Category Archives: News
Leapfrog Launches New 3D Printer Line in Europe
Netherlands-based Leapfrog launched a new 3D printer line in Europe. There are two models: the Creatr for € 1250 and the Xeed for € 4920. Both printers should be ready to ship by May 2012.
Leapfrog lists their mission statement as:
The purpose of Leapfrog is to bridge the gap between the current state of technology of 3D printers and the future of 3D printing as a whole. We aim to deliver very easy to use, plug and play devices that look awesome. Our drive is to become a worldwide recognized brand name, capitalizing on the high growth in the market for 3D printing and to take 3D printing to the next level. We strive to deliver devices which make a high quality of printed product available to a much broader customer base at an affordable price. You, the customer are central and should not have to deal with understanding the technology, letting you what you do best: designing and creating new cool things.
Super-Light, 3D Printed Guitar Revolutionizes Instrument Design
It’s a real guitar and has relatively the same shape as traditional shape of a classic les Paul, but this instrument did not come from a factory. This guitar was 3D printed.
Derek Manson, director of New Zealand design firm One.61 Ltd created the design and produced this new concept. He shared his inspiration.
“As you know music is so very subjective so we have no real data to support our design. The initial idea came from when I was watching Metallica’s Cunning Stunts DVD and Kirk Hammetts Wavecaster guitar is featured. This spawned the idea that a polymer based guitar is feasible because if it’s good enough for Kirk, it’s good enough for me.”
The implications of this achievement could be revolutionary for the music industry. It’s one thing to create a new design for an electric instrument, but imagine the possibilities for acoustic instruments.
Musical instruments have classic designs that are based mainly on the refinement by generations of specialist experts in hand-crafting the perfect shape for an instrument to have resonance and acoustic properties. Once a classic design is adopted, instruments can be mass produced.
With 3D printing technology, every musician can now experiment with complex instrument design. We are bound to see some instruments change from their classic form and new instruments appear.
Skeptical? Watch this video about a 3D printed flute.
Read more about the 3D Printed guitar at Forbes.
MIT Scientists Putting $10 Million Grant Toward 3D Printed Robots
Researchers from MIT are embarking on a mission to ”make it possible for the average person to design, customize and print a specialized robot in a matter of hours.”
With a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation, collaborators from MIT, Harvard and UPenn are hoping to “democratize access to robots” within 5 years.
The Potential Impact?
Disposable, “origami-esque” robots could be printed on demand and programmed to perform tasks, from getting into hard-to-reach places to cleaning unsanitary surfaces and beyond. The goal of this research is to make robots accessible to everyone, thereby inspiring a new wave of technological innovation applied to real world challenges.
Below is a video of some of the prototype robots that have been built.
Read more at Wired.
3D Printing for Kids – Kickstarter Project PotteryPrint Fails to Raise Funds
3D Printing for kids: it’s a noble and imaginative concept. Just as other disciplines, from math to basic science to foreign language, are being introduced to children at a young age, there could be many educational benefits to giving kids a hands-on 3D printing toolset.
The team at PotteryPrint launched a Kickstarter project to raise $12,000 to build an iPad app where kids could design pottery that would be 3D printed. Unfortunately, only $6,000 was raised by the deadline.
Why Did It Fail to Raise Funds?
First, perhaps the focus on pottery is too much of a deviation from the core developments in 3D printing today. Pottery is a decorative art, and pottery pieces can be quite fragile. 3D printed objects in production today are mostly utility, though some are art, but all are made from commercial polymers to ensure durability.
Second, the key deliverable of this Kickstarter project was the iPad app. What will truly drive kids education in 3D printing is access to printers, not access to software. The PotteryPrint concept outsources the 3D printing itself, thereby removing that hands-on experience from the educational cycle.
I hope PotteryPrint resubmits a new project with a promise to make 3D printing as accessible as its design software.
Below is their Kickstarter pitch.
Dental Labs Redefine Personal Care with Onsite 3D Printing
The world of dentistry and tooth repair dates back about 9000 years to the Indus Valley Civilization where evidence of tooth drilling has been found in a Neolithic graveyard. In 1840, the first dental school opened in the US, and over the last 160 years, preventative dental care has advanced signficantly.
Now modern dentistry is on the verge of a revolution with help from 3D printing and related technologies.
Imagine walking into your dentist’s office. She says: “You need a new crown.” She pulls over a machine that takes a 3D digital scan of your teeth and annotates that scan in her computer. Instructions are then sent to a 3D printer located in the dental office, which prints your crown onsite in 60 seconds. Your dentist can finish the job without you leaving the chair to get a magazine.
This real-world application is a good example of how 3D printing will be the catalyst for major change in the medical arena, leading to explosive growth and a $5 billion 3D printing industry by 2020.
Read more about dental advances at Today’s Medical Developments.
