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
3D Systems Q1 Results: Record Revenue and Printer Units, M&A Activity [Earnings]
“We are pleased to report another quarter of record revenue and printer units,” said Abe Reichental, 3D Systems’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “Record print materials revenue and continued margin expansion drove our consolidated gross profit margin upward validating the earnings power of our business model.”
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) is a leading provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike.
Revenue increased 63% to $77.9 million over the first quarter of 2011. Printer units grew 153% for the quarter compared to 2011. Gross profit grew 67% for the first quarter on higher revenue and gross profit margin expanded 143 basis points over the 2011 period to 50%.
The company generated $15.8 million of cash from operations in the first quarter 2012, after incurring a $13.1 million increase in its operating expenses from expected acquisition and higher sales and marketing costs. The increase also included $2.1 million of higher R&D expenditures in support of its Cubify.com consumer initiative and expanded R&D programs in support of the businesses it acquired during the first quarter of 2012, including My Robot Nation.
The company ended the first quarter of 2012 with $60.0 million of available cash, including $15.8 million of cash from operations.
The company affirmed its annual guidance for the full year 2012 and expects its revenue to be in the range of $330 million to $360 million and its non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.25.
To experience 3D Systems’ entire range of 3D content-to-print products and services please visit www.printin3D.com , www.production3dprinters.com , www.zcorp.com , www.toptobottomdental.com , www.3Dproparts.com , www.quickparts.com , www.paramountind.com , www.zcorp.com , www.alibre.com , www.bitsfrombytes.com , www.cubify.com , www.myrobotnation.com , www.The3dStudio.com , www.freedomofcreation.com , www.sycode.com , www.botmill.com , blog.3dsystems.com, or via email at moreinfo@3Dsystems.com.
Via MarketWatch.
Shapeways’ Friday Finds: 3D Design Showcase
Looking for some impressive examples of 3D printing? Check out Shapeways’ Friday Finds, a curated collection of designs from the Shapeways community. Above picture is a Seed of Yggdrasil by by Joabalwin, inspired by a Celtic knot.
Thirty Interweaved Hexagons by fdecomite
Pixel Charcters by fpad77
More on the Shapeways blog.
Fab Lab of the Week: Collab in New York City [video]
This week’s featured Fab Lab is Collab, a New York City-based think tank and fabrication laboratory.
As co-founders Mark and Adina Levin explain in the video below, Collab is an art and science collaborative. Designers, engineers and scientists share the space to work on their own ideas but also collaborate on projects. If someone has an idea and needs specialized skills, they can tap into the talent pool and combined experience at Collab.
In the 5,500 square foot facility, shared equipment available to members includes 3D printer, laser cutter, woodshop, sewing studio.
Below is a video interview and feature produced by Fast Company.
Last year, Collab supported Maker Faire with a project called Electric Doodle. Kids who were attending Maker Faire could design their own art displays with LEDs and get a real-time print out of their creations.
3D Printing Blossoms into the Mainstream – BusinessWeek Special Report
BusinessWeek has published a special report on 3D printing, adding to the growing list of mainstream publications that are writing about this emerging disruptive technology.
First, the author takes us into the home of 14-year-old Riley Lewis, whose father purchased a 3D printing kit for $1500 so that Riley and his friends could spend the weekends in the garage making whatever cool new products they wanted.
Riley and his friends have accepted as a mundane fact that computer designs can be passed among friends, altered at will, and then brought to life by microwave oven-size machines. The RapMan is a crude approximation of far more expensive and sophisticated prototyping machines used by corporations, much in the same way that hobbyist PCs were humble mimics of mainframe computers. Riley and his dad, David, spent 32 hours putting together a 3D printer from a $1,500 hobbyist kit.
The article also shares with us the history of 3D printing, which is older than most people think.
The ability to print physical objects wasn’t invented in Silicon Valley or some well-funded corporate research lab. It originated about 30 years ago in Southern California, where Chuck Hull was working for a modest-size manufacturer called Ultra Violet Products, or UVP. An engineer and physicist by training, Hull helped steer the development of the company’s ultraviolet-light curable resins, which were used to add protective coatings to furniture and other surfaces. Always a tinkerer, Hull began experimenting after hours with laying down numerous coats of the resin to make plastic models.
Finally, contemporary companies from MakerBot to 3D Systems to Amazon to Mercedes to Microsoft and beyond are profiled for their use, or speculative future use, of 3D printing technology.
Already companies such as Mercedes (DAI), Honda (HMC), Boeing (BA), and Lockheed Martin (LMT) use 3D printers to fashion prototypes or to make parts that go into final products. The technology has broadened out to attract vacuum maker Oreck and Invisalign, which produces custom braces for teeth. Microsoft also uses a 3D printer to help design computer mice and keyboards.
Great research! Enjoyed the article.
Via BusinessWeek.
Romantic Boyfriend 3D Prints Wedding Bands, Raises the Bar
Yesterday, we featured a Ponoko community manager who designed a heart-shaped ring in Autodesk 123D. Today, we are showcasing a romantic guy who designed wedding rings for him and his girlfriend and 3D printed them on Shapeways.
I proposed to her [on] a trip of mine up to MIT to see her. When I gave her the present, she had no idea that it had the ring inside, and she started flipping through the book after she told me how much she liked the carving on the front. Then the wooden prototype ring fell out when she got to the back, and I proposed. After that, I showed her the ring I designed for her on Shapeways and she was super excited that I designed it with Blender and that I personalized it.
Alec Cox is a Shapeways community member who has raised the bar for every man out there.
Well done Alex!
Via Shapeways
