As fabbing equipment continues to fall, the ability to create becomes available to more and more people. While I envision a future where people have 3D printing equipment in their homes right beside their 2D (paper) printers, this forum discussion suggests a future in which fabbing equipment is dispersed to the public – but only… Continue reading Garage Fabbing?
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Fabbing vs. Intellectual Property Rights
We all know what happened when technology was able to duplicate audio and video. What happens when personal fabs enable everyone to duplicate physical objects? This issue is predicted and analyzed on the reBang Weblog: At some point, p2p networks won’t have just mp3 files, they’ll have CAD files. When they do, the first thing… Continue reading Fabbing vs. Intellectual Property Rights
Fabbing Videos
Here is a great collection of fabbing videos from Objet featuring several of their 3D printers. If you’ve never seen fabbing, this is a good place to begin. Note that these particular models are suitable for industrial prototyping, and not consumer-level desktop units. Many of the videos demonstrate not only the actual object deposition, but… Continue reading Fabbing Videos
Stratasys Reports Record Third Quarter Results
Stratasys, the makers of the popular Dimension series of 3D printers, seems to be doing very well indeed. They shipped some 521 units in the 3rd quarter, improved over 383 for the previous quarter in 2006. From the release: We expect to maintain positive momentum in our high-end system business, with another new product… Continue reading Stratasys Reports Record Third Quarter Results
TechShop Workshop
Techshop is a California-based chain of public machine workshops. They provide access to equipment that otherwise would be impossible for home-based hobbyists. Among the specialized equipment they offer is a Dimension 3D Printer. Here’s their own overview: The TechShop workshop provides a wide variety of machinery and tools for the open and unlimited use of… Continue reading TechShop Workshop
PopMech on Fab at Home
Popular Mechanics magazine has discovered Fabbing and has published an interesting article and video mostly focused on the Fab@Home project. Fab at Home is a very worthy project, but as you watch the video it’s apparent that it’s primary target is techies. Nevertheless, the video suggests unusual uses of the fab: printing chocolate, batteries, circuits… Continue reading PopMech on Fab at Home
3D Sneeze in your Living Room
Marcel Wanders, a dutch designer, has created a very unusual vase. It’s based on a 3D scan of an “airborne snotty”. The picture tells the story. Via Marcel Wanders Studio
Health and Safety of Fabs
The UK government’s Health and Safety Executive has issued a brief report on “Rapid Manufacturing”, in which they predict there could be 100,000 rapid manufacturing devices in use by 2010. In the longer term, the development of equipment and materials enabling the fabrication of products in the home via desktop “fabbers”3 and ultimately perhaps, Molecular… Continue reading Health and Safety of Fabs
$4995 For a Desktop Fab?
DesktopFactory is now taking reservations for its new 125ci 3D Printer. That’s right – it’s not actually available now, but you can reserve one of the first 1000 devices for only USD$495. This device could be the first real desktop consumer-oriented fab. The highlights include: Inexpensive. Well, as compared to other fabs. We don’t… Continue reading $4995 For a Desktop Fab?
ThingLab Video Demonstration
This ThingLab video demonstrates Z Corporation’s Zprinter 450. While this particular device is probably more than the average consumer can deal with (especially cost-wise, do you have $25,000 to spare?), the video does provide a good visual overview of the fabbing process. As you can clearly see, there are a few messy steps that the… Continue reading ThingLab Video Demonstration
Gartner Predicts Widespread Fabbing
Jackie Fenn, Gartner’s Emerging Trends analyst, predicted widespread use of desktop manufacturing tools within several years. While the prices of personal fabbing equipment today are still out of reach of most consumers, it is expected that prices will continue to drop. With new equipment poised for release at USD$5000 per unit, this may be already… Continue reading Gartner Predicts Widespread Fabbing
Building Sized Fabbing
This video demonstrates a hypothetical building-sized fab, “printing” an entire building!
3D Printer Enhances Schoolroom Engineering
Instructor April Moon raves about how her new Dimension SST 3D printer dramatically improved the quality of her engineering class. This process is better than the breakaway process, which Moon said requires a great deal of scraping with picks and doesn’t allow for fine details. She also said the breakaway process can present safety issues… Continue reading 3D Printer Enhances Schoolroom Engineering
Building Puzzles with your Fab
George Miller, owner of Puzzle Palace, uses a Dimension BST 3D printer to develop the most amazing three-dimensional puzzles. The multicolored head pictured here can be disassembled and reassembled. Via Product Design & Development
Sweet Architecture Designs
Sweet Onion Creations has announced a service for architects and engineers where 3D model can be submitted for 3D production. The service seems to be geared for models of “Anything from a private home to entire city layouts”. SOC’s approach is to target the architectural niche, while other 3D printing services address more general needs.… Continue reading Sweet Architecture Designs