This week’s selection is the Neanderthal Woman 3D model by researchers at the University of Cambridge.
history
John Walker: The Entrepreneur Who Brought CAD to Desktops and Enabled 3D Printing’s Rise
Last week we lost John Walker, founder of Autodesk.
Ancient Roman Relics Inspire Modern 3D Printing Boom: The Case of UK’s Dodecahedrons
Charles R. Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi discuss the discovery of Roman dodecahedrons in the UK, their enigmatic purpose and the subsequent surge in interest and replication through 3D printing.
What is Parametric Modeling?
PTC made parametric modeling famous.
Fundamentals of Computational Engineering: Part 1 — A Bit of History
Let’s define what Computational Engineering is and how it differs from the way we currently use computers to design physical parts.
A Blast from the Past: Discovering an Ancient 3D Printer in a Modern Workshop
I encountered what I thought to be a rather ancient 3D printer last week.
Question of the Week: ideaPrinter F100?
This week’s question relates to a rather old 3D printer, the ideaPrinter F100.
Before You Cancel Netflix, Relive the Early Days of 3D Printing
There’s something you should watch on Netflix, and it is specifically about 3D printing.
Book of the Week: How to Invent Everything
This week’s selection is “How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler” by Ryan North.
Book of the Week: Maps for Time Travelers
This week’s selection is “Maps for Time Travelers: How Archaeologists Use Technology to Bring Us Closer to the Past” by Mark D McCoy.
What is PLA?
Novice 3D printer operators often wonder, “what is the PLA that I am printing?”
Book of the Week: The Science of Supercars
This week’s selection is “The Science of Supercars” by Martin Roach, Neil Waterman, John Morrison and David Coulthard.
Women In Science: Historical Antecedents
Charles R. Goulding reflects on “The Secret History of Home Economics” and the history of trailblazing women making an impact in science and technology.
2021: The Year Of Additive Manufacturing Market Consolidation?
It’s only January, but 2021 already shows an overarching theme in 3D printing: market consolidation.
3D Hubs Completes The Circuit
Today Protolabs announced that they will acquire 3D Hubs, and I have some thoughts.
Demolished Brutalist Building Saved Through Photogrammetry
A citizen 3D scanner has captured and 3D printed a now-demolished building.
Book of the Week: The Industrial Revolution
This week’s selection is “The Industrial Revolution: A Very Short Introduction” by Robert C. Allen.
3D Printing And Discovery Of 1,000-Year-Old Stainless Steel Precursor
Charles R. Goulding and Peter Favata consider stainless steel, from a thousand years ago to today’s 3D printable offerings.
What I Learned From The Final Words Of Scott Crump
I just finished reading a fascinating interview with Scott Crump, one of the earliest pioneers of 3D printing, and the inventor of the extrusion process.
12th Century Lost Wax Casting Replicated In 21st Century 3D Printing
The Gloucester Candlestick has been faithfully recreated in a new 3D print.
Book of the Week: Faster, Better, Cheaper in the History of Manufacturing
This week’s selection is “Faster, Better, Cheaper in the History of Manufacturing: From the Stone Age to Lean Manufacturing and Beyond” by Christoph Roser.
Design of the Week: Triceratops Skull No. 21
This week’s selection is “Triceratops Skull No. 21” by Javid Jooshesh.
New Mainstream Media Documentary Suggests 3D Printing Is For Manufacturing
There’s an interesting mainstream media video exploring the current state of 3D printing that poses some interesting opportunities.
1.75 vs 2.85mm Filament Showdown
Where did the two 3D printer filament diameters come from and what is the difference? Which one is better?
Major Developments in 3D Printing Technologies Throughout 2019
Charles Goulding and Preeti Sulibhavi take a look at some major events in 3D printing during 2019.
Implications of MakerBot Classroom: Addressing The Educational 3D Printer Market
MakerBot’s new Classroom product is set to shake up the education market for 3D printing significantly due to its features, price and most importantly, how it was designed and implemented.
Filament Drying: The Quest For Perfect 3D Prints Continues
There seems to be a burst of 3D printer manufacturers offering filament drying equipment. We have some ideas why this is happening.
Reproducing Anyone’s Voice Using 3D Printing?
Researchers attempt to reproduce an Egyptian mummy’s voice using 3D printing, but where will this lead?
Nefertiti Is Free!
After years of behind-the-scenes effort, the ultra-high resolution 3D scan of the ancient egyptian Nefertiti sculpture has been released to the public. We have the story of how it happened.
Book of the Week: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
This week’s selection is “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance.
End Of The Line For The Replicator 2
How important was the now-unsupported MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer? More important than you might think.
A Funny Thing Happened When Filament Shopping
What is the key factor for buying 3D printer filament? It is not cost and we tell you why.
The SLM Solutions Story
SLM Solutions traces its history back to the history of SLM 3D printing and is looking forward to a new chapter in metal additive manufacturing.
Innovators Need Guidance
When additive manufacturing advisory services companies seamlessly partner with manufacturers and vendors (resellers), we will see mass corporate adoption of 3D printing on both the desktop and the factory floor.
Prusa Research Ships 100,000 Machines
Prusa Research has now officially sold more than 100,000 desktop 3D printers.
30 Years In 3D Printing: A Chat With EOS
This week, EOS celebrates its 30th anniversary. EOS North America President Glynn Fletcher offers a look into operations and a look ahead in industry.
What Is The Most 3D Printed Object?
I was reading an interesting piece by Bertier Luyt when a question arose.
Book of the Week: “Jewellery From Art Nouveau to 3D Printing”
This week’s selection is “Jewellery: From Art Nouveau to 3D Printing” by Alba Cappellieri.
3D Printing Puts History Back in Our Hands
Google Arts and Culture is using Stratasys’ 3D printing technology to accurately recreate ancient history.
Hidden 3D Printing Wisdom Inside A Mammoth Print
i.materialise printed a very large sculpture, and in the process revealed some interesting engineering practices.
3D Printed Reconstruction Techniques
A 3D printing technique was used to develop a 3D virtual model.
Final Word: The First 3D Printer
Since we published a story about the invention of 3D printing a few weeks ago, we have had much feedback.
The First 3D Printer: A Followup
When was the first 3D printer invented again?
What Happens When the 3D Printing Dream Ends?
Many 3D printing companies have emerged since 2009, and almost as many have since shut down. What happens then?
The Terminology of Technology
3D printing / additive manufacturing / rapid prototyping — what’s the difference?
Using 3D Printing Technology to Protect and Restore Museum and Library Collections
Charles Goulding and Andressa Bonafe of R&D Tax Savers discuss 3D printing and artifact restoration.
A Dire Warning for Museums from Brazil
An unbelievable cultural catastrophe occurred in Rio de Janeiro, when the country’s national museum caught fire and destroyed all.
A Visit to the 3D Printing Museum
Want to know more about the earliest beginnings of 3D printing?
Was 3D Printing Really Invented in the Victorian Age?
A startling piece suggests that the concept of 3D printing may have been first conceived in Victorian England, almost 160 years ago.
3D Printing: The Story So Far
As today is our tenth anniversary I felt it wise to do a recap – of everything that’s happened in 3D printing over the past decades.
An Ode to the Now-Departed Cube
I’ve just noticed that 3D Systems discontinued their final Cube 3D printer earlier this year, a milestone of sorts.
A Reminder To 3D Scan BEFORE Disassembly
A 3D model of the now-mostly-destroyed Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria suggests action be taken to capture 3D objects before they’re torn down.
The 3D Nefertiti Hack
A clandestine group has secretly 3D scanned the famous Nefertiti sculpture at the Neues Museum in Berlin – and released the scan publicly!
Design of the Week: Ötzi
This week’s selection is the incredible 3D printed reproduction of Ötzi, by Materialise, DNALC and artist Gary Staab.
We Live In That 3D Printed Future
A routine press release from Ultimaker with some new product videos got us thinking hard about what’s been happening over the past few years.
3D Printing, Scanning Bring Insights to Stegosaurus Research
While the Stegosaurus happily competes with both the Tyrannosaurus rex and the Diplodocus as being every other child’s favourite dinosaur,
Attempt to 3D Print Zola’s Train Reveals a Truth of 3D Design
Yale assistant professor of French Morgane Cadieu transformed a literary description of a train into a real 3D print. But she’s demonstrated a barrier to 3D printing by doing so.
Everyone Needs an Ancestro3D
Mexico-based Ideaz 3D is attempting to develop a very unique 3D print application, Ancestro3D.
Historic Windmills Brought Back to Life with 3D Printing
The American Wind Power Center (AWPC) has partnered with WhiteClouds to create scale models of historic windmills using computer aided design and 3D printing.
Capturing Die Viktoria
This is the true story of how a massive 19th century German sculpture made its way into our 3D printers.
Reproducing One Giant Leap with 3D Printing
A project has used original NASA pictures to reproduce a 3D representation of Neil Armstrong’s most famous footprint.
The David 3D Scan: Fifteen Years After
In 1999 folks from Stanford University attempted a scan of an incredible sculpture: Michelangelo’s giant statue of David.
The Beachy Head Lady Reconstructed
The Daily Mail reports on an ancient skull being reconstructed with modern 3D technology.
3D Printed Dinosaurs So Large They Could Eat You
If you manage to make your way to the rear of this year’s 3D Printshow in London, you’re in for a treat – and a shock. There, you will be face to face with not one, but several full-size 3D dinosaurs. They have many teeth. Big teeth. They are so gigantic they could not… Continue reading 3D Printed Dinosaurs So Large They Could Eat You
Through a Scanner Fails, Then Succeeds
You might recall the Kickstarter project of one Cosmo Wenman of San Diego, who attempted to raise funds for a project to produce freely downloadable printable 3D scans of famous sculptures. Wenman required funds to arrange for travel and working expenses, but the fundraising campaign failed, having raised only USD$8,174 of the target USD$35,000. Sigh,… Continue reading Through a Scanner Fails, Then Succeeds
Ancient Tudor Sculptures 3D Printed
First they were 3D scanned, then they were 3D printed. Researchers at the University of Leicester, University of Oxford and Yale worked together to replicate a tomb monument originally designed for King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond by Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in the 16th century. You… Continue reading Ancient Tudor Sculptures 3D Printed
3D Printing The Radioactive Bomber Cam
Fabbaloo friend Patrick Letourneau recently completed a unique photography project enabled by 3D printing. The Bomber Cam is a hybrid camera made from an actual (and radioactive) World War II bomber camera lens and a modern GH2 digital camera. Somehow Letourneau obtained the ancient camera, which was originally strapped to the bottom of World… Continue reading 3D Printing The Radioactive Bomber Cam
A Whale of a 3D Print
It was near the end of a South American expedition for Smithsonian Natural History Museum’s Nicholas D. Pyenson, when he learned fossil whales had been uncovered nearby. Examining the fossils, which had been uncovered by a road crew constructing a new highway across the Atacama Desert, Pyenson discovered the fossils were of a dozen… Continue reading A Whale of a 3D Print
King’s Resting Place Recreated by 3D Printing
By all accounts, King Richard III’s reign was relatively unproductive. Modern historians believe that this was mostly due to the dynastic struggle that we now know as the Wars of the Roses, of which Richard III’s house came out on the losing end. As is always true, the victors are afforded the opportunity to… Continue reading King’s Resting Place Recreated by 3D Printing
Rapid Prototyping Reveals Evolutionary Clues
Over at Scientific American’s Observations blog, Kate Wong has an interesting piece about paleoanthropologists using 3D printers to help recreate the skeleton of one of humanity’s ancestors. Australopithecus sediba, a “nearly two million-year-old” member of Homo Sapien’s evolutionary lineage was discovered at the Malapa Fossil Site in South Africa. Like most fossils, the bones… Continue reading Rapid Prototyping Reveals Evolutionary Clues
Saving The Past With The Future
Peter at RepRap Central tells a story some of us have lived through, although not nearly as dramatic. The story involves Malcolm Messiter, whose decades-old Robert Goble Harpsichord required some maintenance. Specifically, the string-plucking jacks, made of Delrin, were cracking and needed to be replaced. Worse, there were some 183 such jacks in the harpsichord. … Continue reading Saving The Past With The Future