited to read about Shapeways latest creation: a 3D printed Bikini that you can actually purchase and wear! Up to now, most 3D printed fashions were wild, crazy and effectively impractical for common use. Typically you’d see 3D printed fashions in a museum or modern art event, but never in a place… Continue reading 3D Printed Bikini: Breakthrough or Barrier?

Bre Pettis on Colbert!

MakerBot Chief Bre Pettis intersected with mainstream media once again on Wednesday’s edition of the Colbert Report. While Colbert speculated on the prospect of a “stack of 3D butts” found after future office parties, there was semi-serious discussion of 3D printing. During the interview, Bre had a Thing-O-Matic operating right in front of the audience.… Continue reading Bre Pettis on Colbert!

A Keygen for House Keys?

There’s been quite a bit of interest in using the OpenSCAD 3D Modeling tool for a variety of designs, but this one caught our eye. OpenSCAD, if you aren’t aware, is a free GPL open source 3D modelling tool that is non-visual. Instead of dragging, squeezing and pinching components into your model, OpenSCAD requires you… Continue reading A Keygen for House Keys?

The BFB 3000 Plus

BFB’s already-assembled inexpensive 3D printer has now become the BFB 3000 Plus. The new version is very similar to the original BFB 3000, but has several enhancements. Our understanding is that the Plus’s improvements focus on two aspects: simplifying ease of use and machine quality. The machine’s print bed is easier to adjust and… Continue reading The BFB 3000 Plus

ReplicatorG 25 Released

If you’ve got a MakerBot, you’ll want to upgrade to the latest release of ReplicatorG, the software that prepares 3D models for printing on CupCakes, Thing-o-Matics and similar 3D printers. RepG is always undergoing continuous improvement, so it’s no surprise that a new release is out. But this one has some interesting features that should… Continue reading ReplicatorG 25 Released

Mass Customization is On The List

The Churchill Club is “Silicon Valley’s premier business and technology forum”, with some 6,500 members including many notable tech CEOs. Each year they host a discussion in which panelists attempt to predict the top tech trends for the next few years. This year’s event, apparently the 13th annual, included panelists: Curt Carlson, President and… Continue reading Mass Customization is On The List

3D Printing on CNN

CNN Money’s page today had a front-page article dedicated to 3D printing, featuring an interview with 3D System’s Rajeev Kulkarni, who spoke about their newly acquired BFB line of inexpensive 3D printers. He said: This is our attempt now to get at the consumer level, where we make 3-D printing accessible to the mass… Continue reading 3D Printing on CNN

The Personal Factory 5: Apps!

Ponoko has taken a step to solving one of the biggest problems in the 3D printing/making industry today: How do you make custom items? The problem is straightforward: 3D printers and other making devices can produce pretty much anything, once provided with a design. However, the goods produced are typically more expensive than those… Continue reading The Personal Factory 5: Apps!

The World’s Smallest Stop Motion Video

Nokia Cellscope: a very simple combination of a Nokia phone and a microscope, capable of seeing very small things at low cost. The idea is to enable those in third world countries to perform basic microscopy – and then instantly transmit results for expert analysis elsewhere. To celebrate the development of the Cellscope,… Continue reading The World’s Smallest Stop Motion Video

Autodesk 123D

Autodesk has released a free-for-use true 3D solid modeling software called 123D. The massive 521Mb download is not the only thing you get; there’s also a pretty comprehensive online repository of whole objects and basic components you can draw from to create awesome things. We think 123D is a big deal, as it’s relatively… Continue reading Autodesk 123D

The New 3D Systems

This week industry giant 3D systems unveiled their brand new logo (above). But that’s only the tip of the iceberg, as they’ve been making all kinds of moves lately. We like to think they are now the “new” 3D Systems. Here’s some of the things they’ve been up to lately: Moved their stock from… Continue reading The New 3D Systems

Open Design Now Released

Today a new book has been released: “Open Design Now: Why Design Cannot Remain Exclusive”. The book, a collaboration from Creative Commons Netherlands, the Premsela Dutch design and fashion institute, and Waag Society, focuses on the new design movement in which (theoretically) everyone can become a designer. Contributors to the tome include Marleen Stikker, Bre… Continue reading Open Design Now Released

Photofly Makes 3D Models Easy

There are several ways to produce 3D models of real-life objects and Autodesk has provided another one: Photofly. This is a service and software combination, in which you take around 50 overlapping photographs of your subject and then upload them to Photofly. The service then grinds through some very serious processing to produce detailed 3D… Continue reading Photofly Makes 3D Models Easy

The Endless Chair

Another surprise item seen at London’s Design Museum was the “Endless Chair”. Why is it called “endless”? Because it’s made from recycled refrigerators, where plastic is ground up and extruded in 3D printing fashion into the correct chair shape. Another reason for the name is that the production equipment, in this case a leftover… Continue reading The Endless Chair

Melonia Shoes at The Design Museum

During our recent visit to London and The Design Museum, we came across a very cool 3D printed shoe design: The Melonia Shoe. Designed by fashion designer Naim Josefi and industrial designer Souzan Youssouf, the shoe is the product of software that is capable of adjusting the size of the shoes on demand. Their vision:… Continue reading Melonia Shoes at The Design Museum

Blender 2.57 Is Official

Popular (and free) 3D modeling tool Blender is now version 2.57, as per the official release in April. This tool is very often used by consumer designers and makers to produce solid models for 3D printing. Blender sometimes gets a bad rap due to its rather difficult learning curve. But if you can get through… Continue reading Blender 2.57 Is Official

Neurosurgeons Are 3D Printing

There’s nothing like being able to hold something in your hand and inspect it. You can look from all angles close or far and can use your sense of touch to aid in understanding completely what you’ve got. That’s exactly the approach Hawaiian neurosurgeons at the Tripler Army Medical Centre are taking. They’re able… Continue reading Neurosurgeons Are 3D Printing

Posable 3D Models From CADHuman

SolidSmack reports on CADHuman’s new posable 3D models, which are highly detailed 3D models that can be adjusted into various positions. This differs from the more common experience of non-posable models that invariably are not in the specific pose you need. The models currently include: Male & female figures Human male head Posable hands… Continue reading Posable 3D Models From CADHuman

The Teeniest 3D Printer?

Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have produced what they believe to be the world’s smallest 3D printer. This device is “about the size of a milk carton”, and should cost only €1200. The resin-based printer (which solidifies each of the object’s layers successively in a vat of plastic resin with LEDs) has a… Continue reading The Teeniest 3D Printer?

3D Scanning by UAV

You may have guessed we’re fascinated with new ways of capturing 3D models for printing, and this week we’ve found a rather unusual method: UAV images. Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s Computer Vision Laboratory have developed software to combine thousands of images gathered by UAVs into very usable 3D models. The software,… Continue reading 3D Scanning by UAV

Objet Displays Amazing New Materials

At the recent Plastics Design and Moulding show in London we met with Tim Smith of Tri-Tech, who demonstrated some of Objet’s amazing new materials. One of the materials is “Clear”. That’s right, you can actually see through the material when it’s printed. In fact, the specs you see above were entirely produced on an… Continue reading Objet Displays Amazing New Materials

BFB at PDM

We had the opportunity to spend some time with the BFB gang at London’s Plastics Design and Moulding show. They were demonstrating their flagship product, the BFB 3000 3D printer, as well as a 3D Systems V-Flash from their parent company. We spoke at length with BFB CTO and Founder Ian Adkins (above), who… Continue reading BFB at PDM

Augmented Human Contest

One is always amazed at the imagination of 3D designers who produce unusual objects and applications using 3D printing technology. Now i.Materialise has gone further and started a contest with the most unusual theme yet: Human Augmentation. In other words, they’ll give a prize to the designer who invents the most interesting item that can… Continue reading Augmented Human Contest

Engineering Organs?

Wake Forest researcher Dr. Anthony Atala recently spoke on CBC’s science podcast Quirks and Quarks about his work in the almost unbelievable science of engineering organs. His team is actually able to manufacture several types of biological organs. While this is still at the research stage, it could lead to a future where replacement parts… Continue reading Engineering Organs?

3D Dino Prints

Another example of 3D data capture took place when a team from Southern Methodist University scanned prehistoric dinosaur tracks using 3D scanners out (literally) in the field. The team used a combination of hardware (including a NextEngine HD Desktop 3D scanner with ScanStudio HD Pro software, RapidForm XOR2 Redesign and LightWave 3D) to capture… Continue reading 3D Dino Prints

Hands On With The BFB 3000: Software

We’re continuing to evaluate the BFB 3000 3D printer, this time we’re focusing on the software experience. Previously we’ve looked at the unboxing and setup as well as its operation. Why focus on the software? Isn’t this all about the printer itself? We believe the entire experience is important, from end to end. And… Continue reading Hands On With The BFB 3000: Software

Shoes by Andreia Chaves

We’re fascinated by the idea of 3D printed shoes for some reason. Perhaps it’s the notion of always having a shoe that fits perfectly. On the other hand, it might the limitless number of astonishing designs one can imagine are possible. One such design was recently made by Andreia Chaves and Freedom of Creation. … Continue reading Shoes by Andreia Chaves

Fiberglass Reinforced 3D Printing?

We ran across what appears to be an experiment by remote control flyers who are trying to hack super-strong airplane parts. The video doesn’t really explain what’s going on, but it appears that they might be trying to sandwich some strong fiberglass fabric within a 3D print. If so they’d have to design their model… Continue reading Fiberglass Reinforced 3D Printing?

MyBestFit Could Be MyOwnScan?

There’s an interesting problem with women’s clothes: the sizes are inconsistent between brands, leading to a lot of experimentation before the right item is selected. However, MyBestFit now offers (at least in some major USA malls at high-end shops) a 21st century solution. They take a quick 3D scan of the buyer, similar to what… Continue reading MyBestFit Could Be MyOwnScan?

Will Flexible Grids Lead to 3D Printed Cloth?

Experiments at LMNts Tech Studio are demonstrating the feasibility of printing flexible materials. Using their high-end commercial Objet 3D printer and 3D modeling software, they designed and printed a kind of miniature ball-and-socket joint. They linked many of these joints together in a mesh. A Flexible Mesh. But wait – isn’t fabric a… Continue reading Will Flexible Grids Lead to 3D Printed Cloth?

StrataSys Goes Acquiring

It seems the big guys have their corporate acquisition shopping carts in motion recently. While 3D Systems was scooping up other companies last week, this week it’s Stratasys’ turn. They’ve announced the acquisition of Solidscape for USD$38M. What is Solidscape? They are a niche 3D printer manufacturer that specializes in high-precision devices for producing… Continue reading StrataSys Goes Acquiring

Cory Doctorow on Big Ideas

Writer and Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow speaks eloquently in a new podcast on TVO about the future of regulation. Doctorow explains in plain language the troublesome future we may face if computing devices are regulated in the same ways we regulate specialized devices. He points out several examples where this approach simply won’t work… Continue reading Cory Doctorow on Big Ideas

Shapeways Glazes Over

We are continually amazed at the ingenuity of the Shapeways 3D print service; they seem to come up with new materials for their service almost every other week. Typically they experiment with them to see how well they are accepted and then decide whether and how to continue offering them. In the past they’ve pioneered… Continue reading Shapeways Glazes Over

Freedom of Creation: Absorbed!

We’ve written many times about the amazing 3D printed furniture and artwork produced by the design house Freedom of Creation, home of master designer Jyanne Kytannen. But today we learned that FOC, like many other 3D printing-related companies and services in recent weeks, has been acquired by industry giant 3D Systems. It’s been getting… Continue reading Freedom of Creation: Absorbed!

Hands On With The BFB 3000: Operation

In last week’s post we described the unboxing and set up of the BFB 3000 printer, which turned out to be a pretty good experience. Today we’re discussing the operation of the 3000. If you’re like us and have a dose of shiny object syndrome, you’ll definitely like the 3000. It’s a beauty to… Continue reading Hands On With The BFB 3000: Operation

Anderson Joins Ponoko

Wired editor in chief Chris Anderson has joined the advisory board of Ponoko. This is a very interesting development as it indicates growing and high-profile interest in personal manufacturing. Ponoko already has some interesting characters on their advisory board, including TreeHugger’s Graham Hill, CafePress’ Fred Durham and DesignLedFutures’ Ross Stevens. Anderson has for a… Continue reading Anderson Joins Ponoko

3D City Models Made By Missiles

Technology originally used for targeting missiles has been adapted to provide incredibly detailed 3D models of cities. Saab’s spin-off company C3 Technologies is gathering up a library of 20 city models suitable for licensing for mapping applications. We’re hoping they’ll make this data available for 3D printing, too. While we’re always watching for new… Continue reading 3D City Models Made By Missiles

A Really Big Unboxing

We thought we experienced a large unboxing when we uncrated a BFB 3000, but we were clearly outdone by i.Materialise. The 3D print service recently received a brand spanking new Fortus 900mc FDM large-scale production system from Stratasys. While we used a box cutter, i.Materialise had to use not only a crew of burly guys… Continue reading A Really Big Unboxing

Jewelry Design Challenge

3D print service i.Materialise is running a new contest for “new concepts, techniques and ideas in jewelry design”. Given the startling designs already present in 3D printed jewelry, we’re extremely interested in seeing what kinds of items are generated in this contest. i.Materialise thinks so too, because: Ten winners will be selected and their… Continue reading Jewelry Design Challenge

3DDC Results

On April 28th the key players in 3D printing from around the world went to Washington DC to try to influence policy makers on the best future for our technology, organized by Public Knowledge. The fear is that 3D printing could be severely hampered if restrictive regulations and digital property rights are misapplied to 3D… Continue reading 3DDC Results

The Mysterious BluePrinter

We’ve found another 3D printer manufacturer: the Denmark-based BluePrinter, but we can’t tell you much about it. The only information is a one-page website that not only includes the logo above, but also this enticing description: Blueprinter develops a 3D printer, which is based on Selective Heat Sintering (SHS). The proprietary SHS technology produces… Continue reading The Mysterious BluePrinter

OurBricks’ $250 Modern Life Contest

3D Model online sharing service OurBricks has launched a design contest where the prize is fame (and USD$250) and the theme is simply “Modern Life”. If that sounds perhaps slightly ambiguous, you’d be right. According to OurBricks representative Henrik Bennetsen: OurBricks is hosting a design competition for 3D artists. The theme is “Modern Life.”… Continue reading OurBricks’ $250 Modern Life Contest

Hands On With The BFB 3000: Unboxing and Setup

Fabbaloo Labs has obtained a brand-new, two-headed BFB 3000 3D printer for detailed experimentation and evaluation. We’ll talk about our unboxing and setup experience in this post, while upcoming posts will focus on the 3000’s operation and software. The BFB 3000 ships in a rather large 38kg box. It’s large for one obvious reason:… Continue reading Hands On With The BFB 3000: Unboxing and Setup

The 2Bot ModelMaker

It’s not exactly a 3D printer, but more of a 3D cutter. The 2Bot ModelMaker is intended for architects and students to print 3D representations of landscapes, layouts and terrain. From what we see, it appears to be a 50lb computer controlled drill that traverses an inexpensive 12″ x 12″ x 2″ foam board,… Continue reading The 2Bot ModelMaker

Tangles From Joshua

He may not be the first, and certainly won’t be the last, but Josh Harker is another artist leveraging 3D printing as a way to get his art to the world. He’s created an online store to market his works, which are created thru 3D print service Sculpteo. Admirers may purchase the works from his… Continue reading Tangles From Joshua

This Week’s 3D Systems Acquisition Is . . .

Print3D Corporation! They’ve been acquired by industry giant 3D Systems, who are now even giganticker. But what exactly does Print3D do? They are an industrial 3D printing parts service with a unique capability: they have a plug-in for CAD software to provide additional 3D printing features. Here’s what their plug-in does: The Print3D… Continue reading This Week’s 3D Systems Acquisition Is . . .

3D Printed CubeSat

You may have seen a freight train pass by hauling endless standard-sized shipping containers. Those containers make freight economical because the entire transportation system can safely assume their characteristics and adapt appropriately. There’s a similar standard for space satellites: CubeSat. It’s a one-liter 10 x 10 x 10 cm cube that can weigh no… Continue reading 3D Printed CubeSat

Shapeways Pops!

Shapeways has introduced yet another way to produce 3D models you can print with their 3D printservice: Image Popper. How does it work? Very simply: you upload a 2D image and then “raise” it to the desired depth. If this sounds too simple to produce useful models, you’d be wrong. In our experience, one… Continue reading Shapeways Pops!

Probing Knut’s 3D Brain

Berlin Zoo’s most famous resident, the polar bear banned Knut, died suddenly this past March. Apparently the bear, famous for controversy surrounding the practice of humans raising bear cubs, had an infection that led to encephalitis and accidental drowning. While Knut is gone, his brain lives on. It’s been captured in 3D by “some… Continue reading Probing Knut’s 3D Brain

MCOR Establishes US Base

3D Paper printer manufacturer has crossed the ocean to set up an American office for the first time. Up til now the company has operated solely in Europe, but expansion was always their plan. The new office, located in San Jose, Calif, will be the base from which they’ll launch into the US market. Of… Continue reading MCOR Establishes US Base

Shapeways Introduces New Detail Material

Shapeways, one of the leading 3D print services, is trialing a new pair of print materials that are specially designed for high detail. They’re taking cues from a survey in which clients demanded more detail and smoother prints. The new materials, dubbed eloquently in the typical Shapeways style, are “Frosted Detail” and “Frosted Ultra… Continue reading Shapeways Introduces New Detail Material

Web-Based 3D Modeling

A couple of months ago we wrote about a new web-based 3D modeling tool, 3DTin. Now there’s another web-based tool: TinkerCAD. The two tools are different. While 3DTin takes an extremely simplistic approach, TinkerCAD is somewhat more capable. 3DTin is essentially visual LEGO. You build your object by placing blocks in the intended arrangement. … Continue reading Web-Based 3D Modeling

Variable Steel Print Pricing At i.Materialise

When i.Materialise introduced stainless steel printing earlier this year they used a very straightforward pricing scheme: price by volume. Now they’ve announced a new scheme in which you’re encouraged to print larger steel models because the price drops as you increase the size of your model. The new pricing scheme is slightly more complex: … Continue reading Variable Steel Print Pricing At i.Materialise

Eat Your Face?

Easter is the time when many people eat massive quantities of chocolate, often in the shape of “bunnies”. But what about other representations? MIT researcher David Carr has developed this thought by creating a CNC-like machine that scans your face and carves it into a chunk of chocolate. A chocolate face-printer. It seems rather… Continue reading Eat Your Face?

3D Printers Mainstream in 2-3 Years?

We’re reading a piece from TVNZ that introduces the concept of 3D printing to their audience, who presumably is not familiar with such things. We see similar articles frequently, but this one had an interesting quote from Professor Olaf Diegel, Director of the Creative Industries Research Institute at the Auckland University of Technology in New… Continue reading 3D Printers Mainstream in 2-3 Years?

No Fears of Rampant 3D Copy Theft?

We’ve recently been seeing a torrent (no pun intended) of articles talking about the dangers of 3D print technology for rights owners. The premise is that at some point in the near future we’ll see 3D pirates capturing digital 3D models of practically everything in sight, followed by rampant illegal redistribution to 3D freeloaders. Free… Continue reading No Fears of Rampant 3D Copy Theft?

3D Printing in a Post-Scarcity World

We’re reading a short post on Singularity Hub that asks whether post-scarcity should be discussed more on their blog, due to a lack of awareness of the concept. We were certainly unaware of it – until we read their explanation: For people who don’t know what Post-Scarcity is, in a nutshell it entails everything… Continue reading 3D Printing in a Post-Scarcity World

Extreme Redesign Challenge Winners 2011

The winners of this year’s Extreme Redesign Challenge have been announced by Dimension Printing. The annual contest permits students from several levels to enter their designs in five categories: College Engineering; Art and Architecture; Middle School/High School Engineering; Puzzle and Game Design; Building or Bridge Redesign. This year’s winners include: College Engineering: Jeremy… Continue reading Extreme Redesign Challenge Winners 2011

Trimensional Upgrades, But Not Enough

This January we wrote about an amazing new USD$0.99 iPhone app that apparently was able to produce 3D models simply by taking a few snaps and applying image analysis. At that time the app could produce a 3D image, but not export models suitable for printing. That’s now changed as Trimensional now offers in-app… Continue reading Trimensional Upgrades, But Not Enough

thingmakers Postponed!

Don’t worry – it’s all good. The thingmakers conference, originally scheduled for May 4th, has been postponed until October of this year. Organizer Ivan Pope says: With huge apologies at such a late date – for various reasons, mostly good ones, we’ve postponed the conference until October this year. It will be bigger and… Continue reading thingmakers Postponed!

SYCODE Added to 3D Systems Empire

In an interesting move this week, 3D printing giant 3D Systems acquired SYCODE – a software company. Recently 3DS has been swallowing up hardware makers and service companies, but now they turn to the software world. What exactly does the Goa, India-based SYCODE company make? They offer a very wide breadth of plugin modules… Continue reading SYCODE Added to 3D Systems Empire

Capture That Dinosaur!

Or at least capture their footprints. Most dinosaur species are now extinct, save for those that fly, but the large extinct versions occasionally left behind amazing fossil footprints. We’ve been reading a report of how palaeontologists have been using 3D scanning techniques to capture detailed 3D models of these fossilized prints for later analysis. According… Continue reading Capture That Dinosaur!

3D Printing Companies Will Continue To Do Well

One might think that it’s not a good time to invest in 3D printing companies after their latest run up. However, according to a report by analysts at Piper Jaffray: Based on conversations with industry sources and Q1 channel checks, we believe demand in the 3D printing market has improved and we believe… Continue reading 3D Printing Companies Will Continue To Do Well

No Screw Ups After 3D/DC!

For several years now we’ve written about the legal and ethical complications that might occur when 3D printing tech enters the consumer realm. There is no shortage of pathological situations that might arise, be they related to copyright, patents or other regulatory regimes – all of which were designed for prior eras that didn’t include… Continue reading No Screw Ups After 3D/DC!

It’s 20% Off At i.Materialise

3D Print service i.Materialise has a special deal on until the end of this school year: 20% off regular prices for printed objects for students doing school projects. Why are they doing this? Because they’ve observed a significant bump in student prints during the months of April-July. In other words, the work that students… Continue reading It’s 20% Off At i.Materialise