Fabbaloo has obtained 3D print samples from printer vendor Solido, including the dramatic skeleton hand above. Solido uses a unique plastic sheet printing technique in which successive sheets are glued and cut, eventually building up to an object. This process certainly produces a lot of waste plastic – but don’t fear! You can send the… Continue reading Solido – Up Close
All
A 3D Design Alternative
We received a follow up comment regarding our post “Poor Man’s 3D Printing: The Design” from A1 technologies, marketers of a variety of 3D gear. They wished to point out one of their products, the Chameleon, might be considered as an inexpensive design alternative. What is the Chameleon? It’s a hardware/software combination that enables… Continue reading A 3D Design Alternative
A Student Prints an Engine Block
A wonderful story by Julie LaChance relates her first encounter with a 3D printer. We love these stories because we can see the awesome and profound revelation people feel when they suddenly “get it” and realize what could be when 3D printing breaks out. In this story, Julie had a “you have to see… Continue reading A Student Prints an Engine Block
The Vitraglyphic Process: Revealed
A wonderful video from Doctoral Student Meghan Trainor and Professor Mark Ganter of the University of Washington shows the entire process of producing 3D printed ceramics. The initial fragile print made from a glass powder formula is placed into a furnace for firing and solidification. An ongoing issue with the process, which is still… Continue reading The Vitraglyphic Process: Revealed
A Distributed Manufacturing Experiment – Get Involved Now!
We received a note from Vernon Effalo of Effalo.com, who’s performing a very interesting experiment. He’s designed a unique geodesic dome connector (you know, the five-way joint for the arms of the dome) and wants you to build them for him. And it’s not begging – he’s willing to pay USD$2 per connector! So… Continue reading A Distributed Manufacturing Experiment – Get Involved Now!
3D Bone Puzzle: Solved
There’s some interesting work taking place at the British Royal Infirmary, where 3D technology is being used to improve the process of rebuilding highly complex joint fractures. These complex fractures are very difficult to repair due to the myriad of tiny pieces that must be precisely placed back in their original locations in order… Continue reading 3D Bone Puzzle: Solved
Rapido3D 3D Services Get Personal
UK-based 3D “Laser Scanning and 3D Mesh Bureau” provides the standard 3D services such as 3D printing, scanning, engraving, CNC machining, etc. But they also offer two unusual 3D services: “Head and Facial Scanning” and the more ominous “Body Scanning”. The results are startling, as you can see in this video. According to their… Continue reading Rapido3D 3D Services Get Personal
A Purple 3D Printer for Under USD$4000
3D Printer reseller Purple Platypus has added another item to their growing list of products. Previously, they marketed devices from Objet, but now they’re addressing the low-cost 3D printer market by adding the BFB 3000 Panther. The Panther is actually the same BfB 3000 we previously reported, and the benefits are the same: … Continue reading A Purple 3D Printer for Under USD$4000
A1’s Subtractive UNIMAT Series
A1 Technology, sellers of a variety of additive 3D equipment including the low-cost BfB 3000 3D printer and RapMan 3D printer has introduced an entirely new line of products: The UNIMAT series, a collection of subtractive manufacturing tools. The premise is UNIMAT’s extremely low pricing and modular design that should enable the technology to… Continue reading A1’s Subtractive UNIMAT Series
Poor Man’s 3D Printing: Finishing
You’ve obtained or made a 3D model and printed it on a 3D print service or perhaps your own 3D printer. Now the question is, “how can I finish it at low cost?” While there are several professional commercial finishing services, they’re quite expensive and don’t fit the theme here. There are only two reasonable options: … Continue reading Poor Man’s 3D Printing: Finishing
Poor Man’s 3D Printing: The Print
In our previous article we provided ideas on how to prepare your 3D model at the lowest cost possible. But once you have the model ready to print, how do you get it done at low cost? There are three basic approaches: You Know Someone. That’s right – you just might happen to… Continue reading Poor Man’s 3D Printing: The Print
Poor Man’s 3D Printing: The Design
So you want to start 3D printing, but you have no money? It is possible to do 3D printing without much cash, and for starters you’d need to prepare your 3D model for printing. But how to do this without cash? Two ways: simply use a 3D model from a well-stocked repository or design a… Continue reading Poor Man’s 3D Printing: The Design
FabLab Ignites Fab@School
The Fab@Home guys at Cornell have won a major contest in the education sector, as they were recently named one of eight winners in the third annual Digital Media and Learning competition. The competition attempts to dramatically change how education works in the 21st century: President Obama has called for a renewed focus on… Continue reading FabLab Ignites Fab@School
Boing Boing’s Bong Debate
Our post earlier this week describing Tom Matten’s “MakerBong” was picked up by BoingBoing. Now then, BoingBoing is a somewhat bigger blog than Fabbaloo, ahem, and a vigorous debate therefore emerged regarding the post’s idea – whether it’s the object or the design that matters when an illegal item is in question. Here are several… Continue reading Boing Boing’s Bong Debate
Fabbaloo Survey Results
Readers may recall we issued a survey the other week, attempting to duplicate 3D Systems’ survey by using the same questions. The responses have slowed, so it’s time to take a look at the results, which you can see by clicking on the chart for a larger view. The highlights, as we see it:… Continue reading Fabbaloo Survey Results
Golden 3D Prints with Shapeways’ Midas Touch
Shapeways is experimenting with another print material, one you’ve always wanted to have: Gold! They’ve managed to develop a process where a gold-plating step is added to normal stainless steel 3D printing. The results, as you can see in the image above, are terrific. The major concern with Gold Printing, is of course… Continue reading Golden 3D Prints with Shapeways’ Midas Touch
3D Printers are the New Cranes
Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG speculates on a spectacular use of Enrico Dini’s building-sized 3D printer: endless change and renewal as a building could have its own 3D printer constantly printing out new modules, rooms, floors and other components. By adding a tear-down function, the building would both birth and consume itself continuously. From Manaugh: … Continue reading 3D Printers are the New Cranes
DeviceKnit Discovers Good Uses
We were approached by John Ganotis, developer of DeviceKnit, a unique way to think about gadgets. Here’s how it works, according to John: We’ve been describing it as a “cookbook for gadgets.” In its first, simplest form its all about sharing applications for different electronics and gadgets people have. Users submit “implementations” as responses… Continue reading DeviceKnit Discovers Good Uses
Specialized 3D Bikes
Those ultra-cool bikes from manufacturer Specialized made from carbon fibre just don’t appear. They’re designed very carefully – using 3D printing technology. The process begins when Specialized engineers design a bike using a 3D modelling tool. Their objective is to produce something that not only is technically brilliant, but also looks good. The entire… Continue reading Specialized 3D Bikes
3D Printing Solves The Innovator’s Dilemma?
In the classic business book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma”, author Clayton M. Christensen describes a scenario which happens all to often in large companies: Inventive staff come up with a new way to produce the product Management is not interested in backing the new way because even if it succeeded, the amount of revenue is… Continue reading 3D Printing Solves The Innovator’s Dilemma?
Up Against the Wall and Spread Your Legs!
Designer Tom Matten submitted a rather unusual design to 3D model repository Thingiverse the other week: a bong. According to the description: Maker Bong puts the smoker back in charge. Maker Bong gives the individual the ability to create what ever type of bong they desire, weather it be a steamroller, Hookah, or normal… Continue reading Up Against the Wall and Spread Your Legs!
HP 3D Printers Rolling Out
NeBusiness reports on the new HP 3D printer that’s now in the hands of another UK reseller: Standing Stone. They’ve been selling it since the first of May. The firm’s national sales director, Simon Buckton, says of the £16,500 3D printer + cleaner combo: We’ve shown some architects, who are very excited about it,… Continue reading HP 3D Printers Rolling Out
3D Printed Gloves
Fabbing superstar Janne Kyttanen of Freedom of Creation has been commissioned to produce unique white 3D printed gloves, as shown here. The gloves were commissioned by the Design Hub Barcelona, are will be on display from 15 June 2010 to 28 February 2011 in at the Fabrication Laboratory exhibition. According to DHUB: The objects… Continue reading 3D Printed Gloves
World of Houses Contest
iMaterialise is running another contest for 3D modellers: the “World of Houses SketchUp Design Challenge”. You’ll have to use Google SketchUp with the iMaterialise plugin to create your house design, but otherwise it’s all up to you and your imagination. To submit your entry, you’ll need to prepare a 845 x 300 pixel rendering,… Continue reading World of Houses Contest
The Infinite MakerBot
On your 2D paper printer, the print job is usually complete by the time you get your butt out of the chair and stroll over to the printer. Not so with a 3D printer, where you often must wait for many minutes, or even hours for a job to complete. When it’s done, you’ve probably… Continue reading The Infinite MakerBot
Five Things to 3D Print in 2050?
PrintCountry proposed “5 Ways Your Grandkids will Use 3D Printers in 2050” in a whimsical post recently. We thought about their list and came up with our own. But first, here’s PrintCountry’s assessment: Organs What if in 2050, no one will have to be on a waiting list for an organ transplant ever again?… Continue reading Five Things to 3D Print in 2050?
Stratasys is Savoring
That’s according to their CEO, Scott Crump, who in a recent blog post described the moment when HP announced it entered the 3D printer market – using machines made by Stratasys. Crump: It’s a sweet feeling to see Stratasys reach this point. I’ve envisioned an event like this for more than 20 years. … Continue reading Stratasys is Savoring
A 3D Idea: Printing The City
We’ve been fascinated by a video of Google’s new feature for their popular Google Earth product: 3D imagery. You might be surprised to realize that the image above is NOT a photograph of New York City, but was from a new version of Google Earth that incorporates street view images and superimposes them on 3D… Continue reading A 3D Idea: Printing The City
Printing the Moon
We saw a few posts recently proposing to use the D-Shape outdoor printer to be modified for printing a lunar base. That’s an enticing and challenging possibility, but why not print the Moon on Earth while we await real lunar exploration? That’s exactly what space enthusiast Howard Fink did, as you can see in the… Continue reading Printing the Moon
The Glass Car
An amazing video shows a behind the scenes look at the creation of a glass car – no kidding! It’s almost completely made of glass. Shell Oil wanted to really show everyone how their engine oil works by making a see-through car, including, of course, the engine itself. The engine turns over, and you can… Continue reading The Glass Car
Enter The Shapeways Student Contest
Shapeways 3D print service announced a brand new contest, this one for students only. Named the “2010 Shapeways Full Color 3D Print Student Contest”, it would appear this is an annual affair. It’s called a “Color” contest because the idea is to print your model with Shapeways new color material, “Full Color Sandstone”. One major… Continue reading Enter The Shapeways Student Contest
Gartner’s Jackie Fenn on 3D Printing
Fabbaloo interviewed Gartner Analyst Jackie Fenn, VP and Gartner Fellow covering Emerging Trends. Jackie writes on a variety of new technologies and approaches, one of which has been 3D printing. Jackie is the originator of Gartner’s famous Hype Cycle, which proposes that every technology follows a consistent pattern of interest through its lifecycle. Jackie’s… Continue reading Gartner’s Jackie Fenn on 3D Printing
What’s The Most Important Characteristic of a 3D Printer?
We found a survey link in our email from 3D Systems, one of the largest commercial manufacturers of 3D printers. 3D Systems is seeking to learn what their clients and prospects think is important in a 3D printer. We’re wondering that too. Therefore, we have duplicated 3D Systems’ key question in our very own… Continue reading What’s The Most Important Characteristic of a 3D Printer?
Forget Z Layers – Just Fold Instead!
The fundamental premise of 3D printing is layers. We add them a fraction of a millimetre at a time, be it with plastic, powder or some expensive goop, it is the basis of all 3D printing. Even the software assumes this is the case as it slices our 3D models into layers suitable for printing. … Continue reading Forget Z Layers – Just Fold Instead!
Ice Printing
We know it’s spring and things are warming up (at least on the top side of our planet), but it’s time to talk about ice. Specifically, ice printing. Along with numerous other print materials, plain water can now be added to the list. The “computer assisted ice printing” experiment was developed by professors and… Continue reading Ice Printing
HP 3D Printer Specifications
While the new line of HP 3D printers is only available in certain countries, that doesn’t stop you from finding their specifications if you aren’t in their current sales area. We’ve probed to the depths of HP’s vast ocean of web pages to find the specifications for the twin 3D printers announced last week. As… Continue reading HP 3D Printer Specifications
WaveWash From Stratasys
One of the big challenges with 3D printers is the clean up process. Unlike 2D printers, where you can use the output immediately, most 3D printers produce objects that require various types of post-processing, and this is especially true for support media. While some printers simply use the same print material for support sections that… Continue reading WaveWash From Stratasys
Win $20,000 in a Design Contest
We know you like to design things, so why not try to win a large prize with your best ideas? Consider entering the “Create the Future” Design contest. Your entry can compete in any of several design categories: Consumer Products – Products that increase quality of life in the workplace, at home, during… Continue reading Win $20,000 in a Design Contest
Open Hardware: Defined?
The results of a March 17th workshop on open hardware have been released. The event, termed “A workshop on legal tools for open source hardware”, started discussing ideas for open hardware licenses beyond the software-heritage open licenses commonly reused today. These software licenses (such as Creative Commons, GPL, etc.) do not necessarily account for the… Continue reading Open Hardware: Defined?
SMArchitecture
We ran across a very interesting operation: SMArchitecture, a “Kuwait and London based architectural & design R&D practice”. Their blog, written by Dr. Thomas Modeen describes their design experiments, which are often highly unusual and seem to have evolved from fabrication techniques. Some examples: The ‘Comet’ vase, which consists of a bundle of hollow,… Continue reading SMArchitecture
DIYLILCNC
The DIYLILCNC is a do-it-yourself CNC machine. Much like open source 3D printer designs, this one is instead for a CNC machine. This one can be built for approximately USD$700. From the site: Plans and instructions for building the DIYLILCNC are distributed freely and intended for wide distribution and modification with few restrictions. The… Continue reading DIYLILCNC
Finalists Announced in 3D Printing Contest
The annual Dimension 3D Extreme Redesign Contest has announced nine finalists in three categories. High School Category Finalists: Robby Ridzy, Medina County Career Center, Brunswick, Ohio: Gutter Guide Maxwell Krist, Eckstein Middle School, Seattle, Wash.: Electricity Usage Meter Korrina Reed, Milford H.S., Milford, Ohio: Fragrance Bracelet University Category Finalists: Donald Nicholson, Columbus State… Continue reading Finalists Announced in 3D Printing Contest
A Little World Idea
We’re checking out the new iPhone app from “Little World Gifts”, which is a rather cool idea. You browse a series of 3D “gifts” via your iPhone – and browsing means viewing in 3D using rotations, zoom, etc. Once you’ve selected something, you can pick one of your contacts and purchase the item to be… Continue reading A Little World Idea
Affordable 3D Printing?
We’re examining a news release from Bits From Bytes, who apparently will be unveiling what they say is the “first fully assembled 3D printer to be put on the market for less than £2,000” at the RAPID 2010 Conference and Expo on May 18th. The new BFB 3000 has a couple of interesting features,… Continue reading Affordable 3D Printing?
3D Print and Design Workshop in Seattle
Wulf Design owner and 3D print blogger Larry James is offering a “3D Print & Design Workshop” on April the 24th, for any readers in the Seattle vicinity. The session is being offered through the Seattle Free School. In the four-hour session, Larry will provide an introduction to 3D printing using a MakerBot printer (perhaps his… Continue reading 3D Print and Design Workshop in Seattle
A MakerBot For Free?
MakerBot has teamed with Make magazine in a contest to award one lucky designer with a brand new MakerBot CupCake printer. All you have to do is submit an amazing, awesome and original design to 3D model repository Thingiverse. Bre Prettis explains it all in the video link below. But you’d better do it… Continue reading A MakerBot For Free?
HP is 3D Printing!
The big news today was the anticipated release of HP’s new line of 3D printers. The printers are actually made by Stratasys, makers of the Dimension line of printers by means of a joint venture the two signed earlier this year. The announcement specifies two models, which will be available this May only in… Continue reading HP is 3D Printing!
Glass Objects from Shapeways
The big news this week was clearly Shapeways surprise announcement: they now provide glass as print material! Glass printing has been the subject of much investigation and experimentation this year, and now it appears that Shapeways has made enough progress to offer commercial 3D printing using it. Even better, the glass used is recycled… Continue reading Glass Objects from Shapeways
The Most Popular 3D Printer Brands & Manufacturers?
A strange post appeared last week on Red Chill Media where they listed their thoughts on the “Top 4 Most Popular 3D Printer Brands & Manufacturers”. Their list included: Objet Z Corporation Desktop Factory (!) Dimension/Stratasys We’re not sure we’d agree with this list, particularly item 3, Desktop Factory. While DT was highly touted and… Continue reading The Most Popular 3D Printer Brands & Manufacturers?
TurboSquid
Model makers and consumers might head over to TurboSquid to find and market 3D models. Fabbaloo readers are both makers and consumers, so we felt it was time to point out the benefits of TurboSquid’s amazing service. What is TurboSquid? It’s perhaps the largest commercial online marketplace for 3D models today. Operating like eBay,… Continue reading TurboSquid
SpaceNavigators Are Free!
We’re a big fan of SpaceNavigators, those pleasant-feeling 3D controllers that are most often found in your not-the-regular-mouse hand. The SpaceNav is compatible with a long list of 3D software, ranging from most modelling tools to 3D games. There’s several types of SpaceNavs available from maker 3DConnexion, including more advanced models with many buttons,… Continue reading SpaceNavigators Are Free!
Solido Pricing Update
We were contacted by Valori Pagone, VP Technical Support at Solido USA Solido USA, after she read our post from last week examining a sample print from a Solido 3D printer. In the article we posted pricing we found at typical resellers, but according to Valori: Consumable kits are $359 USD for any… Continue reading Solido Pricing Update
New Google Sketchup 3D Plugin from i.materialise
There’s already a few plugins for Google’s popular Sketchup 3D modelling program that permit export to formats suitable for 3D printing, but we learned that i.materialise has now released their own version. The plugin is easily installed into Sketchup by using the instructions linked below. In the image above you can see how it… Continue reading New Google Sketchup 3D Plugin from i.materialise
Printing The Iron Man, And More
Blockbuster film Iron Man 2 has a direct 3D printing connection: Iron Man’s suit, as well as that of arch-nemesis Whiplash, were produced on a 3D printer. And they didn’t just print a mould for the suit parts, they printed the actual suit components. After a bit of paint, they were ready to be worn!… Continue reading Printing The Iron Man, And More
Make Anything!
That’s the tagline for the new Fab@Home website, just unveiled in the past few days: Fab@Home will change the way we live. It is a platform of printers and programs which can produce functional 3D objects. It is designed to fit on your desktop and within your budget. Fab@Home is supported by a global,… Continue reading Make Anything!
Hexapod Emerges from 3D Printer
Matt Bunting is a student who’s been interested in building robots for many years. Finally at the University of Arizona he was able to do so, partly by using the University’s Dimension 3D printer. The very complex leg assemblies were printed in eleven hours, using a great deal of support material. The design was such… Continue reading Hexapod Emerges from 3D Printer
3D Printing Aids Biohacking
These days people are fiddling with anything that can be made digital, and one of the more interesting digitizations recently is biology! DNA, those tiny molecular strands that define us all, are increasingly being investigated by, well, hackers. BBC News reports on this phenomenon, which has grown recently aided by technological developments. The idea… Continue reading 3D Printing Aids Biohacking
Stratasys Reduces Support Material by 40%
Stratasys, makers of the Dimension series of commercial 3D printers has announced a breakthrough in support technology. For those who don’t know, support material is frequently used in 3D printing to overcome the problem of printing overhangs. If there’s no support material to hold it up, the printer can’t properly deposit the build material. Support… Continue reading Stratasys Reduces Support Material by 40%
The 3D Printer Virus, Really?
Detectives at 3D print service Shapeways have uncovered a first: an actual 3D “virus”! The so-called virus turned out to be insertion of alien 3D model information in front of the desired model code within the .STL file, such that when sent to a 3D printer, the alien object (in this case a very… Continue reading The 3D Printer Virus, Really?
Ponoko Makes MakerBots!
What does a personal manufacturing service from New Zealand have to do with a 3D printer kit manufacturer from New York City? A lot more now, apparently. The two organizations have teamed up to leverage each other’s strengths. MakerBot has opened a Showroom on Ponoko, where you can purchase and customize not only your… Continue reading Ponoko Makes MakerBots!
Digging Through eBay for 3D
Following up on our earlier article in which we sought out used 3D printers on eBay, we noticed that printers are not the only relevant 3D item you can find on eBay. We’ve located several instances of individuals selling print services via eBay, but we’d use them only if their price was less than… Continue reading Digging Through eBay for 3D
Print 3D in 2D
A new 3D print service has launched, SnapilyPro, but it’s not what you think: they print 3D models in 2D. The service accepts 3D photoshop PSD files and uses lenticular printing to produce a flat surface image that appears to move when you rotate the image. Why would you use a 2D print… Continue reading Print 3D in 2D
Looking for a Used 3D Printer?
The press typically covers announcements of new printers, but did you know you can find used 3D printers for sale at prices that are sometimes quite a bit lower than retail? We cruised through Ebay today to see what we could find: ZCorp Spectrum 510 for USD$20,000 3D Systems Actua 2100 Rapid Plastic Prototype… Continue reading Looking for a Used 3D Printer?
RepRap – MakerBot Controversy!
Controversy erupted over the past few weeks where someone was providing an assembled electronics kit for RepRap based on the MakerBot electronics board. The controversy stemmed from the maker’s (kymberlyaandrus) alleged lack of posting the required files with the electronics kit. The way it’s supposed to work, according to basic open source concepts, is… Continue reading RepRap – MakerBot Controversy!
Ceramic 3D Printer?
Unfold is experimenting with printing ceramics. They’ve acquired a RapMan 3D printer kit and “Currently we are working on a toolhead that can extrude clay.” This is not something the RapMan was originally designed to do, but what are kits for if not to modify? The test vase, shown above appears impressive, but it may… Continue reading Ceramic 3D Printer?
Microscopic Bacteria-Based 3D Printing
We didn’t see this one coming: corralling a herd of Magnetotactic bacteria to build a 3D pyramid. The process works due to the amazing magnetic properties of these tiny agents. They respond to magnetic fields by moving in the field’s direction by flapping their two flagella bundles generating up to a whole 4 piconewtons… Continue reading Microscopic Bacteria-Based 3D Printing
Put Your 3D Printer To Work Today!
3D Printing “connecter” CloudFab has come out of private beta and is now accepted registrations from the general public. We wrote of CloudFab earlier when they were in the testing phase. What’s CloudFab? We term it a “connecter” because that’s precisely what it does: those who require 3D printing are connected to those who… Continue reading Put Your 3D Printer To Work Today!
3D Printing The Roads
There’s a wonderful concept device produced by designers Hoyoung Lee, Doyoung Kim, and Hongku Kim called the “Road Printer”. Click on the image for larger detail. The idea is to have a solar-powered robot paint those nice lines on our roadways. This should be inexpensive and offer a lot more safety than having live crews… Continue reading 3D Printing The Roads
3Shape Focuses on Dentistry
The most popular software these days is that designed with the user in mind, where all aspects of the software are focused on delivering the function required by the user. When people see such software, they immediately resonate with it and are more likely to use it. There are countless examples of this effect. … Continue reading 3Shape Focuses on Dentistry
Sampling Solido
Fabbaloo managed to lay our hands on a sample 3D print from Solido, one of the major commercial 3D printer manufacturers. The print, in the image above, is a palm-sized horse. We were very impressed with the strength of the object – it’s quite stiff to handle, and according to Solido’s website, prints are suitable… Continue reading Sampling Solido
HP Ready to Ship 3D Printers
In an update to the blockbuster announcement in January, DesignNews reports that HP will very soon begin shipping their new 3D printers to five selected European countries, eventually widening their market to the entire globe. The printers are being manufactured by HP’s partner and 3D printing leader, Stratasys at their Minnesota plant. DesignNews believes… Continue reading HP Ready to Ship 3D Printers
Is Hardware Open?
We think hardware could be truly open, but only if the correct legal frameworks are in place. And they likely are not. Software has gone through all this before, of course. In the 1960’s software was basically homemade, but then commercial software companies emerged and grew in the 1970’s and 80’s. However, in the… Continue reading Is Hardware Open?
Another Inexpensive 3D Printer Kit Emerges
Competition for Makerbot? Cubely jumped into the 3D printing scene this week at an Arizona Hackerspace meetup. Cubely, a RepRap derivative, hopes to produce a superior hobbyist 3D printer at low cost. Cubely consists of four major components: Electronics, which they recommend purchasing from MakerBot, as they are “unfortunately” the sole supplier; Stepper motors… Continue reading Another Inexpensive 3D Printer Kit Emerges
Impossible Shoes
Shoes were a hit at the recent Freedom of Creation Future of Fashion exhibition in Amsterdam. Designer student Pauline Van Dongen created several unique shoe designs – and produced them with 3D printing for the exhibition. With Core77’s recent experiments in 3D printed footwear, we’re beginning to wonder if this could be a growth… Continue reading Impossible Shoes
uPrinting Arms
Tiberius Arms is a small company specializing in the design and manufacturing of advanced pneumatic weapons. You may have used similar weapons on the paintball grounds, but they’re also used by the military for training and police forces as a “less than lethal” weapon. Tiberius has been producing weapons since their first product, a sniper… Continue reading uPrinting Arms
3D Printing Experimentation with Replibot
There are many inventive hobbyists who are making very good use of the 3D printing knowledgesphere. That knowledge includes hardware, software, electronics, design, tools, models, examples, help, tutorials and services. For those who are not satisfied with the current offerings, they often dig in deep in attempts to find better solutions by leveraging all available… Continue reading 3D Printing Experimentation with Replibot
Laser Scanning Sale!
Laser Design has a special offer on for those requiring a full-scale commercial 3D scanner: 30% discount. This is a substantial amount, given the normal prices for such equipment. The device in question is the Surveyor WS-Series system: Surveyor WS-Series scans parts from all orientations, then easily rotates the data back into a… Continue reading Laser Scanning Sale!
WYSIWYG 3D Printing
Shapeways has taken a step to ease the design process by using Blender to render images of 3D models. This addition to their service permits users to have a reasonably close peek at what their printed object might look like after emerging from Shapeways fleet of 3D printers. The problem up till now has been… Continue reading WYSIWYG 3D Printing
Kick Start Those Earrings
Fluid Forms new golden earrings initiative is a unique approach to personal manufacturing. The idea is to produce individualized earrings based on a geographical location of your choice. The design is actually a street map of that location based on data obtained from open street maps. Which location should you choose? Perhaps it’s a… Continue reading Kick Start Those Earrings
RepRap Explained
Dr. Adrian Bowyer of the University of Bath and the father of the RepRap 3D printer takes us on a video tour of RepRap, including the new Mendel RepRap model. Bowyer speaks enthusiastically on the device, tools for 3D modelling and 3D model repositories. The Mendel RepRap is physically smaller than its predecessor model,… Continue reading RepRap Explained
The Doctor is In at Shapeways
That’s him in the image, Doctor Shapeways! Well, not exactly. Always an innovator, Shapeways has released another terrific feature for those submitting 3D models to their printing service: MeshMedic. MeshMedic automatically corrects very common mistakes made in 3D models that render the model unprintable. While the model might look tremendously beautiful on your 24… Continue reading The Doctor is In at Shapeways
OpenStructures
As the world slowly fills with advanced personal and commercial manufacturing equipment, we’re starting to see the emergence of systems to make the resulting manufactured objects fit together in organized ways. Projects such as SKDB and MakerBeam hope to help us locate and assemble independently designed objects. Another project in this area is OpenStructures: … Continue reading OpenStructures
The Battle of Big Thinking
We listened to an interesting presentation from John Wilshire on the topic of “Big”. He means the notion of mass production, mass consumption and the resulting mass media, where the goal is simply to have you “buy more” in a “big way”. It’s true. We’ve all been conditioned to think this way as that was… Continue reading The Battle of Big Thinking
Maker Culture
Great article on Maker Culture from Re/Creating Tampa, where they contrast 21st Century maker activities with historical events in the United States. They explain how inventions were largely the domain of the individual (think Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney, etc.) These renowned “individual gadgeteers” made a truly significant difference in the history of the United States… Continue reading Maker Culture
3D Printing with Macs
The 3D printing community would seem to be the realm of Windows or Linux, and as a consequence Mac owners might feel a bit left out. Much of the relevant software comes only in Windows form, posing a challenge for Mac users who might have to resort to installing Windows on their machines. Interestingly,… Continue reading 3D Printing with Macs
Alumide Examples
Joris of Shapeways posted a video showing off several sample 3D prints using Shapeway’s new Alumide material. The semi-metallic material, while less strong than other build materials offered, seems to convey quite a different character to the printed objects. They no longer look and feel like “plain old plastic”. The video includes several truly… Continue reading Alumide Examples
Changing Prosthetics Forever
Daniel Terdiman of CNET news writes a long article describing how 3D printing is “changing prosthetics forever”. We’ve written several articles in this area over the past two years, and now it’s become visible in CNET. Terdiman explains how the combination of amputee soldiers’ needs, 3D scanning, 3D printing and individual manufacturing have opened… Continue reading Changing Prosthetics Forever
Fashionable 3D Printing
A recent post by Core77 described how 3D printers are being used to produce one-off fashion shoes. While we are somewhat skeptical of the fashion score of these particular heels, the idea is interesting: print a newly designed pair of shoes each time you go out; recycle the material into a new pair for the… Continue reading Fashionable 3D Printing
3D Printing is Not China on Your Desktop
A 2008 quote attributed to Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager at Google says: “Think of RepRap as a China on your desktop.” We strongly resonate with that image. Instead of receiving goods from China, which evidently manufactures all things these days, you can drop a 3D printer on your desk and manufacture things yourself.… Continue reading 3D Printing is Not China on Your Desktop
Will 3D Printing Win an Academy Award?
It’s entirely possible! Two 2009 films nominated made extensive use of 3D printing in their productions: Avatar, nominated for Best Picture of the Year among others, and Coraline, nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. James Cameron, the man behind Avatar used 3D printing to produce figurines with which lighting tests were performed for “every… Continue reading Will 3D Printing Win an Academy Award?
Purple Platypus
As the 3D printer market grows, the sales model changes, too. At first we see manufacturers selling directly, but once established they expand their coverage by partnering with hardware resellers. Resellers are a very effective way to market products within a fixed geographical area because they can be much more attuned to local conditions and… Continue reading Purple Platypus
The Khan Academy
During the course of your 3D object design, you might require some knowledge you don’t have, or perhaps have forgotten. Don’t worry – there’s a free service you can use to catch up: The Khan Academy. It’s a website jammed full of great short videos on a wide variety of topics, including many scientific areas… Continue reading The Khan Academy
ProMetal’s Experience
ProMetal is an innovative manufacturing company that uses advanced techniques such as additive manufacturing to get an edge. In a wide-ranging interview and analysis, RapidToday profiles ProMetal and their recent challenges: Identifying the right sales channels to meet the market Enabling customized versions of products Keeping consumer costs low It seems that selling 3D items… Continue reading ProMetal’s Experience
Two Metallic Announcements
In recent days two announcements regarding 3D metal printing have emerged: Shapeways announced a new material and Materialise released new software optimized for metal additive manufacturing. Firsrt, Materialise released the “Magics Metal SG” software package that should make life a little bit easier for 3D designers: Magics Metal SG provides metal AM professionals with a… Continue reading Two Metallic Announcements
The Social Engineering-Knowledge Database
Bryan Bishop provides a great overview of the Social Engineering-Knowledge Database (SKDB) project in an article at HPlus Magazine. The premise of the project is to create a standard environment for the development of complex 3D models by leveraging models and instructions that already exist. This is very similar to the open source software industry,… Continue reading The Social Engineering-Knowledge Database