Author Archives: on3dprinting
For Dog Lovers: Match Your Pet With 3D Printed Twin Tags
Dog Lovers Can Now Match Their Pets
Cole Lehman loves dogs, and now 3D printing too.
Lehman’s team participated in Startup Weekend Ogden with a goal of creating a Kickstarter project in a weekend. They turned to 3D printing through a partnership with Utah-based 3D printing service bureau WhiteClouds.
“We decided on something simple that people would want for their pets, 3D dog ID tags,” said Lehman. “We started with two ideas. One was a set of 6 seasonal tags that could be switched out throughout the year and the other was a tag that had a half for the owner’s keychain.”
Lehman validated the idea using a social polling platform, Wedgies, and Twitter messages, ultimately deciding on the matching half. They received $360 in advanced backing for the project that has a goal of $5,000.
Watch the Twin Tags Kickstarter video below.
Go check out their Kickstarter campaign to learn more.
Structure Sensor Closes $1.3M Kickstarter for 3D Scanner iPad Add-On
Last month, San Francisco-based hardware startup Occipital launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to turn your iPad into a powerful 3D scanner.
Their product is called the Structure Sensor, and the company pulled in $1.3 million from Kickstarter, wildly beating their goal of $100,000.
The Structure Sensor is the world’s first 3D sensor for mobile devices. It gives mobile devices a new sense – the ability to not just capture the world as two-dimensional images, but to actually understand it in three dimensions.
This enables a completely new set of mobile applications, including:
- 3D mapping of indoor spaces for instant measurements and virtual redecoration.
- Augmented reality (AR) games where virtual objects interact precisely with the geometry of the physical world, including occlusions.
- 3D object scanning for 3D content creation with no knowledge of CAD required.
- Body scanning for fitness tracking and virtual clothes fitting.
- Virtual reality games using 3D environments imported from the real world.
Occipital sells the Structure Sensor kits (retail or the hackable version) for $349. You can still pre-order for shipment in April 2014.
The 3D printing community is getting excited about it too
Many of the uses for Structure are related to augmented reality and entertainment, but it also can be used as an object 3D scanner. In the 3D printing world, 3D scanners have had a surge in popularity over the last 6 months, between the launch of the MakerBot Digitizer desktop 3D scanner, a handful of Kickstarter campaigns, and the 3D Systems Sense 3D scanner.
Structure is the newest entrant in the 3D scanning world, and some of the key folks in the industry are sharing their excitement.
“We can’t wait to play with one of these around the MakerBot office,” said Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot.
Josh Levine, VP of Engineering for Shapeways is also excited about the opportunities with the technology. “For me the challenge has been in creating 3D objects. This completely obliterates that challenge,” he said.
Learn more at structure.io.
3D Printing Week: Smithsonian, Google Phone, ONVO, 3D Printed Hand
3D Printing Week
Here is a roundup of the top 3D printing news from last week.
The Smithsonian Institution announced a landmark new program called Smithsonian X 3D that allows anyone to digitally explore and 3D print some of the museum’s most iconic collections. We interviewed the key Smithsonian team members involved with this project, and showcased a 3D Photo Booth that presented at the launch.
3D Systems announced a partnership with Google’s Motorola Mobility to 3D print a new modular smartphone.
A dad developed and 3D printed a custom prosthetic hand for under $10 on a MakerBot 3D printer.
We analyzed why bioprinting firm Organovo’s stock (ONVO) took a tumble; spoiler alert: too much media attention.
MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis will be keynoting a leadership dinner at CES 2014.
And much more!
All News
Tuesday, November 19
Wednesday, November 20
- Smithsonian X 3D Launches with Emphasis on Outreach and Digital Preservation
- Interview with Smithsonian X 3D Team about 3D Printing Initiative
Thursday, November 21
Friday, November 22
Saturday, November 23
Sunday, November 24
Super Dad 3D Prints $10 Prosthetic Hand for His Son on a MakerBot
A prosthetic hand costs $30,000, so how did a dad from Massachusetts create one for his son for only $10? He used open-source plans and a 3D printer.
Leon McCarthy was born with his fingers missing on his left hand. Under normal medical care, a prosthetic hand would have cost upwards of $30,000, and would obviously need to be replaced many times as he grew up.
Leon’s dad, Paul McCarthy, decided to turn to 3D printing for an innovative solution. A designer in Washington developed open-source plans for a prosthetic hand that could be made at home. So McCarthy bought himself a MakerBot 3D printer, tuned the model to fit his son’s arm, and 3D printed Leon a new hand.
At first Leon thought his dad was a little crazy, but now thinks his did is pretty awesome.
And Paul, likewise is just proud that he can make his son happy. “It’s the best thing,” said Paul.
Here is a photo of Leon posing with MakerBot co-founder and CEO Bre Pettis at a MakerBot store event.
Watch this segment from CBS Evening News to meet Leon and his dad Paul McCarthy and hear their amazing story.
Google’s New Smartphone Will Be 3D Printed by 3D Systems
Google’s Modular Phone Gets 3D Printed
In May 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a transition for Google from search engine to consumer electronics manufacturer. After a period of turnaround and renewal, the Motorola Mobility unit of Google has launched smartphones like the Moto X and Moto G.
Now Motorola Mobility, a Google company, has unveiled plans for its most ambitious project: a 3D printed modular smartphone.
The company announced Project Ara in late October as a “free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.” In a blog post, Motorola Mobility’s Paul Eremenko wrote, “We want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.”
And in the most recent update to Project Ara, 3D Systems has been selected as the 3D printing partner for the new phone.
3D Systems Wins the Google Contract
3D Systems announced that it has entered into a multi-year development agreement with Motorola Mobility LLC, A Google Company, to create a continuous high-speed 3D printing production platform and fulfilment system in support of Motorola’s Project Ara.
“With Project Ara, we asked the question, ‘How do we bring the benefits of customization and an open hardware ecosystem to 6 billion people?’ That is our driving application. It requires technical advances in areas such as material strength and printing with conductive inks for antennas. And those advances must support production-level speeds and volumes, which is a natural partnership with 3D Systems,” said Regina Dugan, Senior Vice President and head of Motorola’s Advanced Technology & Projects group.
“Project Ara was conceived to build a platform that empowers consumers all over the world with customization for a product made by and for the individual,” said Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “3D printing promotes a level of sustainability, functionality, and mass personalization that turns these kinds of global ambitions into attainable local realities. Project Ara combines two exponential technologies, and we expect that the resulting high-throughput advanced manufacturing platform will have far reaching implications on the entire digital thread that stitches together the factory of the future.”
As part of this agreement, 3D Systems plans to substantially expand its multi-material printing capabilities including conductive and functional materials. The company also plans to combine additive and subtractive manufacturing methods, and deliver an integrated high-speed production platform. Pending successful completion of the development phase, 3D Systems is expected to manufacture 3D-printed Ara smartphone enclosures and modules as Motorola’s exclusive fulfillment partner.
Motorola and 3D Systems, the inventors of the cell phone and 3D printer, respectively, have previously partnered on the MAKEwithMOTO tour, a series of make-a-thons at the nation’s top engineering and design schools aimed at exploiting the power of open, hackable smartphone hardware and 3D printing to begin seeding an open hardware ecosystem.
Learn more about Project Ara at www.makewithmoto.com.
