Motorola Mobility, a Google company, is building a 3D printed modular phone, and has partnered with 3D Systems for commercial fulfillment. More »
The Captured Dimensions pop-up studio was located in the Smithsonian Castle and featured approximately 80 digital cameras all connected to 3D software. More »
Microsoft expanded their support for 3D printing by launching a Windows 8 app called 3D Builder. It includes a library of objects you can edit and 3D print. More »
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced the availability of the Sense 3D scanner, the first 3D scanner designed for the consumer and optimized for 3D printing. More »
With rumors circling that 3D Systems will be purchased by IBM, the stock soars. We look at why IBM might be interested in the 3D printing giant. More »
Yearly Archives: 2012
Top 3D Printing Headlines Last Week: Kids, Stocks, Suitcases, Fab Labs
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from August 6 to August 12.
Monday, August 6
Tuesday, August 7
- 3D Printing On the Go: Portable 3D Printer PopFab Fits in a Suitcase
- Finally, an iPhone Case That Does Something Useful (Opens Beers)
Thursday, August 9
Friday, August 10
- Open-Source 3D Printer Pwdr Takes on MakerBot, Offers New Materials
- Setting Up and Running a Fab Lab: Primer, History, and Recommendations
Saturday, August 11
Sunday, August 12
Fab Lab of the Week: Maker Kids Lab in Toronto
This week’s featured Fab Lab is Maker Kids Lab in Toronto. Maker Kids is a non-profit center that gives kids the space and tools to design and build their own creative projects. From 3D printing to robots, the lab has everything you would expect from a makerspace, just with smaller chairs.
In recent years, the Maker movement has grown exponentially through print publications, web sites, events and community spaces. Collective community workshops known as Hackerspaces or Makerspaces have grown worldwide from 124 in 2009 to over 500 in 2011. We are at the leading edge, providing one of the first kids’ Makerspaces, empowering all kids to be Makers.
We started in 2010 with a summer program and school events. In 2011 we obtained a permanent space and renovated it extensively. Our Makerspace has areas and tools for woodworking, electronics, mechanical creations, 3D printing, programming, art, sewing, and all kinds of other crafting and making. It is a centre for ideas, inspiration and implementation – a resource centre for our community.
Our program relies on a strong volunteer base and mentorship by kids themselves. Our adult collaborators are facilitators for the kids, and also encourage them to seek out resources to learn on their own, and to teach each other. Teenage collaborators help the younger kids as a part of their high school volunteer hours, as well as work on their own projects.
Interwoven with everything we do is our philosophy to honour kids’ own creativity and trust their abilities. Kids who are confident in their own abilities are capable of learning and doing anything!
Photo credit to Ponoko, who visited Maker Kids this past week and posted some photos from their trip.
Who Makes Better Sand Castles: Kids or 3D Printing?
Building sand castles is one of the cherished experiences for kids in the summer. Castles can be big or small, organized or chaotic. But it’s really about the process.
Well, a new 3D printing system called Stone Spray is looking to upstage these kids with perfectly created sand castles.
Stone Spray is a revolutionary construction method which uses soil as the base material and a liquid binder to solidify the soil granules. And uses a jet spray system to deposit the mix of soil and binder, for constructing architectural shapes.
Stone Spray is a project by architects Petr Novikov, Inder Shergill and Anna Kulik. The project is done in the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and supervised by Marta Male-Alemany, Jordi Portell and Miquel Lloveras. With professional advisors: Santigo Martin from Vortica and Guillem Camprodon from Fab Lab Bcn.
Stone Spray is a research project. We want to push further the boundaries of digital manufacturing and explore the possibilities of an on-site fabrication machines.
The video below shows the team’s project in action.
Sand castle image by Paul Watson used under Creative Commons license.
Cubify Sent Us a 3D Printed Name Plate!
In June, we covered an exclusive story of 3D Systems’ Cubify division printing at Google I/O.
This week we received something special in the mail from Cubify: a custom 3D printed name plate featuring our very own brand “On 3D Printing”.
Thanks Cubify!
Setting Up and Running a Fab Lab: Primer, History, and Recommendations
Everything you wanted to know about setting up a Fab Lab is detailed in this document by Fabien Eychenne.
This broad overview covers these topics from a global perspective:
- History of Fab Labs
- Physical space configuration
- Services and pricing
- Fab Lab teams
- Prototypes
- Group projects
- Art projects
- Structure and organization
- Investment budget
- Machines and equipment
