We wrote on the problems with the prehistoric .STL format the other week, and bumped into a potential replacement: GTS. It’s an open source project: GTS stands for the GNU Triangulated Surface Library. It is an Open Source Free Software Library intended to provide a set of useful functions to deal with 3D surfaces meshed… Continue reading Replacing .STL
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Real-Time 3D Scanning – With a WebCam!
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a breakthrough technique for vastly simplified 3D scanning. The system, called ProFORMA (Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition) uses 3D Delaunay tetrahedralisation to transform scanned points into a 3D surface mesh in real time by merely hand-turning an object in front of a webcam! The video demonstrates… Continue reading Real-Time 3D Scanning – With a WebCam!
The Demise of FedEx?
A provocative article on Quiet Babylon proposes shipping companies such as FedEx may fade away as a result of new technology developments, including 3D Printing. The premise is this: FedEx and similar carriers base their business on two basic needs: Authenticated documents containing “wet signatures” Movement of objects from place to place We agree with… Continue reading The Demise of FedEx?
Stratasys Reports 3Q09 Results
We like to follow Stratasys’s financial results because as one of the major public companies involved in the 3D Printing and rapid prototyping space that issues financial reports, we believe we can get a feel for how most of the industry is doing. This past quarter Stratasys reports revenue, shipment and income all lower than… Continue reading Stratasys Reports 3Q09 Results
MaterialEcology
MaterialEcology is an interesting initiative by Neri Oxman, who is attempting to devise experimental design forms that leverage the synergy of computing, ecology, material engineering and design. Their mission: an interdisciplinary research initiative that undertakes design research in the intersection between architecture, engineering, computation, biology and ecology. As such, this initiative is concerned with material… Continue reading MaterialEcology
Medical 3D is Contagious
Objet’s 3D printers seem to be taking hold in various medical applications, according to information passed our way. Here are four interesting approaches: Biorep Technologies creates tools for diabetes researchers and has created a “Pinch Valve” for indexing fluids and avoiding contamination of equipment and fluids, as well as a silicone membrane petri dish Arch… Continue reading Medical 3D is Contagious
Robert Geshlider’s Works
Robert Geshlider is a San Francisco-based artist that makes great use of 3D printers for his works. They are abstract and can be found from time to time in the great galleries of the world, including the SFMOMA. This work, entitled “Journal”, is from 2008 – and was created using SolidWorks and a ZCorp 3D… Continue reading Robert Geshlider’s Works
Virtual Becomes Real – Again
Shapeways provides an excellent post describing how to print a 3D version of your favorite Spore character. Spore? (It’s a 3D massively multiplayer online game in which you can design your own “creature”) What could be better than holding your virtual creation in your own hands? While this is a great service to Spore players,… Continue reading Virtual Becomes Real – Again
3D Printing Market to Hit $782M by 2013?
A recent report by ABI research suggests that the 3D printing market could reach heights of almost USD$800M by 2013. Is this possible? We think so – and here’s why: The number of applications of 3D printing continues to increase. We’ve seen medical, artistic, manufacturing and other uses appear simply due to the creativity of… Continue reading 3D Printing Market to Hit $782M by 2013?
Get Ready for Printed Electronics
We were all quite impressed when the RepRap printer managed to reproduce itself some months ago. But in fact the reproduction was only of its structural members, whereas the metal bits and electronics were not actually reproduced. No worries, it will eventually happen. Metal printing has emerged in several 3D print services, but what about… Continue reading Get Ready for Printed Electronics
MCOR Paper Samples
MCOR passed us images of sample prints from their new MCOR Matrix 300 3D paper printer (that’s right – it uses sheets of paper as it’s build medium.) We’re quite surprised at the quality and features. Look for yourself: This is a Geocalamus acutus, Amphisbaenidae, or Worm Lizard, courtesy of Dr Emmanuel G. Reynaud, School… Continue reading MCOR Paper Samples
Celebrity Faces
Vanity 3D head-print service That’s My Face now offers a new service in case you don’t like your own head: Celebrity Faces. That’s right, for the low price of USD$99 and up, you can own your own 3D print of say, Hugo Chavez (above). If you don’t like Hugo, you can order a Barack Obama… Continue reading Celebrity Faces
Prepping for 3D Printing
Shapeways published an excellent article describing several tips for preparing your Blender file for 3D printing, specifically for using the Shapeways printing service. The article explains how to fix non-manifold vertices, handling overlapping objects and output scaling, and are good tips even if you aren’t using Shapeways. Via Shapeways
More Glass 3D Printing Experiments
The folks at the University of Washington continue their experiments with 3D printing with glass, and it’s looking even better now. Here are some of their latest results: A glass pot, this time fired at a different heating temperature curve than previous experiments. Notice the glassy sheen. They’re getting close! A test glass puck, post-firing… Continue reading More Glass 3D Printing Experiments
.STL To Be Replaced?
RapidToday posts an interesting interview with Hod Lipson, chair of the ASTM Committee on Additive Manufacturing Standards’s task force on file formats. The topic: .STL. You ask what’s wrong with .STL? Lots, it turns out. The 1987 vintage standard is so old you could legally buy it a beer in most states. As RapidToday points… Continue reading .STL To Be Replaced?
Desktop Factory – 3D Systems Update
As readers may recall, Desktop Factory – the startup that attempted to build a sub USD$5,000 3D printer – was recently acquired by 3D Systems, makers of not-sub USD$5,000 3D printers. We’ve been wondering what has transpired since the acquisition, and this week Desktop Factory’s former CEO, Cathy Lewis provided an update. Here’s the highlights:… Continue reading Desktop Factory – 3D Systems Update
Contraptor!
Tips flowed in this week regarding “Contraptor”, the webchild of Vitaly Mankevich and Riley Porter. According to their About: Contraptor is a DIY open source construction set for experimental personal fabrication, desktop manufacturing, prototyping and bootstrapping. Various Cartesian robots can be quickly assembled from Contraptor and used as a platform for projects such as XY… Continue reading Contraptor!
MCOR Matrix 300
The Irish MCOR scientists still believe they can print 3D objects on paper – and they are correct! This past week they announced their latest 3D paper printer, the MCOR Matrix 300, pictured above. The new model apparently provides some interesting advantages over previous models: Faster turnaround (however, we saw no statistics on this) at… Continue reading MCOR Matrix 300
Vitraglyphic Prints Still Opaque
Doctoral student Meghan Trainor describes her experience producing her first Vitraglyphic 3D print. Wait a moment, you ask, “what’s a Vitraglyphic 3D print?” Vitraglyphic printing is a new approach to 3D printing that permits production of glass or ceramic type objects, being pioneered at the University of Washington. Meghan writes: This was my first Vitraglyphic… Continue reading Vitraglyphic Prints Still Opaque
Earth Cufflinks
Fluid Forms has executed another example of reality colliding with 3D design. Their new “Earth Cufflinks” product enables you to order silver cufflinks shaped to match the terrain of the earth. Which terrain? That’s up to you to select using their easy-to-use google-mapped tool. You select a place name or post code, and immediately you… Continue reading Earth Cufflinks
Gadgetoff 2009
We noticed MakerBot made an appearance at this year’s Gadgetoff in September in New York City. They showed off their amazing Cupcake 3D printer kit, as we’ve covered before. However, that’s not the reason for this post. Instead, we were astonished by all the truly amazing gadgets makers demonstrated at this event. Be sure to… Continue reading Gadgetoff 2009
Home 3D Printers Not Practical?
Plastic Pals recommends not using the current generation of 3D printers (such as Fab@Home, RepRap, RapMan, MakerBot, etc.) for printing quality models: There’s a significant cost:quality/size trade off when dealing with home 3D printers. Even the cheapest commercial-grade printers cost around $15,000 USD. Alternatives such as the aforementioned MakerBot CupCake CNC ($750 + materials), are… Continue reading Home 3D Printers Not Practical?
ZCorp Goes Monochrome!
If the motion picture industry changed from color to black and white, we’d be concerned. The same would be true for ZCorp if they dropped their color technology and retreated to “monochrome” mode for their line of 3D printers. That’s not exactly what’s going on here: they’ve announced a new Monochrome 3D printer. Sounds strange,… Continue reading ZCorp Goes Monochrome!
RapMan Goes Pro
While everyone slept, the guys at RapMan managed to squeeze in yet another new product: the RapMan Pro, pictured above. What’s different from their original non-Pro Rapman, other than a price of “just under £2,000” up from the original £750 kit price? From their press release we can see the following: Pre-built only; not a… Continue reading RapMan Goes Pro
Printing Carcasses
Continuing with the biology-meets-3d-printers theme today, we’ve run across a dark hobby: printing 3D models of animal carcasses! Designer Harry Allen has scanned and modelled a dead firefly, and then implanted an LED to create an unusual lighting system. He’s also scanned a deceased piglet to create an actual “piggy bank”. Perusing his portfolio… Continue reading Printing Carcasses
3D Printing Services Hurting?
Long-time 3D print service 3D Art to Part seems to be having some difficulty. According to a statement on their website: We are currently undergoing some changes in our services, and are unable to do any 3D Printing at this time… We are able to support mesh Fixing for 3rd party printing though. We’ve been… Continue reading 3D Printing Services Hurting?
BIOS Explores 3D Printing
The BIOS Collective is a working group of academic and professional designers exploring the application of biological patterns to architecture. We’ve seen a bit of this collision before where natural things inspire designs made real by modern 3D fabrication techniques. In this example, designer Charles Lee is working on a tower study for Ideate Inc.,… Continue reading BIOS Explores 3D Printing
Robots!
Timothy Mayer tips us to an example of a robot built by the Cornell Computational Synthesis Laboratory. The robot’s structure was fabbed with a Fab@Home 3D printer using KraftCreation’s FabEpoxy media. Of course, the electronics weren’t printed out, but that will come some time in the future. Readers might want to peruse some of the… Continue reading Robots!
A Chameleon Tears Down Barriers
A1 Technologies, the folks who make the very inexpensive RapMan 3D printer and more recently an inexpensive 3D scanner, now produce an innovative 3D mouse system: the Chameleon 3D. The Chameleon 3D is actually an effective packaging of software and hardware from other developers. The hardware comes from Novint, whose very unusual Falcon haptic controller… Continue reading A Chameleon Tears Down Barriers
RapMan Goes to School
We’ve written about the inexpensive RapMan 3D Printer kit before, and at that time it was focused on the UK market, priced at GB£750. Now we’ve learned that it’s now being marketed to educational institutions by Technology Education Concepts (TEC): The company provides 3D software and hardware solutions needed to teach today’s young people about… Continue reading RapMan Goes to School
Scan That Prison!
Every year a “Mock Prison Riot” takes place at a decommissioned prison in West Virginia. Corrections professionals arrive once per year to undertake training activities, but in order to properly prepare for the event, they have to know something about the prison. Unfortunately, no proper blueprints exist, and participants had to manually measure as much… Continue reading Scan That Prison!
MakerBeam Makes Beams!
And a lot more, it turns out. The MakerBeam project intends on providing a massive library of open source hardware connectors, all reusable and designed to interoperate. Their first big venture is Mini-T, which is a precisely downscaled model of larger T-slot building systems. It consists of extruded aluminum beams, 1 cm on a side,… Continue reading MakerBeam Makes Beams!
BitTorrenting Real Things
There’s a great discussion going on at the Ponoko blog, where Duann posed the question, “What will we do when product design files start hitting these peer to peer networks of sharing. The equivalent of ripping a CD and burning it for a friend?” We’ve been contemplating this as well, because it is going to… Continue reading BitTorrenting Real Things
Finish it with Metal
We ran across an interesting service that provides post-print finishing services, specifically in metal. According to their “about”: 3DDC is the first European company to set up a metal coating facility specifically for products that have been produced using rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid manufacturing (RM) technologies. The Metalise™ it… process was developed by AT-3D… Continue reading Finish it with Metal
EBF3: Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication
Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication is yet another approach for 3D printing, this time developed by the rocket scientists at NASA. They have good reasons for developing EBF3: to save weight on cargo flights to the International Space Station. You can imagine the hefty pile of spare parts that must be carried up yonder and stored… Continue reading EBF3: Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication
The Metal Process – Revealed!
We found a great video from Shapeways that takes you through the entire process of producing a metal object. From initial printing in stainless steel powder (with organic binder), through curing and bronze infusion that leads to the final item, you’ll see it all. Missing: the finishing stage. Get out the brushes and start polishing!… Continue reading The Metal Process – Revealed!
Extreme Redesign 2009
Dimension Printing has announced their annual “Extreme Redesign” competition for 2009-10. The annual event highlights innovative designs created by students. As usual, there are several categories of entries: High School College Engineering Art & Architecture This year Dimension have added a new feature: a US$250 Green Bonus, awarded to a student “whose design best displays… Continue reading Extreme Redesign 2009
Moléculaire: The 3D Molecular Food Printer
Electrolux Design Lab is an annual competition where some truly amazing designs emerge. This year a 3D printer showed up among the various science fiction appliances. The idea is to pop open the top and insert a cartridge containing the print material, erm, the “food”. At the lower end a print head moves about the… Continue reading Moléculaire: The 3D Molecular Food Printer
Objet Has 48
Forty-eight different kinds of digital materials, that is. They’ve just announced a eighteen more materials to add to their ever-increasing set. From their press release: The pack provides 3D printing users with 18 new materials comprised of combinations of VeroWhite and TangoPlus or TangoBlack Plus, the latest addition to the Tango Family. The new materials… Continue reading Objet Has 48
The World’s Largest Parts Service?
We received notification that 3D Systems, makers of various manufacturing devices, including the V-Flash and ProJet series of 3D printers and most recently acquirers of Desktop Factory, have done it again. From their press release, 3D Systems: … announced today that it acquired the assets of Acu-Cast Technologies, a leading provider of rapid prototyping and… Continue reading The World’s Largest Parts Service?
Developments in 3D Geographic Printing
RapidToday has a great article exploring several developments in the ability to print geographic scenes in three dimensions. We’ve written about this before, as a few point services offer this capability. But it’s hard to do. In RapidToday’s article, you’ll learn about: How one of the authors of NASA’s World Wind open source geographic project… Continue reading Developments in 3D Geographic Printing
CloudFab Invites
For those of you who missed it on Friday, Fabbaloo has an exclusive code to enter the private beta of CloudFab, a new consumer to maker link-up service. You can read all about CloudFab in a discussion with their founder, Nick Pinkston, right here!
Printing the NanoSeeker
Once in a while we read another piece about 3D printing and it causes us to step back and take stock of what’s really going on. This time it was an entry from Jon Hyland’s blog, where he’s been using a newly acquired 3D printer. Jon appears to be one who’s pushing the edge of… Continue reading Printing the NanoSeeker
Pirillo on 3D Printing
New video shows tech maven Chris Pirillo explain 3D printing to his online audience. Pirillo explains the basics, from 3D modelling, scanning to layered deposition techniques. He goes to great lengths to ensure his audience understands that you can’t actually replicate functioning devices, like a TV remote control. Well, not yet, anyway. Via YouTube
It’s Fabulous in the Cloud!
Today we’ve managed to score an exclusive interview with Nick Pinkston, one of the principals behind a new distributed fabrication service: CloudFab, a new way to link makers with those who need things made. CloudFab is about to launch a private beta very soon, so let’s find out what it’s all about. Fabbaloo: Tell us… Continue reading It’s Fabulous in the Cloud!
The Weather Bracelet … and More
In another unique way of transforming an aspect of reality into 3D objects, fabricator, Flickr user mtchl has prepared an unusual bracelet, formed from the weather in Canberra, Australia. The circumference of the bracelet represents the 365 days of the year in question (July of 2008 through end of June 2009), and the outer edge… Continue reading The Weather Bracelet … and More
Could the Trabant ReMaterialise?
The Trabant, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, was an automobile made in East Germany before reunification. For more than 30 years, the Trabant was one of the most popular vehicles in East Germany, and in fact when the wall came down in the late 1980’s, Trabants carried many migrating East Germans… Continue reading Could the Trabant ReMaterialise?
DAVID-laserscanner … in a Box!
We wrote about the free DAVID scanner software quite a while ago, and while it was inexpensive, it was mostly software and lots of instructions for how to set up your scanning platform and buying the appropriate cameras and lasers. Now that’s changed – A1 Technologies, the folks behind the very inexpensive RapMan 3D printer,… Continue reading DAVID-laserscanner … in a Box!
Glass Printing
We’ve seen many different materials being used as the print medium for 3D printers, including the obvious (titanium, wax, plastic) and a few rather bizarre ones (paper, nutella, pasta and sugar), but we haven’t really noticed Glass yet. Until now. According to PhysOrg.com news: A team of engineers and artists working at the University of… Continue reading Glass Printing
3D CSI
The popular crime TV show, CSI: NY, recently featured a 3D printer in an episode. In this sequence, CSI Detective Mac Taylor in white lab coat is using a powder-based 3D printer to reproduce a bullet apparently embedded in a horse, in order to identify the bullet. (Who writes this stuff???) We suppose one could… Continue reading 3D CSI
Creaform UNIversal Laser Scanner
Creaform have just released a new entry-level version of their 3D hand scanner: the UNIScan. Their well-known hand-held scanner has been around a while, but this version is substantially less expensive (USD$28,900, approximately 30% less expensive than their current low price model, the REVScan) and provides good value. Specifications: Weight: 980 grams (2.1… Continue reading Creaform UNIversal Laser Scanner
The “Most Complex Join”
The picture illustrates very clearly the problem here: how to fit the tabletop to the stand? By using a monstrously complicated join pattern! How can one create such a complex pattern? Designer Daniel Dendra used audio from Cairo streets to generate the intricate patterns, and then mapped them first to the tabletop and then a… Continue reading The “Most Complex Join”
Ooo! Smooth!
Shapeways has added a new material: White Glaze, or as we like to call it: Smooth! Evidently the white coats in Shapeways’ secret lab toiled for weeks trying various concoctions until they came up with White Glaze, which exhibits terrific reflective characteristics as you can see in the image above. By the way, White Glaze… Continue reading Ooo! Smooth!
The 20,000 Meet the 6,000
This is quite interesting – a partnership between Ponoko, producers of a terrific personal manufacturing and sales platform, and ShopBot, makers of inexpensive CNC Routers. What they’ve done is create a new gathering place for both designers and fabricators: 100KGarages.com. The idea is that designers (or shoppers) on Ponoko who find a great design now… Continue reading The 20,000 Meet the 6,000
MCOR Exhibits in the UK
MCOR, who market a unique 3D printer based on paper media, have been doing significant marketing lately. This time they are participating at the 100% Design Exhibition in London, taking place at Earl’s Court between Sept 24th and 27th. This “world-class interiors show” apparently draws more than 25,000 attendees. According to MCOR’s press release, they’ve… Continue reading MCOR Exhibits in the UK
RedEye’s iTunes
RedEye On Demand (Stratsys’s 3D print service bureau) compares 3D print services with the iTunes store in their recent newsletter. While one service delivers digital music and other digital content, the other delivers physical objects. How can the two be compared? Both have been highly disruptive to existing business models. iTunes, of course, cut… Continue reading RedEye’s iTunes
FOC Left and Right
The most recent issue of Freedom of Creation’s newsletter describes a project they undertook for ASICS, in which custom packages were designed and made containing half of a secret object. The idea was to promote the notion of bringing two sides together, an admirable philosophy for any environment. From FOC: Asics launched their Left… Continue reading FOC Left and Right
Wanna Git SKDBing?
Bryan Bishop tells us of some very interesting work taking place at the Automated Design Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. As is often the case, when two different worlds collide, interesting things happen. This time it’s software management and manufacturing. In the highly complex world of software management there are monstrously… Continue reading Wanna Git SKDBing?
First Surface
An interesting new service popped up this month: First Surface. According to their website: First Surface delivers innovative precision surface finishing services using a proprietary Micro Machining Process (MMP). Working from its own treatment labs, First Surface is poised to provide manufacturers with custom finishes to meet their specifications. And First Surface has an… Continue reading First Surface
Anyone Care for a Used Objet?
That’s right – Object Geometries, makers of the Connex series of 3D printers now has a trade in program! According to their application form: We are excited to offer you a new trade-in program, designed so you can benefit from even more innovative and advanced Objet 3D printing capabilities. Though your Eden 3D printing… Continue reading Anyone Care for a Used Objet?
Jon Seeks a Service
Fabbaloo reader Jon writes: I have a pair of orthotic shoe inserts that are maybe a foot long and 4 inches wide. They are made out of a hard plastic. Do you think they can be scanned and “printed” in a softer, more rubbery plastic? … I switched health insurance companies and my new provider… Continue reading Jon Seeks a Service
ZCorp Translates
ZCorp just launched a new version of their website – in Russian! If you happen to be able to read Russian, you might want to try it out here. According to their press release: The new site demonstrates Z Corporation’s commitment to Russia and the Russian-speaking region’s superior technologists with a wealth of new… Continue reading ZCorp Translates
Stratasys Adds Four More
Four more build materials, that is. Specifically made for their Fortus 900mc 3D printer, the new materials have improved properties: SABIC’s ULTEM 9085: Strong and lightweight, this material’s claim to fame is its resistance to heat, smoke and toxicity. We suspect it might show up in aircraft. PC-ABS: Similar to existing materials, but has added… Continue reading Stratasys Adds Four More
Fabber’s Market
RapidToday has an interesting analysis of a new service, Fabber’s Market, which intends on linking designers and manufacturers – with an emphasis on 3D printing and other heavy-duty rapid manufacturing tech. The service operates somewhat like eBay, where you must choose between the roles of a “Supplier”, where you seek clients for your parts,… Continue reading Fabber’s Market
That’s My Face!
Well, that’s not any of us in the picture above – it’s actually from a video of the “Thats My Face” 3D print service. It’s another head-print service that we’ve been writing about lately. It’s one of the many face-oriented print concepts they provide. Pricing: “From USD$109”. Like the others, it seems that you… Continue reading That’s My Face!
TerrainPrint!
You always wanted a piece of land you can call your own, right? Now you can do that – and carry it with you, too! TerrainPrint is a service that: TerrainPrint can create a 3D model of anywhere on earth. Use our software which works just like Google Earth to choose where you would… Continue reading TerrainPrint!
Biomedical Solutions Materialise
We ran across an interesting video that talks about Materialise’s ventures into the medical manufacturing space. We’ve posted about medical uses of 3D print tech before, but Materialise specializes in this niche, and have for quite some time. Materialise produces 3D software specifically designed for this market: Mimics, which can transform medical 2D CT or… Continue reading Biomedical Solutions Materialise
3D Futurism
Futurist Brenda Cooper writes of a revelation she recently had when discussing the current state of 3D print tech. She was shocked to see how fast things are evolving with the technology – “I found myself dreaming of 3D printers for a few days. After all, I could already buy one.” She correctly points out… Continue reading 3D Futurism
The 3D Package
Interesting article at Packaging Digest that explains how several packaging companies are using 3D printing tech to prototype various types of intricate packages and retaining structures for parts. Some companies look at new technology such as 3D printing and think outside the box, but these companies are literally thinking OF the box. One of… Continue reading The 3D Package
3D Printer Choices
We bumped into a comprehensive list of 3D printers, and a detailed chart comparing all currently available 3D printing options costing less than USD$20,000. The chart is prepared by Castle Island, who offer a paid newsletter, “The Additive Fabrication Spy” (USD$199/yr) covering in detail the 3D print industry. The printers covered include the Do-It-Yourself variety… Continue reading 3D Printer Choices
Wear Your Land!
Some people just seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, but now everyone can by trying out Fluid Forms’ new Earth Brooch product. It’s a silver cast of a topographical section of the earth’s surface that you select. Once you’ve picked your area, a 3D printer produces a three… Continue reading Wear Your Land!
Objet Rubberizes
Objet, makers of the Polyjet line of 3D printers, have introduced “Castaldo®’s VLT™ [Very Low Temperature] molding rubber”, which should greatly simplify the making of jewelery prototypes. The new material should permit the creation of jewelry molds in “as little as one hour”. The advantage of the rubber is that it cures at a… Continue reading Objet Rubberizes
Model Factory Hiro Uses 3D Printing
Model Factory Hiro, a Japanese maker of highly intricate model car kits makes good use of 3D printing technology in their development process. In Mech9’s video and extensive write up, we can see the entire process from choice of car (Misao Hiro, President: “Something I like”) to the final preparations. Model Factory Hiro primarily… Continue reading Model Factory Hiro Uses 3D Printing
(Un)Limited Design Contest!
The Dutch FabLabs have organized a design contest that may be of interest to Fabbaloo readers. According to Bas van Abel, Creative Director of the Waag Society: Why put up with existing products when you can make your own? Today, powerful digital fabrication technology lets you design and build almost anything, and we want… Continue reading (Un)Limited Design Contest!
Desktop Factory Resurrected
We’ve been following the saga of Desktop Factory for quite some time, beginning with its promising start attempting to manufacture the first commercial high-quality 3D printer with a price less than USD$5,000. More recently though, they’ve had severe financial difficulties, possibly related to the economic climate of late. Last month CEO Cathy Lewis announced… Continue reading Desktop Factory Resurrected
EGO3D Busts!
Recently we’ve been babbling about the idea of making 3D Busts of yourself or your friends, and it turns out there is a service that does just that: EGO3D, which launched on 2 July of this year. This amazing service uses only three photographs (inevitably, police style: front, left and right profiles) to generate… Continue reading EGO3D Busts!
SOLIDO Video
We bumped into a great video detailing the operation of the new SOLIDO SD300 Desktop 3D Printer. The video shows all steps from design through our favorite moment (striking the “Build” button) through to pulling the completed printed object out of the device. Via YouTube
Puzzling BitTorrent and 3D Printing
There’s a fascinating interview of Bram Cohen on the Shapeways Blog. That name sounds familiar? It should, because he’s the inventor of BitTorrent, that famous or infamous highly efficient network transfer protocol that swept the world and changed how big media companies operator forever. But what’s this got to do with 3D printing? Turns… Continue reading Puzzling BitTorrent and 3D Printing
Is It What I Want?
Mateusz Pozar of Monocultured poses an interesting question: what happens when 3D printing technology advances sufficiently such that the printed objects are just as good as the original? His answer: If the remix and DIY approach will hold true for personal fabrication (fabbing) then you’ll be forced to shift gears from “is it what it… Continue reading Is It What I Want?
2.1D Printing with Roland’s VersaUV
It’s not exactly a 3D printer, but we’d call it a “2.1D” printer. Basically it’s an inkjet printer equipped with UV-hardened “ink” that can produce a raised effect on the 2D printouts. Another way to look at it is that the VersaUV LEC-300 is a 3D printer with a Z-axis of only 0.04mm. The… Continue reading 2.1D Printing with Roland’s VersaUV
MakerBot Peeks into Mainstream
Crain’s New York Business.com has published a mainstream article on MakerBot, makers of the first affordable and easy-to-use 3D printer kit. We’re very pleased to see articles like this, which bring 3D printing tech to those who’ve never had exposure. Fabbaloo readers have likely had the experience of explaining current 3D technology capabilities to… Continue reading MakerBot Peeks into Mainstream
Desktop Factory Ends. Or Begins?
We’ve written much about Desktop Factory over the past year and a half. They’ve attempted to build the first commercial 3D printer priced at less than USD$5,000. And they almost made it happen. Recently they’ve undergone severe financial issues that brought the company near to collapse. In fact, according to their most recent news… Continue reading Desktop Factory Ends. Or Begins?
Stratasys Results
As is customary (and required), Stratasys announced their latest quarterly results. We like to examine them because we suspect they may shed light on the state of the 3D printing industry. And it turns out that their revenue was still down as compared to the same quarter last year, USD$24.6 vs. USD$31.3 in 2008. Unit… Continue reading Stratasys Results
Anticipating 3D
Interesting post on JIN SAOTOME’S DANGEROUS BLOG! where John Mallamas describes his state of anticipation of the arrival of practical 3D printers. He’s a “self taught action figure/toy customizer” who saw a sample printed object and realized the potential for his efforts. Interestingly, he predicts a scenario similar to one we’ve espoused: What does this… Continue reading Anticipating 3D
MathMorph
This intricate model was designed by Jonathon Anderson by adapting the MathMorph techniques. MathMorph? It’s described this way: First, a series of computer models were generated by computer algorithms, cellular automation, and mathematic equations using Maya and Houdini programs. These computer models were fabricated as physical prototypes by the Stratasys FDMTM (Fused Deposition Modeling)… Continue reading MathMorph
Build Your Own 3D Scanner?
You know you want to. Now you can! There’s a relatively straightforward approach for making an inexpensive 3D scanner using stuff you probably are sitting beside right now, and several websites detail methods of doing so, some even including software you can use yourself. The approach is described by Jean-Yves Bouguet and Pietro Perona… Continue reading Build Your Own 3D Scanner?
From 3D, Comes Infinium!
The University of Michigan has spent more than USD$1M to produce the above pictured Infinium solar car, which is to take part in the World Solar Challenge race across Australia. Yes, “solar” means the sun will be the only fuel for this bad boy during the 1,800 mile six day race. Why are we… Continue reading From 3D, Comes Infinium!
From Hands to Model
ZCorp, one of the leading 3D Printer manufacturers, also makes and markets 3D Scanners, such as the ZScanner 800 shown above. In a recent article posted by The Engineer Online and republished by ZCorp, they describe the case of Portuguese product development firm Protosys. Protosys recently assisted a boat manufacturer who had difficulties with hull… Continue reading From Hands to Model
Yet Another Kind of Repository?
With all the chatter about 3D model repositories lately, we thought we’d add another twist to the puzzle. Could a virtual world act as a 3D model repository? There are many virtual worlds available today, including Second Life and grids built on its open source cousin OpenSim, the upcoming BlueMars, There and others. Each of… Continue reading Yet Another Kind of Repository?
Simple Wins. Every Time
A brief post on the Daily PLM Think Tank Blog resonated with us. The topic was the complexity of interfaces to PLM/PDM systems (Product Lifecycle Management and Product Data Management). The same problem infects many of the 3D design tools used by those who 3D print. The interfaces are often overwhelming. We’ve seen many times… Continue reading Simple Wins. Every Time
New MCOR Video
The mysterious paper-fed MCOR Matrix 3D printer has made its TV debut on the Irish Late Late Show in this 5 minute interview. The founders of MCOR, Conor and Fintan MacCormack, explain the basics of 3D printing to the presenter, but along the way there were a few tidbits of interest: MCOR claims to… Continue reading New MCOR Video
3DFilter: Just a Small Box
Many years ago you might recall the early days of web search, where there were several services competing to be the best search engine. At the time, the leaders might have been yahoo, altavista and others. But they were bested by upstart Google. Not only did Google provide excellent results, but they tried a… Continue reading 3DFilter: Just a Small Box
MakerBot Distributes Itself!
The buzz over MakerBot, the budget 3D Printer is clearly intense. Sufficiently intense that demand for their amazing device has almost outstripped their manufacturing capacity. However, being an inventive crew, they’ve come up with a pioneering solution that we don’t think has been attempted before. They are crowdsourcing a portion of their manufacturing. Even… Continue reading MakerBot Distributes Itself!
netfabb Studio 4.2
Yes, it’s just been updated and available for download. netfabb is a lightweight Windows software tool specifically engineered for additive design. netfabb offers a “basic” version completely free of charge, which includes these features, among others: Advanced model browsing and STL management Automatic part fixing, mesh editing and analysis Measurements and quality assurance Packing… Continue reading netfabb Studio 4.2
Shapeways Bends Metal… and Thinking
Shapeways offers metal prints with their new stylus generator, and we think they are quite amazing. The level of detail present in the image above, combined with the metallic material evokes a feeling we don’t get too often when examining 3D printed objects: it’s not plastic! It’s metal, obviously, but it just *looks* so… Continue reading Shapeways Bends Metal… and Thinking