Category Archives: News
No Limit – Futuristic Photo Series About 3D Printing
Photographer and artist Ben Sandler has published a futuristic photo series that imagines 3D printing brought to life. The series is called “No Limit” and was featured in Amusement magazine.
Via Behance.net.
Life on the Lunar Base: 3D Printing at the Repair Shop
As scientists prepare for the next stage in space exploration and the construction of a lunar base, there is a challenge. What do you do if something breaks? How do you ship repairs from Earth?
The answer is you don’t. Astronauts can use 3D printing to build repairs from moon dust.
Researchers at Washington State University have successfully simulated this process using a composite material similar to moon dust.
The simulant is an expensive combination of silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron and magnesium oxides. Meant to mimic the properties of the regolith found on the moon, the powdery material had a particle structure resembling that of ceramics.
Because of their tendency to crack, ceramics can be tough to manipulate using 3D printers. But the WSU researchers, including husband-and-wife team Amit Bandyopadhyay and Susmita Bose, had previously demonstrated that ceramic-like material can be re-formed with an on-demand fabricator to create custom-made bone scaffolding.
For the new study, the researchers fed the raw simulant powder into a 3D printer, heating the material to high temperatures and printing it out in smooth half-millimeter (0.02 inches) layers to form small cylindrical shapes with no visible cracks. The structures that came out of the printer were about as hard as typical soda lime glass, the researchers explain in a study detailing the recent experiments in the Rapid Prototyping Journal.
“It is an exciting science fiction story, but maybe we’ll hear about it in the next few years,” Bandyopadhyay said. “As long as you can have additive manufacturing set up, you may be able to scoop up and print whatever you want. It’s not that far-fetched.”
Via Space.com.
Moon photo by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center used under Creative Commons license.
Well… In Late Night News, Now You Can 3D Print Adult Toys at Home
This news is a little different, but just goes to show that 3D printing is truly here to stay.
MakerLove.com provides free downloadable designs for people who have 3D printers so that they can privately make adult toys and other embarrassing items at home. From the company’s website:
12 years ago we developed our corporate vision: ”Technology Overcomes Embarrassment.” One technology that I think is going to change life is the Maker. We have one now, a Makerbot Replicator and think it is amazing. We also can see that the price of 3D printers will continue to drop and soon they will be affordable enough for most people to own. People will have the ability to make items they want, instantly, without anyone else being involved. That’s quite a bit of freedom.
I believe that one thing that will be popular to make with your Maker is [adult] toys. Why? Because we’ll all be free to make them privately. That is quite an enabler.
We aren’t showing any of the designs here but you can click over to MakerLove.com if you are interested in learning more.
Heart photo by by Creative Tools used under Creative Commons license.
US Patent Office to Hold 3D Printing Partnership Meeting in January
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host an Additive Manufacturing Partnership Meeting on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at the Alexandria campus. Additive manufacturing, sometimes called “3D printing,” refers to a group of new technologies that create objects from 3D computer models, usually by joining thin materials, layer upon layer. In addition to serving as a forum for users sharing ideas, experiences, and insights in the emerging field, the meeting will elicit discussions on how the USPTO can improve and expand its relationship with individual users.
Additive manufacturing is used in the fields of jewelry, footwear, architecture, engineering and construction, automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many others. Representatives from 3D Systems, Sratasys and MakerBot will also be on site to provide an overview of the application of additive manufacturing in different technologies and demonstrations of 3D printers.
What: Additive Manufacturing Partnership Meeting
When: January 23, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
Where:
USPTO Campus, Madison North Auditorium
600 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Space is limited and registration will be done on a first-come first-served basis. Please RSVP by e-mail to jill.warden@uspto.gov or maria.ewald@uspto.gov, or by telephone to Jill Warden at (571) 272-1267 or Veronica Ewald at (571) 272-8519 to confirm your attendance.
Via USPTO.gov.
Top 3D Printing Headlines Last Week: will.i.am and Britney, M&A, Staples, Holiday Gift Guide
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from December 4 to December 9.
Tuesday, December 4
Wednesday, December 5
- Video: BBC Reports on the Growth of 3D Printing
- Review: Mixee Me Lets You Design and 3D Print Your Own Mini-Me
Thursday, December 6
- Make Magazine Publishes a Holiday Gift Guide for 3D Printing
- Video: A Look Inside Staples Easy Button Solution For 3D Printing
Friday, December 7
Sunday, December 9
