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 »
3D Printed Nano Objects: New World Record for Micro Printing
A team from the Vienna University of Technology set a new world record this week: 3D printed nano objects in just 4 minutes. Their process, called two-photon lithography, uses a focused laser to harden liquid resin.
Applications? Consider how this process could be used to make micro objects for biomedical research and treatment.
Photo above is a human figure smaller than a grain of sand. Photo below is a detailed cathedral about 50 microns in length.
Read more and see additional photos at Reuters’ World in Nano.
Fab Labs and Smart Cities: Barcelona
Fab Lab: Barcelona and Smart Cities: are we seeing societal change by way of democratization of manufacturing?
In an interview with Tomás Diez, director of the Fab Lab Barcelona project, the question was posed:
How can cities solve the need of providing more and more diverse services, in a scenario of cutting budgets, while taking advantage of the opportunities that “fabbing” bring to us? At the Fab City… how do you think that having a neighborhood fab lab would change people’s lives?
The response was quite profound:
This proposal consists on a fab city made up of an interconnected community of neighborhood fab labs. The venues’ goals would be to encourage entrepreneurship and interest in innovation that have already been present in Barcelona throughout centuries. As they see it, bringing factories back to cites will lead us through a new industrial revolution where production methods and social bonds will be transformed.
Read more in the full interview.
Barcelona image used under Creative Commons from Moyan_Brenn.
3D Printing Accelerates Development of a Race Car
Prodrive‘s 3D printing success story shows how functional prototypes and rapid tooling can significantly speed up the development of a race car.
“3D printing is an important part of our design and development process that has massively reduced our reaction time,” said Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe. “The technology allows us to produce new parts for the test car within hours of a problem or need being discovered.”
With 3D printing technology, the team can quickly test new ideas without the large cost of retooling production equipment. The prototypes that are “printed” are production ready, reducing time traditionally spent creating new parts and testing them sequentially. In fact, the cost of this development effort was 1/5 the size of a comparable project not using 3D printing.
Read more about this announcement here.
Neil Gershenfeld: The beckoning promise of personal fabrication [Video]
MIT Professor and personal fabrication expert Neil Gershenfeld talks about 3D printing and fab labs at the TED conference in 2007. His vision: how personal fabrication can allow you to make (almost) anything.
ABC News Features Melbourne, Australia 3D Printing Facility
In Melbourne, Australia, 3D printing technologies have been around for about 20 years, mainly used for building prototypes. But in the past 10 years, finished products have emerged from these sophisticated machines. Additive manufacturing seems to be gaining popularity in Australia.
ABC News covers this story in more detail. Watch the video.
