Editor: We are totally tickled to present our very first guest post – and we’re greatly honoured to have it written by well-known 3D Printing blogger Joris Peels. Most recently Joris was the Shapeways Community Manager, and now he’s blogging at Voxelfab. Over the past few years Joris has written extensively on 3D printing helping… Continue reading Which Desktop 3D Printer Do I Buy? Part One
Kerry Stevenson
Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!
Print a Viewfinder for your Canon DSLR
That’s just what Marc Schreibman did after taking a course in fabrication. After a “5-6 hour print”, he had a new LCD viewfinder in his hands. It wasn’t easy, however: I took many measurements of the camera body and LCD screen, designed it in Rhino 3D, and printed it out on a 3D printer.… Continue reading Print a Viewfinder for your Canon DSLR
Hive45 On 3D Printing
Beer drinking Australian futurists Tristan Grace and Nathan Waters speculate about the future of 3D printing on their podcast, episode 24. They feel that the ultimate goal of 3D printing is in fact very small: nanotechnology. In other words, that’s printing individual atoms and molecules in the right arrangements to achieve virtually any conceivable object. … Continue reading Hive45 On 3D Printing
World’s Fastest Motorcycle: Scanned
John Morewood managed to get his NextEngine 3D Scanner HD near the world’s fastest motorcycle (360.913 mph / 580.83 kph, holy cow!), the ACK Attack Streamliner, and grab a scan. Hopefully, the beast was not at speed during the scan. This was not just a routine scan, as John says: The size of the… Continue reading World’s Fastest Motorcycle: Scanned
Home Sintering Experiments
You don’t have enough cash on hand to buy that USD$40,000 Laser Sintering unit, but you are really curious about the process. No trouble – just do the experiment at home! The University of Wisconsin has posted the procedure for a lithography experiment you might even attempt at home, providing you have sufficient chemicals,… Continue reading Home Sintering Experiments
Add a Floor for only $129
There are tens of thousands of new web-based services that do practically everything, from counting kids’ allowances to photo editing to managing your sales process. One of them is FloorPlanner, “the easiest way to create floor plans”. They provide a simple web interface with drag and drop capability for true ease of use. The… Continue reading Add a Floor for only $129
A Very Solido Blog
There are many personal blogs detailing adventures with one’s MakerBot or RepRap, but what about a personal Solido SD300 3D printer? That’s exactly what Scott Elliot does on his blog. The SD300 uses dry PVC sheets as its build material, fusing them together layer by layer. However: Since the SD300 builds models inside a… Continue reading A Very Solido Blog
Shapeways Goes For Gold. And Bronze.
It’s not exactly the Olympics, but Shapeways can now print in Gold and Bronze finishes thanks to their most recent announcement. They’ve added more finishings one can select for stainless steel prints. In addition to the existing Gold Plate Matte finish, you can now choose from: Gold Plated Glossy (on the left above) Antique… Continue reading Shapeways Goes For Gold. And Bronze.
ZCorp Chases HP?
Perhaps shocked by HP’s recent entry into the low-cost commercial 3D Printer market, ZCorp has released two new models that are very inexpensive. The ZPrinter 150 prints only in monochrome, but the price is right: only USD$14,900 gets you one of these babies in your office. Monochrome isn’t sufficient for your technicolor object dreams?… Continue reading ZCorp Chases HP?
3D Printer Benchmark Results
As reported yesterday, T. A. Grimm & Associates has published a very extensive benchmarking report on a selection of common commercial 3D printers. We’ve been looking forward to something like this because we all too often hear statements from vendors such as: “lowest cost of materials” and “five times better resolution” or “suitable for office… Continue reading 3D Printer Benchmark Results
3D Printer Benchmark Announced
We’ve been waiting for this one: a real, honest to goodness benchmark for 3D printers. T. A. Grimm & Associates announced a new benchmark specifically designed for 3D printers. TAG’s approach is to produce four challenging and specifically designed models on each of the tested printers. Each printer is then measured against a series… Continue reading 3D Printer Benchmark Announced
The Two Headed RapMan!
No, it’s not the title to this summers horror flick. Instead, the very popular RapMan 3D printer kit has a new feature: two heads! For only £149.50 (USD$230) you can purchase an upgrade kit for your RapMan to add a second print head through which you may extrude a material of different color or characteristics. … Continue reading The Two Headed RapMan!
Objet Organizes a Dental System
3D printer manufacturer Objet has joined dental scanning provider 3Shape to create an integrated workflow solution specifically for dental restorations. The solution links 3D models produced by 3Shape’s dentist-focused scanning equipment and software directly into Objet’s Eden 3D printers. According to Avi Cohen, Head of Medical Solutions at Objet Geometries, the solution: includes special… Continue reading Objet Organizes a Dental System
Erik’s Wedding Topper
Netherlands-based personal fabrication researcher Erik de Bruijn recently got a chance to link his research area with personal life by creating a wedding cake ornament on his 3D printer for his own wedding! The project involved searching Google 3D Warehouse (unsuccessfully), preparing a 3D model (available on Thingiverse) and printing both pieces (bride and groom… Continue reading Erik’s Wedding Topper
Scanning Submarines
When you’re capturing a 3D scan of an object, you are typically limited by the size of the scanner, if the scanner requires you to put the scanned object inside it. But there’s also hand-held scanners that can overcome even that limitation. But how big an object can you scan? Creaform is going to… Continue reading Scanning Submarines
Fractal Tree Table
If the size of your 3D printer’s build chamber is too small, the answer is obvious: break your object into a series of smaller parts, print and assemble them. That or buying a bigger printer. But let’s turn this around: what if you don’t know how big your object is, and you just print… Continue reading Fractal Tree Table
MakerFaire Video
Take a look at a great video from the recent MakerFaire where: Bre Prettis of MakerBot provides a brief explanation of their hobby 3D printer Jeffrey Lipton of the Fab at Home project explains the unique features of their printer, which is capable of printing electronics or even batteries. Max Freeman of Alibre – demonstrates… Continue reading MakerFaire Video
Images From DHUB
There’s a fascinating exhibition taking place at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona, also known as “DHUB”. From the exhibition’s description: FABRICATION LABORATORY consists of not one but a series of activities (exhibitions, real-time fabrication laboratories, workshops, lectures, etc.) that offer a comprehensive overview of 3D digital manufacturing technologies. Flickr user LaN_Luis has published… Continue reading Images From DHUB
Printing Sound
Contrasting opinions are a main feature of today’s communications. We read opposing viewpoints on and endless series topics, words versus words. But what if you could actually *see* the words colliding? That’s the question Canadian artist Eva Schindling set out to discover when she produced her work, “Liquid Sound Collisions”. The artist took two… Continue reading Printing Sound
Cloud9 V2 Leads to Chameleon Bliss
A flurry of press releases rained down upon us this week to announce the availability a new version of Anarkik Angels’ amazing software modelling tool Cloud9 and its inclusion in A1 Technologies Chameleon Package. If you don’t know about Cloud9 or Chameleon and you are a 3D modeller, you should. Cloud9 is a 3D… Continue reading Cloud9 V2 Leads to Chameleon Bliss
Controversy Over Shapeways Gold Plating Formula?
A while back the Shapeways 3D Print service toyed with Gold Plating on stainless steel printed models. Evidently this trial was successful, as they have now announced a new, permanently available material: Gold Plated Stainless Steel. This sounds great, as we previously postulated that a ton (well, maybe not an *actual* ton, but lots… Continue reading Controversy Over Shapeways Gold Plating Formula?
The Future of Objects Exhibition
Two contrasting exhibitions open in Pasadena California this month: a historical examination of “The Curious World of Patent Models”, and the more contemporary “Future of Objects”. The former looks at physical models constructed for patent application, as was the custom before 1880. Fortunately for inventors, this is no longer a requirement – but imagine if… Continue reading The Future of Objects Exhibition
Sintering the Moon
We just finished reading a paper describing the viability of using microwaves to fuse lunar soil (regoilith) into solid shapes, in the hopes of creating an effective way of building lunar structures for future astronauts and their bases. The chemistry and process are fascinating. It seems that most of the lunar regolith was formed… Continue reading Sintering the Moon
Print Some Legs and Make Them Whole Again
One of the most interesting applications of 3D printing is medical uses. We’ve written about many different medical applications, ranging from printed tissue, to replacement bones. Today we ran across Alison Lewis’s wonderful post describing her experience encountering custom printed prosthetics for amputees. The procedure was to scan the patient’s surviving leg and through… Continue reading Print Some Legs and Make Them Whole Again
Printing the Disney Concert Hall – And Other Buildings
While watching a video of Sweet Onion Creations making a printout of the beautiful Disney Theater in Los Angeles, it became clear that one could find ready-made 3D models of many famous buildings. Sweet Onion Creations recommends using Google Earth to find such buildings, as it’s integrated with Google’s 3D Warehouse. We suspect there… Continue reading Printing the Disney Concert Hall – And Other Buildings
MakerBot Calibration Hoedown
Members of Kansas City’s Cowtown Computer Congress had an unusual event: 3D Printer Calibration Night. That’s right, members brought in their MakerBot 3D printers in an effort to properly calibrate their heater barrels, which are notoriously tricky to set right. Half a dozen MakerBots and a couple of RepRaps appear to be present in… Continue reading MakerBot Calibration Hoedown
Ponoko Hubs the UK
Distributed manufacturing platform Ponoko has announced they’ve got a new manufacturing hub: London, UK-based RazorLAB. This adds to their already established empire of hubs including New Zealand, San Francisco, Milan and Berlin. What does it mean? Greatly decreased shipping costs for makers using Ponoko’s services. In fact, Ponoko has actually been subsidizing shipments to the… Continue reading Ponoko Hubs the UK
Win a 3D Printer!
Sure, you’d love to win a 3D printer of your own (in this case the basic MakerBot Cupcake CNC kit), but you’ll have to do some work if you’re considering entering the 2010 (Un)Limited Design Contest. But the work is a little different from what you’d expect in a design contest. From Ponoko: … Continue reading Win a 3D Printer!
MakerBot on CBS Evening News!
They’ve hit the big time, hopefully. Last night’s CBS Evening News featured MakerBot’s Cupcake CNC printer and a very brief segment with ‘Bot mandarin Bre Prettis (left), who explained: A MakerBot is this magical device that turns ideas into objects… It’s a new way of thinking about how we get objects. The report… Continue reading MakerBot on CBS Evening News!
Breeding RepRaps
The premise behind the RepRap project is to build a machine that can reproduce itself. While it’s not quite able to accomplish that task entirely, it can produce a great many of its own parts. That’s exactly what’s going on at the University of Washington, where they seem to have set up a “RepRap… Continue reading Breeding RepRaps
The Inevitable Obj Store
After re-reading Bradshaw, Bowyer and Haufe’s paper “The Intellectual Property Implications of Low-Cost 3D Printing”, we’ve been considering where this personal manufacturing space is heading. In the paper, the tangled intellectual property rights scenarios they described involved personal manufacturing of some sort. It occurred to us that at the end of the day, most manufactured… Continue reading The Inevitable Obj Store
High Glossing Shapeways
Another development from always-inventive Shapeways 3D print service this week: you can now print in High Gloss Glass material. The material is indeed glass, made by depositing crushed glass powder with a binding medium. The resulting (and at that moment very fragile) object is then fired in an oven to remove the binder and… Continue reading High Glossing Shapeways
IP Rights vs. Personal 3D Printing
At this early stage in inexpensive personal 3D printing, we’re still exploring the technology and what it means. While we see intellectual property confusion and carnage in the digital music and now text-based industries, some of us feel that a similar catastrophe will befall personal manufacturing. In the meantime, we continue to explore the space.… Continue reading IP Rights vs. Personal 3D Printing
Glowing Objects
Nicholas Lewis has discovered that the Blue PLA filament build material he’s been using glows when illuminated by black-light. The picture above tells the story. Imagine the build possibilities! The PLA is available from UltiMachine at the link below. From the description: This is Natureworks PLA4042D extruded into 3mm filament. This is a… Continue reading Glowing Objects
From Solidworks to Shapeways
Popular 3D print service Shapeways has announced the availability of a new add-in for SolidWorks, the well-known commercial 3D modelling system. The add-in was developed by Design Solutions in a joint project with Shapeways, but is currently considered a “beta”, so expect frequent updates. Both 32 and 64 bit versions are available for download. If… Continue reading From Solidworks to Shapeways
RapidToday For Sale
We were contacted by fellow 3D print blogger Barnaby Wickham, owner/writer of the popular RapidToday blog. Barnaby says: I am selling www.rapidtoday.com, the rapid prototyping and 3D printing site I own and have edited for the past 2.5 years. I thought one of your readers might be interested in it. RapidToday has developed good… Continue reading RapidToday For Sale
The Homebrew Industrial Revolution
Kevin Carson has published a new book speaking to a vision of industrial revolution based on home-based manufacturing. This is a theme we’ve written about many times before, but we’ve not yet seen anyone take the concept into such detail as Carson’s nearly 400 page tome. Carson starts with the history of manufacturing, discussing… Continue reading The Homebrew Industrial Revolution
3D Memories?
We’ve written before about the sentimental value of 3D printed objects. Consider the notion of capturing 3D data from a pregnant woman’s ultrasound scan of her unborn child – and then reproducing the child in 3D even before it’s born! These and many other similar activities are quite possible these days with 3D print tech. … Continue reading 3D Memories?
The Columbus Idea Foundry
The Columbus Idea Foundry is one of many community workshops that keep popping up all over the globe. Their mission: The “Idea Foundry” is intended to serve those in the community who express interest in art, design, engineering, and fabrication but have not yet found a viable outlet for exploring such a complex combination… Continue reading The Columbus Idea Foundry
MicroManufacturing with a MakerBot?
MakerBot operator Pete Hinzy asks an interesting question: who else out there is using their MakerBot or other type of low cost manufacturing equipment as a part of their business? What is your business model? Pricing structures, etc.? For certain, the MakerBot and similar low-cost 3D printers don’t offer typical commercial capabilities, such… Continue reading MicroManufacturing with a MakerBot?
Objet Patents a New Print Material
We’ve just been going through a rather lengthy patent application submitted by Eduardo Napandensky and Diana Ravich – and the patent is assigned to Objet Geometries, one of the top line commercial 3D printer manufacturers. The patent describes a mysterious new print material that has new color and strength properties. Specifically, this is the… Continue reading Objet Patents a New Print Material
How Are Open Design Projects Organized?
Marvelous Onwukamike of TUHH, Hamburg University of Technology, is conducting a survey on the organization of open design projects. We felt that many Fabbaloo readers might be appropriate respondents to this exercise. The 36-question survey is available for interested parties, and takes approximately 8-10 minutes to complete. The survey may be found right here. … Continue reading How Are Open Design Projects Organized?
Materialise Replicates King Tut!
The Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York City has a unique addition to its display of Tutankhamen artifacts: King Tutankhamen himself! Or at least a very precise replica of his mummy. Artist Gary Staab was commissioned to prepare the replica, and he turned to 3D service Materialise for assistance. Using their sophisticated Mimics… Continue reading Materialise Replicates King Tut!
ZBuilder Ultra Introduced
It’s a brand new, lower-cost option from ZCorp for building objects – but it uses a very different approach. It’s not like their 3D printers, which use a fused-powder technique. Instead the ZBuilder Ultra uses “a high-resolution Digital Light Processor (DLP) projector to solidify a liquid photopolymer”, similar to laser sintering. Here’s the specifications… Continue reading ZBuilder Ultra Introduced
Shapeways Summer Colors
Who thought 3D printing would have seasons? Turns out that Shapeways does – they’ve just announced a special set of what they call “Summer Colors”, available for inclusion in your Shapeways 3D prints until September. The set of colors was chosen by popular vote, and include: Summer Blue Summer Green Summer Magenta … Continue reading Shapeways Summer Colors
Materialise Shapes F3 Euro Series Cars
3D service Materialise has been working with the Signature F3 Euro Series team to fine tune their racing cars, apparently quite successfully. The approach is to duplicate the aerodynamic scenario by testing a scale model of the proposed car design in a wind tunnel. By tweaking the shape of critical parts, the airflow can… Continue reading Materialise Shapes F3 Euro Series Cars
A Simple Scanning Service
3D Scanner manufacturer GKS Global Services has introduced a really simple method of obtaining complex 3D scans. They’re addressing the scenario where you need a 3D model of an existing physical object, but you can’t afford to buy your own scanner and/or don’t happen to have the skills to convert the data into a usable… Continue reading A Simple Scanning Service
In Need of Spools
A question on Hack A Day asks, “Im looking for someone with a 3d printer to help me manafacture 620 spools for old cameras. Anybody?” We suspect there just might be some Fabbaloo readers out there that could definitely get this done. Try the link below to get in contact with the questioner if… Continue reading In Need of Spools
Sculptris!
Tomas Pettersson has created a pretty amazing sculpting tool in his spare time: Sculptris. The Windows-based software provides a very intuitive way to model freeform sculptures. Using simple controls, a designer can quickly produce symmetrical shapes of great detail and beauty. You must watch the video to appreciate how easily an artist can produce amazing… Continue reading Sculptris!
Do You Need an Atomic Force Microscope?
Sure, everyone needs an AFM! But what is it? From Wikipedia: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy, with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. The precursor to the… Continue reading Do You Need an Atomic Force Microscope?
Visiting a FabLab
There’s a great photojourney of a visit through Aachen’s FabLab at lekernel’s scrapbook, including images of their 3D printer, laser cutter and milling machine. What exactly is a “FabLab”? Here’s the Wikipedia definition: A Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop with an array of computer controlled tools that cover several different length… Continue reading Visiting a FabLab
Trade Up to ProJet?
Commercial 3D Printer manufacturer 3D Systems has a special offer underway: trade in your existing Stratasys, Dimension, Objet, Z-Corp, Envisiontec or older 3D Systems printers and they’ll credit you “up to US$15,000” toward the purchase of a new 3D Systems ProJet 3000 or 5000 model. If you’re interested, you’d better get started as the… Continue reading Trade Up to ProJet?
MakerBot’s Hiring
“We are looking for a highly talented electrical engineer to head up our new electronics engineering department” is the opening line of a job description from an employment listing by MakerBot, producers of one of the most popular hobbyist 3D printers. They’re looking to expand their Brooklyn NY based operations by having someone focus on… Continue reading MakerBot’s Hiring
Bensons Has the BFB 3000
We’ve written about the BFB 3000 before: it’s a fully assembled 3D printer priced under £2,000. Marketed in the UK and US by A1 Technologies, we now see that the device is being sold in Australia and New Zealand by Benson Machines. The BFB 3000 is produced by Bits From Bytes and is a… Continue reading Bensons Has the BFB 3000
MiniMagics2 Released
Materialise has released a new version of their MiniMagics software, which is used for management of STL files. What can it do? Here’s a short list: Import and save .STL, .magics or .mgx files Compress STL files up to factor 20 View parts and rotate, pan or zoom Detect bad edges and flipped triangles… Continue reading MiniMagics2 Released
3D Printed Clip Carries Cyclists Up a Mountain
Design firm Freedom of Creation supported the fight against cancer by helping a popular fundraising event in France on 3 June this year. FOC manufactured a special clip for riders in the annual Alpe d’HuZes. The Alpe d’HuZes is a gruelling cycling event in which participants ride not once, but six times up a mountain… Continue reading 3D Printed Clip Carries Cyclists Up a Mountain
Additive or Subtractive?
Something struck us the other day when thinking about the variety of 3D printing approaches. Traditional manufacturing is typically “subtractive”, in that you take a large chunk of material, say a granite cube, length of wood or a 17 tonne cube of solid titanium and go at it with tools, manual or automated. When the… Continue reading Additive or Subtractive?
MCOR Paper Printers In The Wild
MCOR’s Matrix 300 paper-based 3D printer is now in use at various industrial and educational institutions in the UK. The Matrix 300 has been installed at Ravensbourne campus in Greenwich Peninsula; Pera, The Innovation Network in Leicestershire; the Royal College of Art in London. No doubt more installations are coming. These MCOR clients… Continue reading MCOR Paper Printers In The Wild
EOS Focuses on Medical Applications
Commercial Laser Sintering giant EOS has been focusing on the medical market recently, using their SLS expertise to produce a variety of solutions. EOS uses several plastic approaches, including laser-sintered nylon for “disposable, customized operating devices such as drill guides for knee and hip replacements”. They’re also developing “PEEK HP3”, which is a “a… Continue reading EOS Focuses on Medical Applications
The Quirky Case of Objet Technologies
In an unusual example of Web2.0 colliding head-on with 3D Printing, Objet announced they’ve sold a Connex 350 3D printer to social product developer Quirky. Wait a moment, you ask, what exactly is a “social product developer”? The Quirky answer is a startup company that accepts ideas from the public and produces new products.… Continue reading The Quirky Case of Objet Technologies
Solido – Up Close
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
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