Category Archives: News
Former MakerBot COO Launches New 3D Printer with a Mainstream Price Tag [video]
Sam Cervantes was COO of 3D printing pioneer MakerBot through 2010, then he left to start his own company in the space. His goal was to make 3D printers more accessible to the mainstream consumer.
From an interview with Betabeat:
There are about 12 companies selling 3D printers or kits, Mr. Cervantes said, and about three or four for under $1,000. ”A lot of the other guys are focused on making the machine really high functioning,” he said in an interview with Betabeat. “We’re focused on making the machine affordable and easy to use.”
His new printer, called the Solidoodle 2nd Generation, will be sold for $499 to $699 and easily fits on a home desk or counter.
Despite its low price point and small stature, the Solidoodle 2nd Generation is both strong and precise.
Aside from being fully assembled, what makes Solidoodle great? The Solidoodle 2nd Generation 3D Printer is designed by aerospace engineers to be extremely strong and precise at the same time. The all-steel frame is so strong, in fact, that a 200lb man can literally stand on top of the machine while it’s printing. The Solidoodle’s moving parts are designed so that they will move smoothly and never bind.
Now accepting pre-orders via the Solidoodle store.
Video below shows the 3D printer in action.
Via PSFK.
3D Printing and the Runway: Fashion Gets Printed in Belgium
We’ve written before about fashion and 3D printing, but that story was about a single designer making a line of 3D printed shoes. This past week at the Materialise World Conference, a fashion show was held in which runway models showcased an entire collection of 3D printed haute couture accessories.
Here is a summary form Materialise:
Following a day featuring speakers such as Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Prof. Dr. Vermeersch, member of the surgical team responsible for Belgium’s first face transplant, and Iris van Herpen, rising star in the world of Haute Couture, the Materialise World Conference put on a fashion show with a 3D printed twist. Making their runway debut were four hats from Brussels’ master milliner Elvis Pompilio, clutch purses and necklaces by renowned designer Daniel Widrig, and a collection of stunning pieces that redefine how accessories can be worn by Niccolo Casas. Also on the catwalk were the top 20 designs of a hat and hair accessory competition, the “Hat’s Off to 3D Printing Challenge,” which was put together by Materialise’s consumer division i.materialise. All of the designs were produced by Materialise at their Headquarters in Leuven, Belgium.
Via Materialise.
View full photo album on Facebook.
3D Printing and the Public Markets: Market Cap Comparison [Charts]
In the last few weeks, we have seen consolidation in the 3D printing space. Public companies are combining with startups, acquiring niche players, and increasing their market capitalizations through M&A.
Below are two charts, courtesy of Kapitall, that show market caps and prices over time of 3D printing giants: 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) and Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS).
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in market cap for DDD and SSYS:
Interactive Chart: Use the Turbo Chart to compare the stock performance of DDD and SSYS against the Standard & Poor 500 index (SPX):
Stock Market image used under Creative Commons from Marcos Fernandez Diaz.
Anarkik3D Seeks Crowdfunding to Launch 3D Printing Software for Artists
We’ve featured crowdfunding proposals in the past, but this one is truly original. Anarkik3D is a software-hardware combination that empowers artists to digitally design the natural way: by hand.
Ann Marie Shillito, CEO and Founder of the Edinburgh-based startup, narrates the video on IndieGoGo. The visuals are fantastic. Be sure to watch the video below.
Here are the key pitch points:
- Funding target: £120,000 by June 27.
- Software: Similar to TinkerCAD, Sketchup, and 123D, the Anarkik 3D Design studio can be used to create designs that can be manufactured using 3D printing.
- Hardware: Anarkik 3D Design (formerly Cloud9) employs a haptic device, which is like a 3D mouse with force feedback. This lets a designer manipulate the software as if she is truly working with physical material. ”As an artist and designer, it’s really important to have touch as sensory feedback in addition to sight. Cloud9 allows you to feel the object change in more than one dimension.” – Farah Bandookwala, 3D Artist
- Objectives: Cloud9 is already usable software. This funding goal will be used to fix the bugs, add more features, hire new programmers, and expand internationally.
Visit their crowdfunding page on IndieGoGo for details on their perks to contributors. Good luck to Anarkik3D!
Innovative and Strange 3D Printing: Chocolate, Stone, Candy, Organs
3D Printing is mostly known as a method for additive manufacturing of plastic polymer, used for prototyping, creating small tools, and designing works of art. Consumer-ready printers, like MakerBot, enable anyone to be their own mini manufacturing plant – of plastic goods. This is about to change.
Innovative as well as strange raw materials are starting to emerge in the 3D printing landscape.
Chocolate. The ChocoEdge printer lets you “melt some chocolate, fill a syringe that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing your chocolate.” Available at retail for $3940.
Sandstone. D-Shape has a 3D stereolithic printer that can create large-scale structures out of sandstone. ”It prints the structures using artificial sandstone which is sand or mineral dust glued together by an inorganic binder.” More at Fast Company.
Iced Tea and Bone? Two entries from Open3DP that make the strange category are iced tea and bone. Both examples have only been shown in the lab and are not commercial yet.
Candy. CandyFab4000 from Evil Mad Scientist. “Our three dimensional fabricator is now fully operational and we have used it to print several large, low-resolution, objects out of pure sugar.”
Organs. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is experimenting with 3D printed organs. While strange, this has huge commercial potential.
Via SolidSmack.
