On 3D Printing

Category Archives: News

Crayon Creatures Turns Kids Drawings Into 3D Printed Figurines

January 7, 2013 News

Crayon Creatures is a service that turns kids drawings into 3D printed figurines. Using a custom digitalization process and a high-end 3D printer, Crayon Creatures can deliver an awesome reward for your child’s creativity.

Think “Where the Wild Things Are” meets 3D printing. The service writes on its about page:

Children drawings are weird and beautiful.
Kids produce an immense amount of drawings that populate fridges, living rooms and workspaces of parents, family & friends.
Those drawings are amazing, We love them.

Here you can turn those drawings into volumetric figurines.
Nice looking objects that will decorate your home and office with a colorful touch of wild creativity.

We will bring to life the kid’s artwork by modeling a digital sculpture and turning it into a real object using 3D Printing technology.

Below is a graphic illustration the transition from paper drawing to sandstone figurine.

The end result looks amazing in the photographs provided by Crayon Creatures, which was not surprising once we learned that the service was created by design studio cunicode.

One thing that might be surprising is the price. Each figurine costs €99 plus €15 shipping. That’s definitely expensive for a doodle. But just imagine how happy it could make your child.

Visit Crayon Creatures to check out the service for yourself!

3D Systems Will Bring Next Generation 3D Printing Showcase to CES 2013

January 6, 2013 News

3D Systems is planning to make a splash at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this coming week. You can read our detailed guide to CES 2013 to learn about all of the exhibitors.

Since 1986 3D Systems has transformed entire industries with powerful 3D content-to-print tools. The company intends to democratize access to affordable 3D content-to-print solutions for professionals and consumers. Launched last year at CES, Cubify is 3D System’s consumer zone (www.cubify.com).

In the press release below, 3D Systems indicates that it will be bringing their full suite of consumer 3D printers, and even printers for kids!

ROCK HILL, South Carolina, January 3, 2013 – 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced today that it will bring its next generation consumer 3D printing experience to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV, January 8-11, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the Main Hall, booth 15447 and the MommyTech zone, booth 71003 in the Venetian.
3D Systems plans to showcase its new line of consumer 3D printers, 3D printed products, and apps delivering an exclusive 3D lifestyle experience. Attendees can sip a cup of coffee at the Cube Café while checking out the only home desktop 3D printers on the market, try on designer printed fashion and gadget accessories and get creative with gamified 3D design apps. Toy and entertainment brands and app developers are invited to learn how to monetize their intellectual property and creativity on 3D Systems’ hosting, publishing and production platform, Cubify, and join in the 3D printing revolution.

True to its commitment to children’s education, 3D Systems will deliver a second kid-centric 3D printing experience to the MommyTech zone located at the Venetian Hotel. 3D Systems will have its full range of child-friendly and education-centric solutions ranging from 3D printers to design software and apps. Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems, will participate in a Kids@Play panel on “The Transformation of Play: How 15 Years of ‘Smart Toys’ Have Changed Children’s Play” on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 at 9:45am at the LVCC North Hall – N256.

“We are thrilled to bring our next-gen consumer 3D printing experience to CES 2013,” said Cathy Lewis, CMO 3D Systems. “We invite toy and entertainment brands and developers to experience our secure Cubify hosting, publishing and production platform and introduce the 3D lifestyle to their audiences.”

Learn more today about 3D Systems consumer offerings on Cubify.com.

About 3D Systems Corporation
3D Systems is a leading global provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike. The company also provides CAD modeling, reverse engineering and inspection software tools and consumer 3D printers, apps and services. Its expertly integrated solutions replace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing and manufacturing new products. 3D Systems products and services are used to rapidly design, communicate, prototype or produce real functional parts, empowering customers to create and make with confidence.

Our Detailed Guide to CES 2013: Welcome to the Year of 3D Printing!

January 6, 2013 News

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens this week in Las Vegas. This year will include over 20,000 products from more than 3,000 exhibitors.

CBS News highlighted 3D printing as one of the key trends at CES this year, along with Ultra HD and mobile computing.

MarketBot, 3D Systems Corp and Sculpteo are among a handful of companies that make 3D printers that will be showing off new products at CES 2013, Scientific American reports. As home 3D printers become more affordable, the community of enthusiasts also continues to grow. Cracking the mass consumer market may be the next step for manufacturers of 3D printers.

“The consumer space is a key market for 3D and small steps have been made in this space via hobbyists and model makers in arts and craft projects and self-employed designers,” Accenture senior executive Kumu Puri writes in a blog post for Forbes.

Here is our list of the top exhibitors showing their latest developments in 3D printing.

3D Systems

Booths: LVCC, Central Hall - 15447, Venetian Ballroom - 71003

See our coverage on 3D Systems.

Afinia

Afinia will be showing it’s award winning 3D printer, and full line of ABS filament. Our H series 3D printer was voted “Best Overall Experience” in the recent make magazine 3D printer shootout. Live 3D printing demonstrations will be held continuously during the day.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 36388

See our coverage on Afinia.

Delta Micro Factory Corp.

Maker of popular personal 3D printer, Up! Series.

Booth: Venetian Ballroom - 70524

See our coverage on UP! 3D printers.

Formlabs

The Form 1 is the first truly high-resolution, low-cost desktop 3D printer, achieving professional quality at a price individual designers and engineers can afford. Our technology fills the gap between low-quality hobbyist machines and high-end printers that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 35160

See our coverage on Formlabs.

Kraftwurx

Kraftwurx is the worlds original platform for 3D printing in the cloud. Showcase, buy, sell and create virtually anything you can imagine in 70 materials and worldwide shipping. Based in Houston, TX, our mission is to empower everyone for custom-made goods and empower manufacturing to deliver it.

Booth: Venetian, Lvl 3 - 74411

See our coverage on Kraftwurx.

Makerbot Industries

MakerBot® is a global leader in desktop 3D printing with engineers, entrepreneurs, and people who just like to make things. Honored as Popular Mechanics “Overall Winner” for best 3D printer, Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2012, and Fast Company 2012 Innovation by Design Awardee.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 3 - 32025

See our coverage on MakerBot.

Sculpteo

Sculpteo offers a fully online 3D printing service – from the upload of your 3D model to the final object – designed to make this new technology easy and accessible to all. In addition to affiliates, Sculpteo, has its own 3D printing facilities in France for R&D purpose.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 2 - 26111

See our coverage on Sculpteo.

Stratasys, Ltd.

Stratasys is a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems for prototyping and manufacturing applications, recently merging with Objet to create leader in 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 35463

See our coverage on Stratasys and Objet.

You can setup your own CES itinerary at the MyCES website.

See you at CES!

NPR Calls 3D Printing “Miraculous” in All Things Considered Feature

January 5, 2013 News

NPR correspondent Zoe Chace filed a special report on All Things Considered about 3D printing. She interviews Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen, industry analyst Terry Wohlers, and author Chris Anderson.

This is the latest report from NPR. Back in June, they also discussed 3D printing.

Zoe Chace takes through what 3D printing can do, and calls it “miraculous”. In a matter of hours, you can print “stuff”, from shoes to bracelets to iPhone cases. She continues to say that it’s easy to see how 3D printing could have a radical impact on the economy.

Peter Weijmarshausen helps us understand what Shapeways’ role is in the 3D printing industry. Terry Wohlers talks about what 3D printing might replace, and what it won’t. Chris Anderson discusses how 3D printing will lead to the democratization of manufacturing.

You can listen to the full radio program or read the transcript below.

The first key to thinking about 3-D printers is this: Do not think printer. Think magic box that creates any object you can imagine.

In the box, razor-thin layers of powdered material (acrylic, nylon, silver, whatever) pile one on top of the other, and then, voila — you’ve got a shoe, or a cup, or a ring, or an iPhone case.

It’s miraculous to see. Press a button, make anything you want. But just how important is 3-D printing? Unlike earlier big-deal technologies (like, say, the tractor) 3-D printing won’t really replace what came before.

“If you’re producing trash cans or stadium seats, you’ll more than likely produce them the old way,” says analyst Terry Wohlers.

And for consumers, the economist Tyler Cowen points out, it’s still way easier to order something from Amazon than print it yourself — and that’s how people will buy things for the foreseeable future.

Still, 3D printing is amazingly powerful for personalized applications.

Right now, there are 30,000 people walking around with 3D printed titanium hips, which are less expensive than conventionally manufactured artificial hips.

Boosters of 3D printing dream of a day when printers can make new body parts. More prosaically, they talk about a day when every shirt, every dress, every pair of pants can be custom printed to perfectly fit each person.

Another thing to keep in mind about 3D printing: It democratizes who gets to be in the manufacturing business. You don’t need a giant factory and million-dollar machines. You just need $500 and a garage.

Via NPR.

3D printing photo by DSTL UNR used under Creative Commons license.