After re-reading our post on entrepreneur Peter Diamandis’ new book, Abundance, we were reminded that Diamandis was the original proposer of the X Prize. The X Prize is now a foundation that pays for the development of amazing technological achievements. The most famous X Prize was the first one, which spurred the development of a… Continue reading A Call For A 3D Printing X-Prize
Ideas
Inspired by Biomimetics
We’ve previously written on research into the application of 3D printing in building construction. The idea is that rather than having a completely uniform interior geometry for building materials, we create variably shaped interiors. In other words, instead of bricks with solid or uniformly latticed interiors, more material occurs in places where more physical stress… Continue reading Inspired by Biomimetics
An Introduction to Dental 3D Printing
Many of our readers are operate or are keenly interested in personal 3D printers, but they are also aware that 3D printing was originally used for industrial uses. One of those uses is in dentistry, where “personalized fit” is essential. Creating one-time unique dental shapes is the business of dentists and 3D printing technology is… Continue reading An Introduction to Dental 3D Printing
Should You Protect Your 3D Design?
You’ve spent hours to create the perfect 3D model in your favorite 3D tool. Do you own this digital property? Probably, but can you prove it? Exactly. That’s the problem that’s solved by third party intellectual property registration services, such as ProtectRite. They’ll accept (for a fee) your digital file and timestamp it within… Continue reading Should You Protect Your 3D Design?
Heated Chamber For Personal 3D Printers
This idea is hot – literally. Instructables member UglyBuddha created and posted a design for a Heated Build Chamber for his RapMan personal 3D printer. No, he doesn’t install a heated chamber into his RapMan. Instead he builds a heated chamber around the 3D printer! Wait a moment. Why would one require a heated… Continue reading Heated Chamber For Personal 3D Printers
The Ultimate 3D Print
What is the “Ultimate 3D Print”? We’ve all seen fantastic designs made by incredible artists. Some of them are generated using complex mathematical algorithms, while others are carefully crafted by hand. They’re amazing. But are they the ultimate 3D print? Does the single item you should print exist among them? We think not. … Continue reading The Ultimate 3D Print
Printing a Buckliball?
We’re always fascinated by those gift cards that pop up into ingenious 3D structures when you open them up, but could something like this be done in 3D? It turns out you can with a new design called the “Buckliball”. The Buckliball is a sphere that can grow or shrink by twisting its form… Continue reading Printing a Buckliball?
3D Printing Can Be Green
Eco-blog GreenProphet recognizes the potential green value of 3D printing in a recent post. They were inspired by Objet’s recent experiment in 3D printing an entire car dashboard (which, by the way, has been done before by 3D Systems as you can see an entire Mercedes dashboard in their lobby). Objet’s automobile experiment attempted… Continue reading 3D Printing Can Be Green
No Future For FDM 3D Printers?
Sometimes the ideas in several Fabbaloo posts add up to another idea. In this case it has to do with our thoughts about resin-based 3D Printing. First we saw a microscopic 3D printer offering fantastic print speeds and then we see several developments in open source resin-based 3D printing. We also see challenges with… Continue reading No Future For FDM 3D Printers?
Intellectual Property Rights vs 3D Printing
In a post on Tech.pinions, reporter Steve Wildstrom writes his thoughts on the collision of 3D printing and intellectual property rights, which we’ve discussed previously on several occasions. All agree this will be a messy business, at least until we figure out the answers. Wildstrom thinks that it may be possible for 3D printer… Continue reading Intellectual Property Rights vs 3D Printing
Are FabLabs Enough?
We’re reading a fascinating and provocative article by entrepreneur Nick Pelling detailing his thoughts around the uses of 3D printing, manufacturing processes and creativity. Pelling feels that the simple Fablabs sprouting up all over are insufficient for inventors and entrepreneurs to truly prototype for mass production. Prototypes “for looks”, just aren’t good enough. … Continue reading Are FabLabs Enough?
Microscopic 3D Printer
Numerous readers pointed us to a post by the Vienna University of Technology who recently made a very significant breakthrough in microscopic 3D printing. What is this breakthrough? They were able to successfully perform actual 3D printing operations at a microscopic scale, building the racing car you see in the image here. How “microscopic”… Continue reading Microscopic 3D Printer
Resin-Based 3D Printer Developments
We’ve observed a few developments in resin-based 3D printing recently. While most personal 3D printers today use the fused deposition modeling approach (melted plastic squirted in a precise path, layer by layer), the resin approach is very different and in many ways offers advantages. The resin approach involves light-curable liquid resin. Simply illuminate the… Continue reading Resin-Based 3D Printer Developments
Scream A 3D Print, Literally
A truly amazing installation of what’s called “Production Art” is now open for viewing – and screaming – at Rabobank HQ in Utrecht, Netherlands. Screaming, you ask? That’s exactly what visitors must do when the visit Alicia Framis’ “Screaming Room” exhibition. You scream, the waveform is recorded and translated instantly into a 3D model (a… Continue reading Scream A 3D Print, Literally
3D Printing Seeps Into The Arts
When you envision the opening of a new school for the Creative and Performing Arts, sponsored by filmmaker Sir Richard Taylor, head of WETA, you’d think you’d see typical film and acting facilities and equipment. Cameras, stages, studios and the like. The new Creative and Performing Arts Centre at Scots College in Strathmore,… Continue reading 3D Printing Seeps Into The Arts
3D Printing For Graphic Artists
Graphics.com, a publication dedicated to the 3D arts recently posted “Fundamentals: 3D Printing of Digital Models”. In this piece they take the reader through a basic explanation of 3D printing concepts and a walk through the lifecycle of a print: design, print and finishing of a trophy award (see image). No big surprises, but… Continue reading 3D Printing For Graphic Artists
SparkLab: BuildMobile
Of all the Kickstarter-style 3DP projects we’ve seen lately, the SparkLab concept may be the most valuable to society. No, you won’t get a fancy sculpture but you will get the satisfaction of supporting the spread of 3D printing and DIY making knowledge. What is the SparkLab concept? It’s quite simple. They proponents realized… Continue reading SparkLab: BuildMobile
Insects Au Gratin
What might you expect to find at an exhibition entitled, “Insects Au Gratin”. Why yes, you guess correctly. This exhibition details 3D food printing, but with a twist: the print material is a flour made from “dried insects combined with soft cheese.” Why would anyone do this? Because: “Insects Au Gratin looks… Continue reading Insects Au Gratin
Adafruit Offers 3D Printing Badge
Do you remember those Boy Scout badges you’d get when you were a lot younger? We don’t as no one here was a Scout, but the point is that the scout badges represented the achievement of a particular skill, like swimming or handicrafts. Now we see electronics site Adafruit establishing skill badges for several DIY-style… Continue reading Adafruit Offers 3D Printing Badge
Shapeways’ Peek Into Imagination: Finds Apple’s Siri
Popular 3D print service Shapeways often runs contests to stimulate creativity – and increase their print volume. This past week saw the conclusion of a rather interesting competition to answer the abstract question, “What Does Siri Look Like?” Siri, of course, is Apple’s voice-powered omnipotent assistant. There were multiple entries to the contest, each… Continue reading Shapeways’ Peek Into Imagination: Finds Apple’s Siri
A Conversation On 3D Printer Piracy
We were reading an interesting article in The Guardian interviewing Steve Purdham, founder of successful internet jukebox service We7. Purdham spoke of how he believes the Jukebox idea is the ultimate destination of what we know today as “radio”. Then suddenly the article says: In conversation, Purdham veers from the pragmatic to the preposterous.… Continue reading A Conversation On 3D Printer Piracy
Create Your Own Museum With 3D Printing
There was quite a bit of media buzz the other week when it was revealed that the venerable Smithsonian of Washington DC has been digitizing and 3D printing some of their famous works. Imaged is the famous statue of second US president Thomas Jefferson that was scanned & modeled by Studio EIS and 3D printed… Continue reading Create Your Own Museum With 3D Printing
Will China Be Harmed By 3D Printing?
Last summer we contemplated the idea that China could be harmed by 3D printing, based on a post in Forbes. The idea was that legions of inexpensive Asian workers who’ve been displacing expensive North American workers would have the tables turned when 3D printing takes hold in North America, permitting consumers to simply print their… Continue reading Will China Be Harmed By 3D Printing?
The Case for Finer 3D Printer Resolution
CNET published an interesting article on Quirky, the New York based startup that crowdsources inventions. Reporter Rich Brown visited the company in hopes of seeing how they make use of 3D printing technology in a design firm. He describes his thoughts on the collision design firms such as Quirky vs. up and coming 3D model… Continue reading The Case for Finer 3D Printer Resolution
3D Printing Produces Abundance?
Peter H. Diamandis is well known as the originator of the recent series of X-Prizes that have launched a couple of new 21st century industries. He also founded the Singularity University, too, which led to a unique extra-terrestrial 3D printing initiative, Made In Space. Diamandis and partner Steven Kotler have just come out with… Continue reading 3D Printing Produces Abundance?
3D Printed Dino Robots
We know folks have 3D printed dinosaur bones before. What could possibly be better than that? We know one thing: 3D Printed Dinosaur Robots! The project to produce these entertaining items has in fact a very serious scholarly purpose. Researchers at Drexel University are 3D printing scaled down dino bones and attaching artificial muscles… Continue reading 3D Printed Dino Robots
Trademark vs. 3D Printing
Helen Sloan of World Trademark Review writes an interesting analysis of the effect of 3D printing on trademarks. This was prompted, of course, by the recent announcement by The Pirate Bay that they’re adding a category for 3D object files. The implication is that anyone would theoretically be able to download a 3D model of… Continue reading Trademark vs. 3D Printing
3D Printer in the Home of the Future
The UK’s Channel 4’s new show “Home of the Future” takes the idea of a futuristic home beyond just and idea; they’re building it for real! The imaginative home includes numerous 21st century features, some you’d expect to see, like an internet-equipped refrigerator in the kitchen and others you might not expect like the… Continue reading 3D Printer in the Home of the Future
The 10 Barriers to 3D Printing In Your Home
Slashgear predicts 3D printing will “explode at a rate incomparable to its 2D predecessor”. We all hope so, but will this actually come true? Things happen when they’re easy – and that might not be the case just yet in the world of personal 3D printing. We considered some of the major barriers to mass… Continue reading The 10 Barriers to 3D Printing In Your Home
Stackable 3D Print Design
Tom Modeen is at it again, developing weird but artistic techniques for producing 3D objects with 3D printers. This time he’s interrupting the 3D print operation before it completes, revealing the usually hidden inner support structure. By printing similarly sized objects, one can take these partial prints and manually assemble them in different combinations to… Continue reading Stackable 3D Print Design
Pirate Baying 3D Printing
The other week infamous BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay announced a new category for contraband digital media: Other/Physibles. The idea is that this category would hold 3D model files representing physical objects. Horrors! Not only will movies and music will be pirated, but now Everything Else! Listen, it’s just a category. And it’s not… Continue reading Pirate Baying 3D Printing
3D Printing To Disappear?
Christopher Mims writes his opinion of 3D printing futures on the MIT Technology Review blog, where he suggests that 3D printing will never become a “mature technology that can reproduce all the goods on which we rely”. He goes on to suggest that to believe so is a “complete denial of the complexities of modern… Continue reading 3D Printing To Disappear?
On The Road With 3D Printing
The Pocket Factory Project seems a little crazy at first, but then it starts to make more sense in this rapidly evolving 21st century. It’s two creative guys stuffed into a Prius, driving around the United States seeking inspiration for creative 3D printing. Bilal Ghalib and Alex Hornstein are those guys and they’re traveling… Continue reading On The Road With 3D Printing
3D Printing In Antarctica?
Hundreds of thousands of readers from an amazing 185 countries and territories have visited Fabbaloo since our inception in 2007, but only two visits have ever originated from Antarctica. We’re wondering whether 3D printing could play a significant role at the bottom of the world in the research stations, which are often cut off… Continue reading 3D Printing In Antarctica?
The Two Titans of Personal 3D Printing
After CES it now seems we have a two-horse race for the lead in personal 3D printing: MakerBot and 3D Systems. Both announced new printers (the MakerBot Replicator and the Cube), while 3D Systems added a comprehensive 3D community/store/service to compete with MakerBot’s Thingiverse. But that’s about where the similarities end. MakerBot’s philosophy revolves… Continue reading The Two Titans of Personal 3D Printing
Awesome Possibilities with 3D Printed Concrete
A provocative article on Construction Digital discusses the idea of matching 3D printing with modern construction. As anyone who wanders through big cities these days knows, the design of buildings is increasingly radical and complex. These amazing designs are wonderful to look at and work within, but they are becoming more difficult for engineers and… Continue reading Awesome Possibilities with 3D Printed Concrete
True 3D Scanners for Phones?
Developments at MIT by professor Vivek Goyal may lead to very inexpensive and ubiquitous 3D scanning equipment, perhaps even embedded in your mobile phone. A dream for many 3D printer owners is the ability to capture 3D shapes efficiently. Today one must use very expensive 3D scanners or be satisfied with rudimentary solutions such as… Continue reading True 3D Scanners for Phones?
3D Print Time, Size and Accuracy
With the announcement of MakerBot’s giant Replicator 3D printer, we’re now entering a stage where most personal 3D printers have a significantly large build envelope, typically around 200mm wide by 200mm deep by 150+mm tall. This means we can print big things! But should we? Sure you can print something “twice as large”, but… Continue reading 3D Print Time, Size and Accuracy
More on Cubify
As we mentioned the other day, 3D Systems was set to announce something big at CES and they did: plenty of details on the new Cubify system are now available. Cubify is a very comprehensive 3D printing “system” involving a new personal printer, 3D print services, an online community, a model repository, an API and… Continue reading More on Cubify
Did Our 3D Print Wishes Come True in 2011?
In January 2011 we posted a short list of three “wishes” for 3D printing in 2011. Now that 2011 has officially been placed on the expired list, we thought we check in on our wishes to see if any of them actually happened. Here’s the results: We wished for “A capable and assembled 3D… Continue reading Did Our 3D Print Wishes Come True in 2011?
Anil Dash on 3D Printing Futures
Entrepreneur Anil Dash recently posted his thoughts on the world of 3D printing as we find it at the end of year 2011. We agree with most of his propositions, which basically boil down to the fact that personal 3D printing is at the most early stages of development. Here are his positions and our… Continue reading Anil Dash on 3D Printing Futures
Unfold Imagines Streetside 3D Printing
Several design firms specialize in doing amazing things with 3D printing and one of them is Belgium-based Unfold. Their new concept is streetside 3D printing. What? Yeah, it’s exactly that – a street vendor that prints arbitrary stuff on demand. Not hot dogs, but objects. Possible? Technically yes, but we suspect the clientele… Continue reading Unfold Imagines Streetside 3D Printing
3D Printing Hot Stuff
We’ve been reading a post from BFB in which they’ve offered another christmas 3D model free for download as part of their Advent Calendar program. It’s a tea light holder. The item holds one of those standard-sized metal candle holders, which of course, you ignite and enjoy. But this got us thinking. Should 3D… Continue reading 3D Printing Hot Stuff
Another 3D Printed ATM Skimmer
This isn’t the first time a crime was committed with 3D printing technology, and it won’t be the last. Curiously, it’s exactly the same kind of crime: ATM skimming! Krebs on Security details the plot, in which perps carefully replaced the “card reader” portion of a California Chase Bank ATM with their own compromised… Continue reading Another 3D Printed ATM Skimmer
3D Printed Fractal Cube Originated in Second Life
In December 2007 Henry Segerman, a.k.a. Second Life avatar Seifert Surface, designed a “Hilbert Cube” using Second Life’s then simplistic 3D model creation tools and some tricky Python software. While this interesting object was for years used only within Second Life’s virtual world, there’s been a recent change: you can now 3D print this item… Continue reading 3D Printed Fractal Cube Originated in Second Life
The Economist Discovers 3D Printing’s Killer App
There is perhaps no bigger promoter of 3D printing within the mainstream media than The Economist magazine. Recently they visited the gigantic Euromold conference where many 3D printer manufacturers exhibit their wares – and applications of their tech. What impressed The Economist was the link between 3D print design and the biological. We’ve written… Continue reading The Economist Discovers 3D Printing’s Killer App
The New Teardrop
Maker Zaggo has discovered a truly useful design tip for 3D models. The new design helps overcome a deficiency in many low-cost 3D printers: no support material. Support material is typically extruded from a second print head during the print to add support for overhangs and difficult object geometries. The support material is then removed… Continue reading The New Teardrop
The Cambrian Explosion of 3D Printers
Another new and innovative 3D printer kit available on KickStarter. Venture funding starts up another 3D printer factory. And then we read Rachel Park’s blog post. She reported on her experience at Euromold, where even more low-cost personal 3D printers emerged. That got us thinking about explosions. Cambrian explosions. But, you ask, what is/was… Continue reading The Cambrian Explosion of 3D Printers
MakerBot’s Christmas Strategy
Retailers must plan around the holiday season. In fact, for some retailers that season is the “make or break” portion of the year’s revenue. Like any good retailer, MakerBot is doing the same by offering their 3D printers at a number of New York City shops, including AC Gears, Wired, GizModo Gallery and the New… Continue reading MakerBot’s Christmas Strategy
Stratasys 3D Printers For Less?
There’s those low-cost personal 3D printers we often write about and there’s those really expensive commercial 3D printers that you’d never be able to afford. Or at least that’s how it used to be. Stratasys announced something they call a “3D Print Pack”, composed of their small uPrint 3D printer, a cleaning system and startup… Continue reading Stratasys 3D Printers For Less?
Uformia – Saving The World From Polygons
Our rant regarding STL the other day provoked some interest from the not-yet-well-known company Uformia of Norway. While we all agree that there are serious problems with STL format, some are starting to do something about it. One group with an interesting approach is Uformia, who are developing a new approach to 3D modeling specifically… Continue reading Uformia – Saving The World From Polygons
Size Counts?
We often hear people asking the question “How big an object can you print on that thing?” The answer depends on which personal 3D printer you’re talking about, because they vary in size considerably. The public’s thinking seems to be “bigger is better”. We’re not so sure. Not only do personal 3D printers vary… Continue reading Size Counts?
The End of 3mm Filament?
An increasing number of personal 3D printer manufacturers are switching their products from using standard 3mm plastic filament (either ABS or PLA plastic) to a smaller size: 1.75mm. One of the early converts was PP3DP’s Up! 3D printer, which came with a 1.75mm extruder and smaller nozzle to match. In those early days 1.75mm filament… Continue reading The End of 3mm Filament?
Imagined Shopping For 3D Printer Materials
Objet just announced another amazing material for their Connex and Eden 3D printers. This new material, called “High Temperature Material”, not surprisingly provides 3D prints that can withstand high temperature exposure. It can withstand a temperature of +65C (149F) right out of the printer, but if you post-process the object with a “short oven-based,… Continue reading Imagined Shopping For 3D Printer Materials
More People Get 3D Printing
Blogger John Geraci’s recent post shows his newfound understanding of the future of 3D printing: he gets it. John’s blog talks about “innovation & entrepreneurship in New York City and beyond”, and this led him, we suspect, to Brooklyn-based MakerBot, the well-known manufacturers of the Thing-O-Matic personal 3D printer and previous models. From there he… Continue reading More People Get 3D Printing
The Wild West of 3D Models
Nick Bilton of the New York Times writes on the current “Wild West” state of legal affairs in the world of 3D printing. He compares the trading of digital 3D models with today’s sharing of music and video: “You think that was bad? Just wait until we can copy physical things.” We strongly agree with… Continue reading The Wild West of 3D Models
Investing in 3D Printing?
You’ve been reading many articles about 3D printing, or perhaps you’ve seen one. You think (like us) that 3D printing is going to be a Big Thing one day. You want a piece of the action. But how do you do that? Normally you’d select one or more likely companies and simply buy their… Continue reading Investing in 3D Printing?
An End To The Dreaded STL Format?
Experiments are underway to 3D print without using STL, the standard meat and potato file format used by 3D printers worldwide. How can this be? The folks at the RepRap project are trying to use a different approach using CSG format. Ok, let’s back up a bit; there are too many acronyms fling around… Continue reading An End To The Dreaded STL Format?
3D Printed Circuit Boards?
Ponoko’s CEO David ten Have believes 3D printers will soon be able to print actual working circuit boards, in a recent chat with Wired. According to ten Have, “most of the assembly tools are completely automated anyway”. The RepRap project’s design goal is to design a machine that can actually reproduce itself, but automated… Continue reading 3D Printed Circuit Boards?
Sculpteo Asks: 3D Printer or 3D Service?
3D print service Sculpteo poses the question, “Would you rather have a personal 3D printer or simply use a 3D print service?” Based on a column from industry consultant Terry Wohlers, it seems that Sculpteo might agree with Wohlers when he says: most people would not want to mess with an AM (additive manufacturing)… Continue reading Sculpteo Asks: 3D Printer or 3D Service?
3D Printing is a Cleantech Innovation
Pike Research, whose tagline is “Cleantech Market Intelligence” posted a report listing “Five Disruptive Cleantech Innovations”. These, we presume, are technologies that should deliver dramatic ecological benefits to future generations as they come online in force later in this century. But what was on the list of five? Energy Harvesting Energy Storage Fuel Cell… Continue reading 3D Printing is a Cleantech Innovation
3D Printed Crabs
No, we’re not talking about pretty little crab toys you can print and hand out to your 8 year old nephew. Instead we’re talking about an innovative project undertaken by one of MakerBot’s artists in residence, Miles Lightwood. The project is concerned with the fate of the lowly Hermit Crab, a crustacean currently facing… Continue reading 3D Printed Crabs
3D Printing’s Great Divide
We’ve been observing some of the fantastic features offered by the major 3D printer manufacturers and realized there could be a growing problem. While all 3D printers can produce objects, some manufacturers use unique (and patented) approaches to getting that done. They also offer some great features: ZCorp’s printers can print in full… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Great Divide
Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures
At a recent seminar we were able to meet with 3D printing consultant Terry Wohlers. Terry has been a leading 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry consultant and prolific speaker for over 25 years. Each year he publishes the definitive report on the industry, available from his website. We asked his opinion on 3D printing… Continue reading Wohlers On 3D Printing Futures
The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
Pete Prodoehl of RasterWeb tells an interesting tale of his experience in making a replacement part using a home 3D printer. We’ve gone through this scenario ourselves, and you should hear this tale as it typifies the current state of affairs for home repair using 3D printers. Pete required a light switch button and… Continue reading The Tale Of Printing Your Own Part
3D Printed Crime
PC World takes a very deep look at some of the criminal possibilities of 3D printing in a recent article. We’ve been quite concerned about how this will play out, as have some others. When you have a machine that can create practically anything, what do you expect to happen? PC World’s article details… Continue reading 3D Printed Crime
Finding 3D Models With Google
We’re always interested to find new ways of developing 3D models, be it through software modeling tools, capture through scanning of real objects, physical manifestation of found 3D data, or other techniques. Why? Because you can 3D print them! Now we see artist Daniel Michel of Germany has found yet another way to create digital… Continue reading Finding 3D Models With Google
Waiting For AMF
Some months ago (March actually) we wrote about a new file format for additive manufacturing that had been approved after long discussion: AMF, the Additive Manufacturing Format. This new format included a variety of key features to dramatically improve the information content found in 3D models. Meta data, materials, colors, textures and more were… Continue reading Waiting For AMF
Foodsafe 3D Printing
Foodsafe is one of those words we keep bumping into. What does it mean, exactly? Well, we’re pretty certain there is an official international standard, complete with a number of specifications, but basically it means you can use the produce for purposes of human consumption. You can eat with it. “But it’s just plastic… Continue reading Foodsafe 3D Printing
RepRap Price Points
Neil Underwood posted a great summary of pricing options for getting your own RepRap 3D printer. His analysis shows three different price levels, ranging from a full-on everything-you’d-possibly-want version for USD$850 to a very basic, just-enough-to-say-you-did-it USD$350 version. There’s also a more practical level at USD$550 for a “realistically cheap prusa model”. Be sure… Continue reading RepRap Price Points
Objet Prints a Toddler!
Most of a toddler, that is. They’ve used their unique multi-material 3D printing capability to print the upper half of a human toddler. As you can see in the image, they’ve used a clear material for most of the body, with a harder, white material for the skeleton – which is embedded within the 10Kg… Continue reading Objet Prints a Toddler!
3D Printing’s Rule 34
Charles Stross’s latest science fiction novel, Rule 34, includes a whole lot of deep thinking on the implications of widespread 3D printing. We’ve discussed some of these issues before, but Stross’s novel proposes another more aggressive solution: forbidden shapes. In other words, 3D printers could be rigged to detect and prevent the production of certain… Continue reading 3D Printing’s Rule 34
Forbes On 3D Printing
There’s been a plethora of mainstream media talking about 3D printing lately, and we’re not entirely sure why. Maybe the meme has simply spread wide enough that “normal” people are now starting to talk about it. We’ve experienced this too, where technically innocent relatives talk about something they saw. When grandmother talks about 3D printing,… Continue reading Forbes On 3D Printing
Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?
Computer geeks are all familiar with Moore’s law, which posits the idea that the number of transistors practically placed on a chip doubles every two years. Of course, more transistors means more power – and that’s exactly what we see: cheaper, more powerful computers every year. Johnny Ryan wonders whether a similar law (maybe… Continue reading Does 3D Printing Follow Moore’s Law?
The Three Phases of Personal Data
Jordan Staniscia describes an interesting link between current developments in 3D printing and “2D media” that we’ve all been using for many years. His concept is “custom personal data”, data that can be mixed, manipulated and of course chosen by you. In the increasingly distant past, such choices were made by media execs in… Continue reading The Three Phases of Personal Data
3D Printing Reality Checklist
An article posted on ExtremeTech showed up recently and introduced 3D printing to the general public in the usual overly-optimistic way: a replicator and teleporter in every home You can plug it into your computer via USB, load up some freely-available 3D modeling software, and print stuff; it really is that simple. The only… Continue reading 3D Printing Reality Checklist
3D Printing For Supervillains
An amusing article at BigThink ponders the consequences of 3D printing technology in the hands of supervillains. Writer Chris Cunnyngham read the article describing the first flyable 3D printed airplane (a drone, don’t get your hopes up yet) and said: Very cool. And it scared the hell out of me. He goes on… Continue reading 3D Printing For Supervillains
Shapeways Is Three. Is 3D Printing Old?
Shapeways just celebrated its third birthday and while we’re happy to see they’re doing well and continuing to innovate, we asked ourselves if 3D printing is getting old? Shapeways is three years old. Fabbaloo has been posting since late 2007, some four years ago. Objet is twelve years old. Z Corp is sixteen years… Continue reading Shapeways Is Three. Is 3D Printing Old?
China Concerned About 3D Printing?
We know the vision: consumer owns an advanced 3D printer. They buy 3D designs online and print out their desired objects onsite within moments. Ta da! We also know the implications of this vision: Dead factories, fewer trains and trucks hauling finished goods around, perhaps a slightly greener world, more 3D designers and fewer… Continue reading China Concerned About 3D Printing?
Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 2
Last week we lamented the current state of personal 3D printing workflow: difficult. It’s so difficult we believe many potential mainstream 3D printer owners would never be able to make their way through it. But what’s the answer? What should the experience look like for the majority of future 3D printer owners? Let’s look… Continue reading Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 2
3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good
BBC news reports today on scientists at the University of Exeter in the UK who have developed a new chocolate 3D printer. Instead of extruding tasteless plastic, this printer is capable of extruding liquified chocolate into solid – and edible – objects. The process is similar to other extrusion-based 3D printers: squirt and solidify each… Continue reading 3D Printed Chocolate That Tastes Good
Defeating Warping
If there’s one thing that personal 3D printer operators dislike, it must be the evils of warping. Warping, the phenomenon that occurs when a coincidence of material, temperatures, extruder speed and stretching results in printed models that have curled up corners. Typically warping is much more prevalent with ABS plastic and this may have led… Continue reading Defeating Warping
Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 1
We’ve all seen this button many times. It’s how you produce 2D paper output, and you’ve used it perhaps all your life, maybe every day. It works because it’s easy. It works because it’s familiar. It works because all the hard stuff is already figured out for you behind the scenes. Enter personal 3D… Continue reading Where’s My 3D Print Button? Part 1
More Metal Printing Experiments
The RepRap team continue to develop methods of printing electrical conductors. If they succeed, it would be possible for future 3D printers to print objects that include (at least at first) simple electronic circuits embedded directly in their shapes. One can imagine a wide variety of LED lamps or switchboxes emerging quickly once this tech… Continue reading More Metal Printing Experiments
Amazing 3D Printing Infographic
We bumped into this totally amazing infographic that explains pretty much all you need to know about 3D printing, including the process, economy, materials, typical uses, timeline of events, consumer and industrial use, food printing, etc. (Click link below for the full infographic view). The timeline is interesting. It predicts Bioprinted human limbs and… Continue reading Amazing 3D Printing Infographic
The Solar Sinter Project
While home 3D printers typical heat/melt plastic to produce objects, Markus Kayser has developed an eco-friendly 3D printer for “desert manufacturing” using only sand as the print material. The Solar Sinter focuses the heat of the sun to a small point using a large, sun-tracking fresnel lens. The focal point is so hot it… Continue reading The Solar Sinter Project
Billions For Organ Printing?
An article in the Washington Post explores the startling proposition of 3D printing human organs. This is an incredibly complex goal, since most 3D printing of today involves rather simplistic models: a shape made of a single consistent material deposited in a uniform manner. Yes, a few advanced commercial 3D printers might be able to… Continue reading Billions For Organ Printing?
Human Tissue Material?
Nano-engineers at the University of California in San Diego have developed a new biomaterial that evidently is a very close match for human tissue. This material is not a uniform substance, but is rather a particular geometry that exhibits stretching properties useful for bio-engineering. The material is produced from a liquid polymer resin using… Continue reading Human Tissue Material?
What is OHANDA?
OHANDA is the Open Source Hardware and Design Alliance, an initiative that has developed “Four Freedoms” that can be associated with an open design to ensure proper open source use. Their idea is to create an icon that may be displayed on hardware to indicate the permitted usage, similar to a “CC” license in a… Continue reading What is OHANDA?
3D Printed Bikini: Breakthrough or Barrier?
We were very excited to read about Shapeways latest creation: a 3D printed Bikini that you can actually purchase and wear! Up to now, most 3D printed fashions were wild, crazy and effectively impractical for common use. Typically you’d see 3D printed fashions in a museum or modern art event, but never in a place… Continue reading 3D Printed Bikini: Breakthrough or Barrier?
A Keygen for House Keys?
There’s been quite a bit of interest in using the OpenSCAD 3D Modeling tool for a variety of designs, but this one caught our eye. OpenSCAD, if you aren’t aware, is a free GPL open source 3D modelling tool that is non-visual. Instead of dragging, squeezing and pinching components into your model, OpenSCAD requires you… Continue reading A Keygen for House Keys?
Mass Customization is On The List
The Churchill Club is “Silicon Valley’s premier business and technology forum”, with some 6,500 members including many notable tech CEOs. Each year they host a discussion in which panelists attempt to predict the top tech trends for the next few years. This year’s event, apparently the 13th annual, included panelists: Curt Carlson, President and… Continue reading Mass Customization is On The List
The Personal Factory 5: Apps!
Ponoko has taken a step to solving one of the biggest problems in the 3D printing/making industry today: How do you make custom items? The problem is straightforward: 3D printers and other making devices can produce pretty much anything, once provided with a design. However, the goods produced are typically more expensive than those… Continue reading The Personal Factory 5: Apps!
Objet Displays Amazing New Materials
At the recent Plastics Design and Moulding show in London we met with Tim Smith of Tri-Tech, who demonstrated some of Objet’s amazing new materials. One of the materials is “Clear”. That’s right, you can actually see through the material when it’s printed. In fact, the specs you see above were entirely produced on an… Continue reading Objet Displays Amazing New Materials
Engineering Organs?
Wake Forest researcher Dr. Anthony Atala recently spoke on CBC’s science podcast Quirks and Quarks about his work in the almost unbelievable science of engineering organs. His team is actually able to manufacture several types of biological organs. While this is still at the research stage, it could lead to a future where replacement parts… Continue reading Engineering Organs?