Motorola Mobility, a Google company, is building a 3D printed modular phone, and has partnered with 3D Systems for commercial fulfillment. More »
The Captured Dimensions pop-up studio was located in the Smithsonian Castle and featured approximately 80 digital cameras all connected to 3D software. More »
Microsoft expanded their support for 3D printing by launching a Windows 8 app called 3D Builder. It includes a library of objects you can edit and 3D print. More »
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced the availability of the Sense 3D scanner, the first 3D scanner designed for the consumer and optimized for 3D printing. More »
With rumors circling that 3D Systems will be purchased by IBM, the stock soars. We look at why IBM might be interested in the 3D printing giant. More »
Who Makes Better Sand Castles: Kids or 3D Printing?
Building sand castles is one of the cherished experiences for kids in the summer. Castles can be big or small, organized or chaotic. But it’s really about the process.
Well, a new 3D printing system called Stone Spray is looking to upstage these kids with perfectly created sand castles.
Stone Spray is a revolutionary construction method which uses soil as the base material and a liquid binder to solidify the soil granules. And uses a jet spray system to deposit the mix of soil and binder, for constructing architectural shapes.
Stone Spray is a project by architects Petr Novikov, Inder Shergill and Anna Kulik. The project is done in the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and supervised by Marta Male-Alemany, Jordi Portell and Miquel Lloveras. With professional advisors: Santigo Martin from Vortica and Guillem Camprodon from Fab Lab Bcn.
Stone Spray is a research project. We want to push further the boundaries of digital manufacturing and explore the possibilities of an on-site fabrication machines.
The video below shows the team’s project in action.
Sand castle image by Paul Watson used under Creative Commons license.
Cubify Sent Us a 3D Printed Name Plate!
In June, we covered an exclusive story of 3D Systems’ Cubify division printing at Google I/O.
This week we received something special in the mail from Cubify: a custom 3D printed name plate featuring our very own brand “On 3D Printing”.
Thanks Cubify!
Setting Up and Running a Fab Lab: Primer, History, and Recommendations
Everything you wanted to know about setting up a Fab Lab is detailed in this document by Fabien Eychenne.
This broad overview covers these topics from a global perspective:
- History of Fab Labs
- Physical space configuration
- Services and pricing
- Fab Lab teams
- Prototypes
- Group projects
- Art projects
- Structure and organization
- Investment budget
- Machines and equipment
Open-Source 3D Printer Pwdr Takes on MakerBot, Offers New Materials
There’s a new open-source 3D printer in town, and its name is Pwdr.
In a change from the technique used by MakerBot 3D printers of extruding plastic onto a platform layer by layer, Pwdr operates like the expensive industrial powder printers. This opens new doors for the consumer 3D printing market.
A whole new range of materials become available for experimenting with open-source rapid-prototyping; for example, when using the 3DP process: gypsum, ceramics, concrete, sugar, etc. And when the SLS process is fully supported, plastic materials like ABS, PP, Nylon and metals become available as building material.A Hewlett Packard inkjet cartridge is used for the deposition of binder. The cartridge can be refilled with custom binders using a syringe. A custom binder of 20% alcohol and 80% water has been proven to work.
The Pwdr Model 0.1 consists of chassis, tool head and electronics. The printer entirely consists of off-the-shelf components. It has a simple design and can be built within a couple of hours. The machine is easy and affordable to build and modify. Building a Pwdr Model 0.1 machine costs about €1000.
Forbes 3D Printing Interview with Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen
Forbes recently sat down with Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen to talk about 3D printing.
In his remarks, Weijmarshausen compared traditional manufacturing processes to the innovative approach of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.
3D printing technology was commercially invented in 1989, and had been in use for prototyping for a number of years. So, in that traditional design process, designers might have actually used 3D printers to make product prototypes. But the costs have come down a lot, and the materials these printers can work with have expanded from plastics to materials like stainless steel, silver, ceramics, and glass – with many more coming. And the answer to that original question turned out to be “absolutely yes.” There are an amazing number of real products that can be made directly with this technology. For example, my iPhone case is 3D printed. My cufflinks are 3D printed. Even my coffee cup is 3D printed.
Weijmarshausen also gave his predictions about the future.
In many ways. Think back to what we discussed about how mass manufactured products are made, and I can tell you there are inherent benefits to direct-from-digital manufacturing. First, the time from concept to actual product is condensed from years to a matter of days. We have one user who launched an iPad cover four days after the iPad launched in 2010. He didn’t have any help from Apple – he just bought an iPad in the store and designed a beautiful cover in a few days and then made it commercially available on Shapeways. So, the time to market is compressed immensely. The other key aspect is that the risk of going to market is almost non-existent, because your investment is only the design of the product itself.
The other big thing about 3D printing is the freedom it offers. For almost 100 years, designers have been trained to think within the limits of traditional manufacturing technology. 3D printing allows you to make incredibly complex designs at no additional cost: interlocking components, naturally hinged parts, semi-translucent surfaces, and even objects that can move on their own without assembly (like the strandbeest). You can make things that were not even possible before. And one of the most exciting things for me is to see young designers in schools being directly influenced by the availability of this technology. We will see products emerge that we’ve never imagined before – mind blowing shapes and solutions. I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next five years.
Read the full interview at Forbes.
Peter Weijmarshausen photo by Dave Pinter used under Creative Commons license.
