We caught up with a professional 3D printer maintenance manager to understand his thoughts on repairing several types of 3D printers in a busy fabrication lab.
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Sculpteo Opens Largest 3D Printing Annual Survey:
Sculpteo has opened up their annual survey for respondents, and it’s very important your viewpoint be registered.
Xerox On The Hunt For HP
A report on CNN indicates Xerox is launching a hostile takeover bid for HP. If this succeeds, what effect would happen on their respective 3D print ventures?
Four Reasons Why Zortrax Announced 3D Print Services
Zortrax unexpectedly announced a new 3D print service. We have several ideas why the 3D printer manufacturer turned to this unusual strategy.
Reviewing Xometry’s 3D Printing Trends
Xometry’s Greg Paulsen examines recent trends in additive manufacturing, and we provide some additional thoughts.
When Generative Design Backfires – VW’s New Wheels
What looked like twigs proved to be generatively-designed shapes, the output of generative design algorithms available in Autodesk’s Fusion 360, then cast in metal.
3YOURMIND’s Agile MES Automatically Builds Manufacturing Plans
3YOURMIND has found an interesting way to reduce a common way digital workflows are thwarted on the factory floor.
Prodways Group Buys Into XD Innovation
Prodways Group is executing a very intriguing strategy to increase customer growth by associating with North America-based XD Innovation.
ParaMatters’s CogniCAD “Lightweights” Experimental EV
EV maker Archimoto leveraged ParaMatters’ CogniCAD generative CAD tool to optimize the weight of several key metal components.
3D Printing Comes to Davos for the First Time
Charles Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi have some thoughts about the unexpected appearance of 3D printing technology at the annual Davos summit.
Wacom Starts Off 2020 With A $400 Drawing Tablet
Wacom announced the new Wacom One, a handy drawing tablet that may be of use to those doing 3D CAD design.
MakerBot Fills In The Materials Gap
MakerBot has bridged their materials gap with a new program that partners with multiple 3D printing materials providers.
150 3D Printed Robots To Be Assembled And Offered To STEM Students
A young engineering student, Danielle Boyer, has developed an inexpensive robot targeted at educators and students, and soon there will be 150 of them heading to institutions.
The Slow Transformation of Shapeways
Shapeways has been gradually transforming their business from what they were to something quite different.
What’s Happening With Ricoh’s 3D Printing Strategy?
Ricoh seems to have shifted their additive manufacturing strategy from one of producing 3D printers to offering print services and materials.
Petra Rees: “I Realized 3D Printing Can Be The Answer To So Many Questions”
Petra Rees is originally from the Czech Republic and is now based in South Africa.
Are Quiet 3D Printers A Good Thing?
Many new 3D printers seem to be using specialized motor drivers that provide for silent operation. But are quiet 3D printers a good thing?
Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 3
We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 3 deals with troubleshooting and eventual success.
Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 2
We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 2 deals with assembly and initial testing.
Hands On With The Prusa MMU2S, Part 1
We tested the Prusa Research MMU2S multi-material 3D printer upgrade kit and learned a great deal about 3D printing. Part 1 deals with concepts and assembly.
Book of the Week: 3D Printing of Concrete
This week’s selection is “3D Printing of Concrete: State of the Art and Challenges of the Digital Construction Revolution” by Arnaud Perrot.
The PolyDry Filament Storage System
I’m looking at a new offering from Filaments. ca, the PolyDry storage system.
Seven Ways 3D Prints Can Unstick
Of all the 3D printing issues you can encounter, bed adhesion, or lack of, is one of the most frequently seen. We list seven ways this can happen and offer suggestions on how to avoid them.
Hero Forge Demonstrates Mass Customization Possibilities
Hero Forge has designed an amazingly easy-to-use online service to perform mass customization, in an example to other industries.
3ntr’s Spectral 30 High Temperature 3D Printer
3ntr has introduced an extremely high temperature 3D printer with a build chamber temperature of 250C, capable of 3D printing all high temperature materials, such as PEEK, ULTEM, PAEK and more.
Design of the Week: Nuclear Power Plant Humidifier
This week’s selection is the Nuclear Power Plant Humidifier by Reddit contributor RocketPuff.
Our 2019 Reader Survey Results
Our annual reader survey is complete, and we thank everyone who participated. I thought it could be interesting to show some of the results, which really are all about you.
XJET Found A Niche In Ceramic Applications
XJET has found their way into a very interesting and profitable application niche for their powerful ceramic 3D printing technology.
Increasing Interest In Post-Processing Technologies
A post-processing supplier expands to Japan, illustrating the dramatically increasing interest in post-processing equipment for 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
Smart International Brings Additional Third Party Materials To The Kodak Portrait 3D Printer
A new materials program by Smart International now enables the easy use of high-grade engineering materials on the Kodak Portrait 3D printer.
3D Printing Truck Parts Improves Manufacturing Process
Cameron Torti & Charles Goulding investigate several major truck manufacturers’ use of 3D printing technologies.
The Calibry Handheld 3D Scanner
The Calibry handheld 3D scanner is a highly flexible and accurate device that can capture detailed 3D models of many subjects, at a very low cost.
A Smarter Way to Look at Simulation Results?
The company’s main product is VCollab, a solution created to make the results of engineering simulation more easily shared and understood.
Makers Making Change
A new organization hopes to link makers with those requiring disability aids with a new service. Learn how to participate.
3D Systems Makes Deep Move Towards Healthcare With CollPlant Agreement
3D Systems and CollPlant inked a deal to share resources on future bioprinting ventures, which seems to have had a positive effect on 3D Systems so far.
An Interview With A 3D Pen Artist
Katherine Bialek is an accomplished 3D pen artist. We learned her secrets of how to efficiently build complex 3D designs with only a 3D pen.
3D Printing Resins Become More Functional
An increasing choice is what awaits those who explore the third party market for resin 3D printer materials.
Autodesk Fusion 360 (Sub) Now Includes EAGLE PCB Design
If you’re a user of Fusion 360, your subscription now includes access to Autodesk EAGLE, the electronic design automation software to aid schematic layout or determine PCB routing and component placement.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing and 3D Printing
Charles Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi look at the portrayal of 3D printing in the ESG market.
Big Changes Coming: Essentium Survey Reveals Significant Issues With Closed Material 3D Printing
A new survey of large-scale 3D printing operations from Essentium reveals what could be a fatal flaw in the strategies of most major 3D printer manufacturers who hope to move towards production additive manufacturing.
The 3D Printing Market Will Exceed US$50B By 2026: So What?
Fortune Business Insights predicts a massive growth in the 3D printing market by 2026. We have some thoughts on what that means for existing and new 3D printing ventures.
A New Site For Educational 3D Print Projects
STEMFIE is a new venture designed to offer 3D printable components to children to help them learn mechanics in the 21st century.
Samantha Snabes: “Developing The Infrastructure To Print From Waste Is A Really F-Ing Hard Problem”
Samantha Snabes is the CEO for re:3D where she facilitates connections between others printing at the human-scale and/or using recycled materials to access locally-driven manufacturing in 50+ countries.
Aerosint’s Radical Deposition System Could Shake Up Powder 3D Printing
Aerosint has developed a 3D printing powder recoater that can selectively deposit powder, thus enabling multi-material powder 3D printing.
The AnanasStepper 3.0 High Precision Servo Stepper Motor
WOW launched a new and powerful stepper motor that could be used to develop inexpensive closed-loop 3D printers.
These Are Not The Best 3D Printers Of 2020
We review an astounding story on Forbes that recommends ancient 3D printers as the best buys for 2020.
The Importance of Texture in 3D Printed Foods
Novameat has designed a specialized 3D printer to replicate the fibrous texture of meat, and this could lead to an explosion of plant-based alternative 3D printed meats.
Book of the Week: 3D Printing Projects
This week’s selection is “3D Printing Projects” by Sachidanand Jha. It is a book that will definitely increase your 3D CAD design efficiency.
Awaiting Simplify3D 5.0
Simplify3D says they will issue the long-awaited version 5 of their powerful slicing software in 2020. It’s now 2020, and what can we expect?
Pico Hybrid Hot End Arrives!
Metaform is about to launch a very powerful hybrid 3D printer hot end that is not only very tiny, but can 3D print both flexible and higher temperature materials.
An Update On RePLAy 3D
RePLAy 3D contacted us to explain more details about the nature of their unusual 3D printer filament recycling service.
The Magic Behind Materialise
We had a chat with Materialise’s Stefaan Motte to find out what’s happening at the long-time 3D printing leader.
Design of the Week: Terrain Robot
This week’s selection is the unstoppable 3D printed Terrain Robot by Cults 3D contributor HK_ADLER.
Final Call For Feedback Through Our Online Survey
Our annual survey is about to close, so please get your thoughts in to us as soon as you can.
Manufacturing Makerspaces Push the Growth of 3D Printing
Charles Goulding and Greer Veon examine the benefits of using an internal makerspace for corporate or manufacturing innovation.
Sharebot Entering The Metal 3D Printing Arena
Sharebot has taken a big step into the world of metal 3D printing with the introduction of their new MetalONE metal 3D printer, which is designed for R&D use.
Ultrasound Method Increases Strength of 3D Printed Metal Parts
Researchers have found a way to significantly increase the strength and isotropy of 3D printed metal parts by using ultrasound.
Question of the Week: 3D Scanning A Tree
This week’s question is from reader Rinaldi Gotama, who asks about 3D scanning.
Volkswagen Shows Viability of Metal Additive Manufacturing in Automotive
Last year Volkswagen selected HP Metal Jet for the high volume manufacturing of production-grade metal parts, as the foundation for its strategy to industrialize additive manufacturing with a multi-year design and production roadmap.
Chemical Companies Acquiring 3D Printers
Prodways Group announced sales of 3D printers, but not to “normal” customers: Instead they sold them to chemical companies, and we know why.
Tecnica’s Lens-Free SLS 3D Printing System
Technica has invented a very interesting new concept for SLS 3D printing light engines that could dramatically lower the price of equipment.
A Great Way To Learn Grasshopper
A new book explains how to use McNeel’s Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino 3D in a very simple and easy-to-learn manner.
ADDere’s Laser Metal Wire Additive Manufacturing System
ADDere’s new Kuka-robot based metal 3D printing system is able to produce extraordinarily large metal objects and rapid speed.
Mille and 3DPrinterOS Partner on 5G 3D Printing
3DPrinterOS and Mille are partnering up to develop a powerful mobile factory solution based on 3D printing.
How 3D Printing Can Weigh-In on the New Shipping Threshold Rate Hike
Charles Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi determine ways in which 3D printing could help with recent hikes in shipping rates by FedEx and UPS.
peel 3D Announces The peel 2 CAD 3D Scanner
peel 3D just announced a new professional handheld 3D scanner, the peel 2 CAD, which includes some intriguing workflow simplification features.
Launching New Products Has Never Been Easier, Thanks To 3D Printing
Protolabs assisted the development of an award-winning consumer product, demonstrating the power of today’s manufacturing services.
We Will Never 3D Print A Car; We Will 3D Print Car Parts
The application of multiple 3D printing processes to help build parts for a concept electric vehicle hints at how future automobiles might be 3D printed.
3D Printed Facial Mask Pack System
A new use case for 3D printing has been identified: 3D printed custom facial masks, used to provide a superior fit to individuals through 3D scanning.
Formlabs Launches Community Spaces Program
Formlabs announced a new “Community Spaces” program that should optimize use of Formlabs 3D printing equipment in public fabrication labs.
Customized Products Face Consumer Challenges
Dassault Systèmes has undertaken a survey to understand consumer attitudes to custom-made products and this could affect the future growth of 3D printing.
The Race To The Bottom: Effects On 3D Printing
With the availability of a functional desktop 3D printer for only US$89, we had some thoughts on what this means and what happens next.
dp polar’s Unusual AMpolar i2 HSR 3D Printer
dp polar has developed a very unusual 3D printer that uses a large rotating platform to manufacture large quantities of parts in a single print job.
Behold The World’s First Universal LEGO Sorting Machine
While there’s nothing quite as bad as stepping on a stray LEGO block, a close second is having to sort out the mess of bricks once you (or your kids) are done using them.
Book of the Week: Print Quality & Printer Calibration
This week’s selection is “3D Printing: Print Quality & Printer Calibration: Troubleshooting Print Quality And Calibrating Your Printer” by Luke Assad.
Avoiding 3D Printing Legacy Technology Status
Charles R. Goulding and Andressa Bonafe look at how “legacy” companies make a transition into 3D printing.
Space-Based Manufacturing Project Hints at Digital Manufacturing Constraints
Some thoughts about in-space manufacturing suggest a slightly different view of what digital inventory projects could or could not achieve on the ground.
Wanted: PDK 3D Printer Filament
Researchers have discovered a new plastic material, PDK, which seems to have unusually strong recycling properties.
An Eco-Safe Water Soluble Support Material
Most 3D printer soluble support materials are not particularly eco-friendly, but 3D Printlife’s 3D-SOLVE is a very safe option for ABS and other engineering materials.
Open Just A Bit Longer: Our Annual Survey!
Guess what? Our annual survey is now open for only a short while longer. To get your opinion registered and be eligible for the prize, please read on!
Design of the Week: 3D Printed Dremel CNC
This week’s selection is the impressive 3D Printed Dremel CNC project by 19-year old Nikodem Bartnik.
BASF’s New $10 Billion China Plant
Charles Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi investigate the opening of a new BASF plant in China.
Could This Be The Most Accurate 3D Printer Filament?
A company claims to have developed the most consistent 3D printer filament ever. But what does this mean?
Another 3D Printing Pioneer Lost
Another 3D printing pioneer has been lost. Carl Deckard, inventor of SLS, has passed away.
A Benchmark Object For Metal 3D Printing?
The difficulty in 3D printing a particular type of industrial part suggests an idea for a type of benchmark object for metal 3D printing.
Optimizing Machining and Workholding for Metal Additive Manufacturing
What is the best way to set up additive manufacturing jobs to ensure production finishing can take place?
Cartier, Tiffany, and 3D Printed Jewelry
What might happen when the major jewelry companies make advanced use of 3D printing?
A Look At RapidDirect’s Manufacturing Services
Rapid Direct is a growing manufacturing service based in Asia. We took a closer look at the many fabrication services they offer.
More On The 3D Printer Hair Incident
We were able to view video footage of the 3D printing hair-caught incident from last week and have determined exactly how it occurred, and how to prevent it from happening again.
A 3D Printed iPhone 12? Or Is This Another Way To Do Product Testing?
A curious 3D print apparently obtained from Alibaba hints at another type of product development testing using 3D printing.
They Don’t Make 3D Printer Kits The Way They Used To
There seems to have been a distinct change in the nature of desktop 3D printer kits over the years. We propose a new naming convention to indicate this.
Watch An Insanely-Detailed CNC-Machined Recreation Of Mt. Saint Helens
Watch how a 3D representation of Mt. St. Helens can be produced easily with some know-how and a CNC mill.
Four Far Out Predictions For 3D Printing In 2020
General predictions of the future are easy, mere extensions of existing trends. Here we provide some very specific — and unlikely — predictions for 2020.
Will 3D Printing Truly Reshape Retail?
Singularity Hub’s Peter Diamandis makes some predictions about how the retail market may be affected by 3D printing in the future. We have some counter-points.
16 Notable Happenings In 3D Printing During 2019
More things happened in 3D printing in 2019 than in any previous year, but what were the most important events? We made a list of sixteen.