Architect and MIT professor Neri Oxman has been investigating new techniques for applying 3D printing to the science of building construction. We previously wrote of Neri Oxman’s exploits with MaterialEcology, where she leveraged the synergy of computing, ecology, material engineering and design to produce experimental forms. Now she’s investigating the issue of building materials.… Continue reading MIT Looks at Printing Buildings
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Sketch to 3D Makes Modeling Easy
It’s always been a challenge to get the right models for printing. You may get lucky and find what you want in a freebie repository; you might find it for sale in a 3D print service’s library, or you might have to resort to designing the object yourself with a 3D modelling tool – if… Continue reading Sketch to 3D Makes Modeling Easy
Junior Veloso Is Really Hi-Res
We’ve written about Junior Veloso’s fascinating experiment in constructing a homemade resin-based 3D printer, but he’s recently made significant progress in developing the quality of his 3D prints. Just take a look at the image above and we’re sure you’ll agree he’s on the right track. The left side is printed at an incredible “50… Continue reading Junior Veloso Is Really Hi-Res
KIOSK By Unfold
There are many designers doing interesting things with 3D printing, but one of the more interesting groups is Antwerp-based Unfold Design Studio. For some years they’ve been designing interesting creations, some of which are for sale at their online store. Recently they’ve been working with 3D printer manufacturer Bits From Bytes on ceramic 3D… Continue reading KIOSK By Unfold
i.Materialise in 24 Hours
3D print service i.Materialise announced a new program to dramatically speed up delivery of printed items. You know the scene – you design a brilliant 3D model, send it to the service and then you wait for many days before the result is sitting in your hands. If you live in Europe you’ll actually… Continue reading i.Materialise in 24 Hours
Stratasys is Certified
Stratasys recently announced that they’ve achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. For those of you unfamiliar with the intricacies of ISO manufacturing certifications, this particular cert deals with policies and procedures used to develop manufactured products. While the actual ISO documentation is extensive, Wikipedia summarizes this standard using “informal language”: The quality policy is a formal… Continue reading Stratasys is Certified
3D Printing In Your Mouth and Ears
One of the fascinating items we witnessed at 3D Systems HQ was the focus on medical applications. It seemed every few moments someone was running by with a platter of 3D printed teeth or similar. These were eerie to examine, as the detail was sufficiently spectacular to appear highly realistic. What we didn’t know… Continue reading 3D Printing In Your Mouth and Ears
3D Printing in Wood. No, Really!
It was April 1st this week, the day when every blog post must be read with great suspicion. One very clever post from Freedom of Creation described an incredible experiment in 3D printing using powdered wood. The following day it was revealed to be a hoax – and a good one. Their very realistic post… Continue reading 3D Printing in Wood. No, Really!
Microscopic 3D Models
We’re always looking for new sources of 3D models to print, and we found another potential source: microscopic imaging. Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus are using a special microscopic high-speed imaging (e.g. video) system to capture moving images of teeny things in action, like a single cell dividing, for… Continue reading Microscopic 3D Models
The Anything Factory
During our recent visit to 3D Systems HQ we were able to walk through one of their production facilities. This is a room containing many large-scale 3D printers, each of which was going about its business printing parts for requestors. The facility was part of 3D Systems’ parts-on-demand business. But we had an interesting… Continue reading The Anything Factory
3D Printing is a Mini-Trend
A recent post by John Vanston in VentureBeat proposes that 3D printing (or “Advanced Digital Manufacturing (ADM)” as they term it) is a Minitrend “particularly applicable to large companies.” Vanston has written a book, “MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover Profit From Business & Technology Trends”. He says: Advanced digital manufacturing (ADM) processes build… Continue reading 3D Printing is a Mini-Trend
FABRICATE Conference
There seems to be no shortage of conferences related to 3D printing and digital design and manufacturing these days. One that’s coming up soon is the FABRICATE International Peer Reviewed Conference and Publication, taking place in London, UK on April 15th and 16th. According to FABRICATE: Discussing the progressive integration of digital design with… Continue reading FABRICATE Conference
3D Printing April Fool’s Round Up 2011
Ok, you may have been fooled by Freedom of Creation’s amazing wooden 3D printing post yesterday, but it wasn’t the only fib told in the 3D printing blogosphere on this year’s April Fool’s day. Here’s a compendium of notable tall tales: Freedom of Creation described a quite elaborate secret project to 3D print using… Continue reading 3D Printing April Fool’s Round Up 2011
3D Print Objects In Wood
Amazing? Yes. Inevitable? Probably. A huge step forward? Definitely! Of what do we speak? It’s Freedom of Creation’s latest successful venture into 3D printing using wood as the print material. Their new “Tree-D Printing” process involves using actual sawdust as print material. Their process is powder-based (or in this case, “sawdust-based”, we suppose) in… Continue reading 3D Print Objects In Wood
3D Printers Will Destroy Wages?
An interesting discussion on the Open Manufacturing group asks the question: in the future when personal manufacturing equipment is widespread, what happens to the traditional consumer-manufacturer-wage earner cycle? In other words, if everyone can easily build things, what happens? Will good salaries disappear because there will be fewer buyers for traditionally manufactured items? Patrick Anderson… Continue reading 3D Printers Will Destroy Wages?
Attend The thingmakers Conference – For Free!
London, May 4, 2011 is the date for the new thingmakers conference, where many of the creators of 3D printing technology will join with users in an “intense one day conference on the best of 3D printing and customized manufacturing”. According to organizer Ivan Pope: We’re trying to evangelize 3D printing and associated… Continue reading Attend The thingmakers Conference – For Free!
Clonedel Review
What’s a Clonedel? It’s the latest craze sweeping the RepRap hobbyist market. The folks at Open3DP figured a way to print molds of the parts required to build a RepRap Prusa 3D printer, and there are many who are trying this approach. Why? Because if you’ve got a mold, you can cast the same parts… Continue reading Clonedel Review
Who Needs 3D Printing Rules?
After reading Shapeways’ recent post discussing their new design rules for stainless steel prints, we thought we should weigh in. Shapeways has gone as far as developing a dedicated “Design Rule Repository. What’s in it? According to their post: This is a subsection of the website dedicated to design rules. Going forward, the blog… Continue reading Who Needs 3D Printing Rules?
Order Your Own Mini-Me
3D Print service Sculpteo now offers the ability to print a figurine with your own head on it! The process is pretty straightforward: take two police-lineup style photos of your face and send them off to Sculpteo with your order. Their artists will cook up a colorful design that you must approve before it’s printed.… Continue reading Order Your Own Mini-Me
Massive 3D Printer Unveiled
Is your measly 10x10x10cm build chamber too small for your big ideas? Perhaps you should consider acquiring a voxeljet VX4000, which has a build envelope of 400x200x100cm. Yes, that’s 4x2x1m or 13×6.5×3.3 feet! This item is so large it requires an installation area of 25x12x4.5m, or 14,500 sqft. Definitely not suitable for your office. At… Continue reading Massive 3D Printer Unveiled
3D Printed Curvilinear Antennae
Researchers at the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at Illinois have achieved something never before accomplished: printing an electronic antenna onto a curved surface. Why would you want to do this? According to electrical and computer engineering professor Jennifer T. Bernhard: These antennas are electrically small relative to a wavelength (typically a twelfth of… Continue reading 3D Printed Curvilinear Antennae
3D Printed Ornithopter Wings
Researchers at the Cornell Computational Synthesis Laboratory building a miniature ornithopter (that’s a flying device that uses flapping wing motions for lift) had a problem: the wings were difficult to create due to their small size and mechanical requirements. The problem was solved by using 3D printing techniques to create the wings. The… Continue reading 3D Printed Ornithopter Wings
A Look Inside the V-Flash
During our recent visit to 3D Systems we managed to get a look deep inside one of their intermediate-level 3D printers: the V-Flash. This device uses a unique method of deploying build material that results in the object being built upside down! Upside down or not, the printed results are of extremely high accuracy. … Continue reading A Look Inside the V-Flash
BetaSolution Hints At MakerBot’s Next Move?
MakerBot recently wrote on the availability of iFeelbeta’s “BetaSolution”, a chemical solution capable of dissolving PLA plastic. Why would you want to do this? You’d be able to freely use PLA as a support material in your 3D prints and very easily remove that support from your final object with this fluid. This would enable… Continue reading BetaSolution Hints At MakerBot’s Next Move?
More Interest In 3D Printing Companies
Maybe it was the Economist article, or perhaps the recent run-up in 3D printing company stocks, but there seems to be growing interest in the industry from the general public. We read an article recently that seems to be directing investors towards the industry. Seeking Alpha performs a great breakdown on the two publicly… Continue reading More Interest In 3D Printing Companies
MCOR on Golem
MCOR chief Conor MacCormack was interviewed by German IT news site Golem, in which he takes us on a detailed technical tour of their amazing paper-based 3D printer. Here’s the highlights: Up to 3 full reams of common A4 paper is accepted by the machine Sheets are fed, one-by-one, into the build chamber (or… Continue reading MCOR on Golem
3D Print with Sand, Pee and Bacteria
We are not making this up. It seems that there is always someone, somewhere trying to 3D print with practically any imaginable material. This time the mix is sand, pee (yes, human urine) and a certain type of bacteria. The premise is actually quite interesting: the bacteria (Sporosarcina Pasteuri) are capable of binding the sand’s… Continue reading 3D Print with Sand, Pee and Bacteria
A Visit to 3D Systems HQ
Last week Fabbaloo had a rare opportunity for an onsite visit to the not-quite secret headquarters of 3D Printing leader 3D Systems to speak directly with those in charge of engineering, sales and marketing. Located in the obscure city of Rock Hill, South Carolina, this is a place where 21st century magic truly occurs. … Continue reading A Visit to 3D Systems HQ
Shapeways Re-Silverizes
After an inexplicable absence, 3D Print service Shapeways has re-energized their silver printing capability. Originally introduced some time ago, their silver material disappeared for a short while but now is re-instated as an available material. According the Shapeways, the new silver has “a better price and the same amazing quality.” The cost of a… Continue reading Shapeways Re-Silverizes
Calling Makers: Emergency Dome Needed!
We wondered what Effalo’s next project might be, and now we know for certain: It’s a much larger geodesic dome, apparently to be used in a music video. Unfortunately, according to Michael Felix, principal of MakerFactory, they have less than two weeks to produce the dome and their extruder is broken! They’ve posted a series… Continue reading Calling Makers: Emergency Dome Needed!
AdderFab!
We’ve been following the folks at Open3DP for a while now as they proceed through experiments in 3D Printing. Lately they’ve been working on perfecting printing molds that have revolutionized the production of RepRap Prusa Mendel 3D printer parts. However, we now see they’re working on an entirely new project: an inexpensive, presumably open-source powder-based… Continue reading AdderFab!
Interview With An Organ Printer
We’ve written about Dr. Gabor Forgacs of the University of Missouri before because his work in developing techniques for 3D printing human organs is making great progress. His company, Organovo, has developed a bioprinter, which could be the only such device available for purchase today. Recently he was interviewed by PopTech. You can read… Continue reading Interview With An Organ Printer
Wanted: Micro-Robotic Fabrication Swarms
No kidding – the US Navy has put out a small business technology transfer solicitation (or STTR as they acronymize it) for proposals to “Develop a swarm of micro-robotic fabrication machines that will enable the manufacture of new materials and components”. Astonishing! More details: This topic focuses on a particular approach of using… Continue reading Wanted: Micro-Robotic Fabrication Swarms
Open Source Laser Cutter
We were contacted by Bart Dring of BuildLog.net, which provides a variety of resources for laser cutting tech. Bart says: I thought you might be interested in my new open source laser cutter. This is a second generation generation machine called the 2.x Laser. It is a much more robust and easier to build… Continue reading Open Source Laser Cutter
3D Systems Acquires A Service. Again
Not long after purchasing Bits From Bytes, 3D Systems has now acquired industrial rapid prototyping service QuickParts. Quickparts is a significant service that provides a variety of 3D printing technologies, including: Stereolithography(SLA) Machined Plastic Prototypes(MPP) Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Selective Laser Sintering(SLS) QuickParts also provides injection moulding services. We’re contemplating what… Continue reading 3D Systems Acquires A Service. Again
STL 2.0 / AMF Advances
The 1980’s era STL file format most commonly used for 3D printing has been quite successful, but it does have issues, some of which will become more acute in the future when 3D printing technology advances. To rectify the situation, discussions have been underway for some months to develop a new standard, initially referred to… Continue reading STL 2.0 / AMF Advances
Laser Sintered Orthopedic Implants
Some of us require special orthopaedic implants to correct the scourge of “flat feet”, and as such they must be custom-made to fit each person’s foot. You might think this is a perfect candidate for 3D printing technology, which can produce customized implant shapes on demand. This is precisely what EOS has done with their… Continue reading Laser Sintered Orthopedic Implants
Tissue Engineered
While there have been several experiments attempting to achieve the almost unbelievable feat of printing actual human organs, there has been a breakthrough development by researchers at Cornell. The title of their paper tells it all: “Direct Freeform Fabrication of Seeded Hydrogels in Arbitrary Geometries”. Ok, maybe that’s not entirely clear. Here’s how we’d interpret… Continue reading Tissue Engineered
BotMill Makes Some Moves
3D Printer kit manufacturer BotMill has been making some serious moves to expand their business in the past while. In a discussion with BotMill Chief Gil Mayron, it was revealed that: BotMill now has a bigtime reseller on their team: Robot Shop, who now offer BotMill’s Axis 3D printer for sale on their heavily… Continue reading BotMill Makes Some Moves
Everyone Can Be On Cloud9!
We’ve learned that AnarkikAngels has just released a new release of their easy-to-use haptic 3D modelling software, Cloud9 v2.1 – but this one has no time limits. As far as we can tell, this means it’s free for use. According to Ann Marie Shillito of AnarkikAngels: Up to now we have limited the license for… Continue reading Everyone Can Be On Cloud9!
BfB Prints Clay!
Following up on last week’s amazing feat of printing mashed potatoes, the scientists at Bits From Bytes in Bristol have modified a RapMan 3D printer to use porcelain clay. In the brief experiment, they successfully printed a model head. While clay seems like an obvious choice for an unusual 3D printing material, we’re wondering… Continue reading BfB Prints Clay!
Furniture Fair Contest at Shapeways
Shapeways is running an interesting contest in which the winners will be given a spot at the 23d annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City this May. Why would you want to enter this contest? Because the ICFF is: North America’s singular showcase for contemporary design, the ICFF draws the most intrepid… Continue reading Furniture Fair Contest at Shapeways
Flexible PLA is Available!
Following up on our earlier post, we’ve located a supply shop that can provide actual flexible PLA. This is not the same material that Vik Olliver is developing; he’s working on a formula to make PLA slightly “bendy”, able to take at least some level of shock, or perhaps a bullet or two. The material… Continue reading Flexible PLA is Available!
Flexible PLA?
There’s a lot to like about 3D Printing in PLA plastic: it’s recyclable, made from totally organic material, prints with a very elegant sheen, it doesn’t warp when printing, sticks well to properly prepared print beds and even has a fantastic sweet aroma too. And did we mention it doesn’t warp? It doesn’t warp!! … Continue reading Flexible PLA?
ZCorp Ships 6,000th 3D Printer
We don’t know a lot about 3D printer manufacturer ZCorp’s financial results, as they are not publicly traded. But there is evidence they’re having as much success as the two public 3D printer manufacturers. ZCorp announced they’ve shipped their 6,000th 3D printer, an incredible milestone. But that’s not all – they also announced record… Continue reading ZCorp Ships 6,000th 3D Printer
Early Retirement With A 3D Printing Investment?
Winning in the stock market is conceptually easy: buy low, sell high. But the secret is all in the timing. When do you buy? The answer is straightforward: when the stock is when you think it hits bottom. During the stock market crash of 2008 many stocks were in extremely distressed states, and were… Continue reading Early Retirement With A 3D Printing Investment?
MCOR Expands in Europe
MCOR, makers of the world’s only paper-based 3D printer, has just spread their wings across Europe by announcing relationships with two key equipment resellers. Germany-based mStore will sell MCOR’s product in Germany (obviously) as well as Austria and Switzerland. Meanwhile, Netherlands-based 3D Worknet will service Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy. Luxembourg, Norway, Russia… Continue reading MCOR Expands in Europe
MakerBot Takes A Bath?
Most 3D printing companies and services experiment by introducing new products from time to time, and MakerBot is definitely one of the most experimental of companies. This time they’ve introduced something quite radical that may revolutionize personal 3D printing in the future: Dissolvable print material. How does it work? Their new polyvinyl alcohol plastic… Continue reading MakerBot Takes A Bath?
New Colors At Shapeways? Again?
Leading consumer 3D print service Shapeways has added Indigo and Dark Grey color options to their awkwardly named but highly descriptive “strong and flexible” plastic material. It seems not a month goes by without the inventive mandarins of Shapeways announcing new colors or material availability. Don’t get us wrong – we think this is the… Continue reading New Colors At Shapeways? Again?
3D Printed Shoes Nominated For Award
You might have seen those amazing 3D printed shoes produced by Materialise. Well, they’re so impressive they’ve been nominated for the Brit Insurance Design Award, and as such they’re being exhibited in London until 7th August of this year at the Design Museum. According to Materialise: Within the fashion category are nominees Naim Josefi… Continue reading 3D Printed Shoes Nominated For Award
3D Printing Stock Companies Doing Well. Really Well
After looking through the recent financial statements from the two publicly traded 3D printing companies, 3D Systems and Stratasys, we’re very impressed. Both companies are flying high. 3D Systems, for example, had revenue rise from a mere USD$112M in 2009 to a massive USD$160M in 2010, with profit rising from USD$1M to USD$20M. Stratasys was… Continue reading 3D Printing Stock Companies Doing Well. Really Well
3D Printing Potatoes With The RapMan
The folks at Bits From Bytes are experimenting with Food Printing, which seems to be a growing area of interest for hungry 3D print operators. BfB have evidently been trying to print mashed potatoes, something we haven’t seen before. They seem to have been successful, judging from the images and video. BfB is collaborating with… Continue reading 3D Printing Potatoes With The RapMan
Shapeways Gets Own 3D Printer
For some reason we thought Shapeways was a 3D print service. Well, it is – but now they *really* are because they now have their very own 3D printer on site. Previously all of their work was outsourced to a variety of partners. Outsourcing printing isn’t that surprising, given the massive selection of materials they… Continue reading Shapeways Gets Own 3D Printer
Ten Year Old Speaks on 3D Printing
3D Printing always gets people excited whenever we mention it, and this excitement is all over. Consider the YouTube video of ten year old Schuyler St. Leger speaking at Ignite Phoenix, in which he describes with some passion his thoughts on 3D printing and the maker community. His hugely entertaining talk is definitely worth viewing. … Continue reading Ten Year Old Speaks on 3D Printing
3D Modeling in Your Web Browser
Benjamin Nortier of London is our hero. Why? He’s taken on a huge challenge: create a 3D modelling program that everyone can use. He’s performed an analysis of available 3D modeling tools and came to pretty much the same conclusion we did: tools are too hard, too expensive or not usable for solid modeling. What’s… Continue reading 3D Modeling in Your Web Browser
MakerBot’s StepStruder Released
As long suspected and desired, MakerBot released a new extruder: The Stepstruder MK6. This has been sought after for some time by MakerBot fans as it should increase the quality of prints substantially. How does it work? In simple terms, it permits extremely precise control over the extrusion flow. The MK6 uses a stepper… Continue reading MakerBot’s StepStruder Released
See It Before You Download It
Content is king once you have a 3D printer. You need things to print, after all! But one of the main repositories for free printable 3D models, Thingiverse, has prepared a wonderful upgrade to their service: 3D viewing of models – before you print them! While there are a ton of models at Thingiverse,… Continue reading See It Before You Download It
Molding a 3D Printer
The RepRap project attempts to design a printer that is capable of printing all the parts required to build another copy of itself. While they are quite successful in doing so, work continues – and much of that work is focused on optimizing the replication process. For some, this means simplifying the design so fewer… Continue reading Molding a 3D Printer
The Zoybar 3D Printed Guitar
It seems there is growing interest in 3D printed musical instruments. After the amazing 3D printed flute we now see another 3D printed guitar: The Zoybar TOR. This funky item is composed of a small number of parts (three) printed by Shapeways. Designed by Bård S D, this item is not available for sale… Continue reading The Zoybar 3D Printed Guitar
Laser Engineered Net Shaping
Printing metal? There are several ways to do this, mostly involving mixing fine metal powder with a sticky medium, then firing it to fuse the metal together and burn of the sticky stuff. But now we’ve run across a completely different way to print metal. Optomec’s LENS technology (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) focuses a… Continue reading Laser Engineered Net Shaping
3D World Gets DMCA’d
This was totally inevitable. Earlier this week a new object posted to Thingiverse was widely discussed. It was a great object – apparently able to visually simulate an impossible object: The Penrose Triangle, except in reality. And the design succeeds, at least when viewed from the correct angle. But then the fun started. Ulrich… Continue reading 3D World Gets DMCA’d
3D Printer Resellers, Or Not?
In the battle for personal 3D printer supremacy, the leading manufacturers seem to have chosen different approaches to sales. MakerBot, 3D Systems, PP3DP, BotMill and others MakerBot, BotMill and many of the smaller participants tend to sell directly to clients from their websites. Perhaps this makes sense as these smaller companies don’t yet have… Continue reading 3D Printer Resellers, Or Not?
MCOR Nominated For Award
MCOR, manufacturers of the paper-based Matrix 300 3D Printer have been nominated for the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG)/Irish Times technology company award. This will be the fourth annual award of this type, which honours Irish technology companies. The ITLG is a group of senior Irish-American tech execs from the US, who organized a “Silicon… Continue reading MCOR Nominated For Award
CNN Reports on 3D Printing Human Skin
A report today in CNN describes the incredible work being done to assist injured soldiers. While many types of injuries occur overseas, one of the most common is burned skin – evidently 5-20% of all combat injuries. A new initiative attempts to rebuild skin damaged in this way using 3D print technology. The approach… Continue reading CNN Reports on 3D Printing Human Skin
Dam Building With a 3D Printer
Of course you can’t *actually* build a dam with a 3D printer. Not yet, anyway. But for now you can build rather nice models of them – and that’s just what Marco Giubelli did with his RapMan 3D printer for his client. The model is of a proposed hydro-electric water storage dam on Lago… Continue reading Dam Building With a 3D Printer
3D Buried Treasure
Seattle’s Matt Westervelt contacted us to explain a new initiative being undertaken by Metrix Create:Space. They’re concerned with the skills required to successfully perform powder-based 3D printing. According to Matt: 3D powder-based printing is more than designing something digitally and pulling it out of a machine. There is skill involved in removing the excess… Continue reading 3D Buried Treasure
EOS’s PEEK Craniofacial Implants
Accidents happen and sometimes tragic victims require replacement of critical bone structures. These replacement body parts have been constructed with Titanium for strength and durability. However, 3D printer manufacturer EOS has just developed a new process to produce craniofacial implants using PEEK, a high-temp, biocompatible plastic. The custom laser-sintered implants are desirable because they… Continue reading EOS’s PEEK Craniofacial Implants
More Great Printable Buildings
One of the easiest items to 3D print are models of buildings. Their shapes are often straightforward for successful printing and yet quite recognizable. It’s a great feeling when you print a building, give it to someone and they immediately recognize what it is without being told. But the question is, where do you… Continue reading More Great Printable Buildings
LiveCAD’s iPad 3D Modeler
We’re checking out new software from LiveCAD: Home Design 3D iPad. This sweet package lets you design an apartment or house floor by merely dragging, dropping and positioning walls and common objects onto a 2D view. Then you hit the 3D button and see your new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom in glorious finger-scrolling 3D. … Continue reading LiveCAD’s iPad 3D Modeler
FigurePrints Revisited
Quite some time ago we reported on a unique service: FigurePrints. It’s a totally niche 3D print service, but what’s the niche? They print custom figurines of your World of Warcraft character. We thought we’d take another look at them. How does it work? It’s pretty simple, really. You specify your character’s name, Realm… Continue reading FigurePrints Revisited
The Economist on 3D Printing
Is this the big time for 3D Printing? If it’s the cover story on The Economist, perhaps so. The article describes the history and concept of 3D printing, but then goes on to suggest that 3D printing is now being used for finished parts rather than simply prototypes. This could lead, they say, to… Continue reading The Economist on 3D Printing
Natural 3D Printing
Ponoko posted of a wonderful story about Sydney-based lighting company SandFlora’s experience designing a beautiful lamp. The interesting part was the inspiration: nature. In fact, this line of lamp was inspired by the intricate Waratah flower, native to Australia. The lamp was of course 3D printed and looks amazing. Our interest, as was… Continue reading Natural 3D Printing
Lexus Invents New Form of 3D Printing
New Scientist reports on an innovative parts-making process invented by Lexus. It’s a kind of futuristic 3D Loom that essentially “weaves” parts together. The circular device pulls a series of carbon fibres into a desired shape and is capable of “weaving” highly complex parts much faster than traditional techniques. Curves, varying thicknesses and dimensions are… Continue reading Lexus Invents New Form of 3D Printing
3DTin’s Buzz
We heard the huge chatter across the 3D world recently about 3DTin, an impressive web-based 3D modelling tool. What? 3D modelling in a browser? Yes. True. There are tons of limitations, however. Essentially, 3DTin uses a simple building block approach, much like assembling a structure out of Lego blocks. In this way rudimentary models… Continue reading 3DTin’s Buzz
MCOR 3D Paper Printer Available Across Europe
One way to reduce the cost of 3D printing is to use inexpensive material for printing – and that’s precisely what the MCOR Matrix 300 does. It uses plain sheet paper as its print medium, leading to perhaps the lowest operational cost of a commercial 3D printer. The Matrix 300 has been available in… Continue reading MCOR 3D Paper Printer Available Across Europe
Wearable 3D Printed Plants
Some may wear a red rose in their lapel, but why not a green plant? The notion of wearing plants is a little strange, but Etsy maker Colleen Jordan has figured out how to do it – with some help from a 3D printer. The concept is simple: a miniature flower pot is suspended… Continue reading Wearable 3D Printed Plants
The Ultimate Scanner?
University of Southampton researchers have a new tool available: a high-energy 3D scanner. The design of this scanner is fascinating: it’s actually five different scanners in one, each capable of handling different resolution levels. When combined in this integrated system, the scanner is capable of scanning down to an astonishing 200 nanometers. All this within… Continue reading The Ultimate Scanner?
Name Your Price at Model Labs
We’ve found another 3D print service that should be added to the list. Model Labs, a Laguna Beach, California-based operation provides rapid prototyping services: they’ll accept a STL format file and 3D print it for you on their equipment. They offer a variety of 3D print services, including FDM and SLA. There are many… Continue reading Name Your Price at Model Labs
More On Copy Protecting Objects
Last week we wrote on how a Thingiverse user had submitted a set of pieces suitable for playing The Settlers of Catan game, and contemplated the legality of this move. Another view comes from website Public Knowledge, who have taken the time to analyze this a bit deeper. Their approach was to examine each of… Continue reading More On Copy Protecting Objects
3D Print Spaceships From 2001: A Space Odyssey
It’s one of our all-time favourite motion pictures, perhaps yours too. The 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey still feels “real” and “plausible”, some 43 years after it was made and an even more astonishing ten years since the events in the film were to take place. But now you can relive your 2001… Continue reading 3D Print Spaceships From 2001: A Space Odyssey
Ultimaker Breaks the Speed Limit
One of the annoying things about 3D printing is the length of time it takes to produce objects. Unlike a printed 2D page, which is created in a single sweep of the inkjet, 3D objects have many layers that sometimes take hours to print. Clearly, a way of speeding things up would be desirable. … Continue reading Ultimaker Breaks the Speed Limit
Share That Model With OurBricks
You’ve cooked up an amazing 3D model and you’d like to show it off. . . to your mum who doesn’t have a 3D modelling tool install or have any hope of getting one. What do you do? You use OurBricks – a new beta service that lets you share your 3D models online.… Continue reading Share That Model With OurBricks
Essential Calibration
You’ve assembled your 3D printer after great effort and are anxiously awaiting your first printout. It will be amazing. It will shock everyone watching. Printing an actual object! But it turns out to be a sullen lump of misshapen plastic. This is the dilemma of many who assemble their own 3D printer. The… Continue reading Essential Calibration
The Different Flavors of Home 3D Printers
We’ve been reading a long thread on the MakerBot Operator’s Google Group initiated by Shawn M, who is considering purchasing a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic 3D printer. He asks about the level of effort required to produce high-quality parts with this particular device. As is often the case, a simple question led to some insights. A… Continue reading The Different Flavors of Home 3D Printers
An Ode To Digital Fabrication
It’s not every day you’re contacted by a Finnish professor working for an American university in Doha, Qatar who explains that he’s written a poem about Digital Fabrication. But it happened today. Dr. Thomas Modeen, whom we’ve written about previously and normally focuses on physical matters such as architecture and design, has indeed written… Continue reading An Ode To Digital Fabrication
Copy Protecting Objects?
A piece by i.Materialise got us thinking about object copy protection. In their post, Joris Peels tells the tale of how a Thingiverse user posted a set of game pieces suitable for printing. The catch was that these pieces were, for all intents, a replacement set for the popular Settlers of Catan board game! It’s… Continue reading Copy Protecting Objects?
Self-Made Biodegradable Plastic?
We’re reading a post on LifeHacker talking about making your own biodegradable plastic. Evidently the recipe is straightforward: Grab some milk or cream, and some lemon juice or vinegar. Put the cream in a saucepan and heat it, using the lowest setting on the stove and stirring constantly to keep it from burning. When… Continue reading Self-Made Biodegradable Plastic?
Arcam Electron Beam Melting
We’re accustomed to examining home 3D printers or consumer 3D print services, but we’re also fascinated by the larger commercial species. An interesting 3D print approach is employed by Arcan, a Swedish manufacturer of Electron Beam Melting printers. Yes, they use “powerful electron beams” (up to 3000W) to melt metal powered to gradually form complete… Continue reading Arcam Electron Beam Melting
getitmade!
You’ve designed something ultracool for your 3D printer and want to sell it. But how? One way you might consider is getitmade, a site kicking off new ideas: getitmade is a new kind of marketplace where anyone with a product idea can test the market and use social networking to generate pre-sales and get… Continue reading getitmade!
Color 3D Printing At Home
It’s possible to buy a color 3D printer, but they’re currently very expensive, such as those from ZCorp. Meanwhile, typical home 3D printers are monochrome, at least until you change the input plastic filament. The good news is that the selection of filament colors continues to increase and now includes quite a variety beyond simple… Continue reading Color 3D Printing At Home
The Platon 3D Printer
Secretly announced in a comment on one of our posts was the existence of a new commercial 3D printer offering from Danish company Create It Real. The Platon 3D Printer is apparently a plastic extruder, judging from the brief video. There is scant little information about this device, but it is supposed to be available… Continue reading The Platon 3D Printer
3D Print a Kindle!
Not exactly, but it’s surprisingly close to printing a Kindle. Maker Stergios Stergiou has designed a combination case and magnifier that blows up an iPhone 4 screen to 6 inches in size – approximately the same size as an actual Kindle. This makes it much easier to read eBooks, for example. The device, called… Continue reading 3D Print a Kindle!
3D Printing Board Games
3D modeller Jeff Timothy is exploring the possibility of creating a new service focused on 3D printing board game pieces and equipment. This makes a lot of sense to us, as 3D printing would be a great way to create unique game pieces. And board game designers obviously need new pieces for their projects, don’t… Continue reading 3D Printing Board Games
The Painted Terminator
The Herald of Anguish is a “non-profit project aiming to make a 3D-animated clip of an intense fight between a squad of Blood Angels Terminators and hordes of genestealers onboard a Space Hulk” composed of four 3D graphics friends who enjoy that genre and wanted to pay tribute to the storyline. Click on the image… Continue reading The Painted Terminator
3D Food Printing on CNN
We’ve just been informed that CNN has a piece focused on 3D food printing. Reporter Laurie Segall interviews French Culinary Institute Chef David Arnold, who’s been experimenting with a Fab@Home printer, specially modified for printing food items. Not yet any food ingredients, but “any form of paste” as Arnold explains. Arnold says they’ve experimented with cake… Continue reading 3D Food Printing on CNN