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 Systems Continues Acquisition Trail with 3D Printing Startup The Sugar Lab
“The overlap of technology, food and art is so rich, and the potential for customization and innovation is limitless,” said Liz von Hasseln
Just days after we posted a deep analysis on 3D Systems and their M&A activity, the 3D printing giant acquired another company: The Sugar Lab.
The Sugar Lab is a start-up micro-design firm based in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to 3D printing customized, multi-dimensional, edible confections in real sugar. The Sugar Lab adopted 3D Systems’ Color Jet Printing (CJP) technology to print on a sugar bed using different flavored edible binders that meet all food safety requirements.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
3D Systems plans to immediately integrate The Sugar Lab 3D printing technique into its professional and consumer content-to-print platforms with a variety of production-quality applications as well as the ability to 3D print indulgences at home.
“The overlap of technology, food and art is so rich, and the potential for customization and innovation is limitless,” said Liz von Hasseln, cofounder of the Sugar Lab. Existing commercial applications for printable sugar include complex sculptural cakes for weddings and special events that are made possible only with 3D printing, and customizable confections for bake shops and restaurants. Continued von Hasseln, “We see our technology quickly evolving into a variety of flavors and foods, powered by real food printers for professionals and consumers alike and we could not think of a more qualified partner than 3D Systems to help make that a reality.”
“I believe there is a social covenant for indulgence that begins with desserts and The Sugar Lab will accelerate our ability to bring edible 3D printables to the masses while empowering chefs, restaurateurs and confectioners with never before explored digital creation tools for food,” said Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with two kindred spirits; Liz and Kyle von Hasseln to quickly re-purpose our core 3D Systems print technology and jointly create delicious, custom confections.”
Below is a gallery of the sweet sugar 3D printed creations by The Sugar Lab:
Related stories about 3D printing in sugar:
Leopoly Brings Fast, Easy, Crowd-Sculpting Design to 3D Printing
Design for 3D Printing on the Web or in Virtual Reality with Leopoly’s Creative Suite
Design for 3D printing is hard. You can go buy the MakerBot Digitizer for $1,400, or you can use some free software like Autodesk 123D Catch. But what if you want to design something creative, from scratch?
Leopoly may be your answer to the fastest and easiest way to make a novel design in minutes.
Leopoly is a web-based product that lets you sculpt in 3D. You literally start with a digital ball of clay, and push it and pull it until you have something you like. It was created by Leonar3Do International, a 3D tech startup company, founded in 2010 and based in Budapest, Hungary. The company has become a pioneer and award-winning provider of 3D solutions aimed at the educational, healthcare, gaming industry and general business market.
Here is a sophisticated design of an alien bust, created in Leopoly and ready to be 3D printed.
Leopoly has a key innovation: crowd-sculpting
“The idea behind the software is to give the easiest 3D sculpting tool and a community-based game experience to the makers of the 21st century,” said Daniel Andrassy from Leopoly. “This new way of virtual sculpting is but a part of evolutionary modeling, where all users can share creative designs and further shape ones pieces of art.”
To put this simply, you can start with a ball of clay, or you can start with someone else’s design and extend it. Community is at the heart of the online service.
“With Leopoly we break down boundaries. Leopoly narrows the gap between hardly reachable level of proficiency and novice enthusiasts in 3D design and printing” said Roland Mányai, Director of Sales and Marketing. “Our goal was to make this project on a web based platform, to open doors to anyone and make it reachable literally anywhere for a wider community of makers and to make 3D modeling fun.”
And here is a Shrek design that might need a few more iterations in the crowd.
Here is a video demo of the Leopoly web tool.
3D modeling in virtual reality
(Photo: The Verge’s Ellis Hamburger trying out the Bird in January 2013)
Leonar3Do also sells software with a 3D immersive mode that pairs with the Leonar3Do VR Hardware Kit. This lets users break out of the 2D approach and work in virtual space using head tracked goggles and the Bird, a 3D mouse which sells for $500 alone or $2000 bundled with software.
Watch the video below for a demo.
3D Printing Your Design
Leopoly doesn’t have it’s own 3D printing service, but you can directly 3D print the objects you create through Sculpteo‘s cloud 3D printing service.
Sculpteo will import your design, give you a choice of materials, and provide a cost and shipping estimate. Sculpteo announced this partnership on their blog last month, saying “All you need to do is to click on 3D print, and you’ll be able to order a print from Sculpteo. With Leopoly, 3D printing is just one click away.”
We gave this whole process a test drive. We were able to create a relatively complex model in just a few minutes on Leopoly, and then send it over to Sculpteo where we could choose from an array of materials. We chose white plastic for $10.57, shipping in 3 days.
If you’d like to learn more about Leopoly or Leonar3Do, visit www.leopoly.com and www.Leonar3Do.com
Join Us Next Week at Inside 3D Printing San Jose – 15% Discount
Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo will make its West Coast debut next week, September 17-18 in San Jose, California. We’ve partnered with the event to again bring you a 15% discount: ON3D.
Keith Murphy, Chairman and CEO of Organovo, the global leader in 3D bioprinting, will deliver a keynote presentation, 3D Bioprinting: Changing the Shape of Medical Research and Practice. Murphy, who has 20 years of experience in biotechnology, will speak on how the company’s pioneering technology is impacting drug discovery research today and has the potential to produce transplant tissues in the future.
The impact of 3D printing on the medical field will also serve as a key theme in the Asia-Pacific version of Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo, as it continues its world tour in Singapore on October 1-2.
Joseph J. Salvo, Leader- Business Integration for GE Global Research Technologies, has also joined the San Jose event as a speaker. Dr. Salvo and his laboratory are responsible for the development of complex decision platforms, including GE RailwiseTM and the Global Vendor Managed Inventory. He will lead the session titled Changing the Manufacturing Paradigm: Crowdsourcing and 3D Printing.
S. Scott Crump, Founder of Stratasys, and Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems, will also serve as keynote speakers next week in California. Visit http://inside3dprinting.com/fall to view the full agenda.
The expo hall in San Jose will be the largest yet and will provide attendees with the opportunity to network with professionals at leading 3D printing companies, including 3D Systems, Stratasys, Accenture, Mcor Technologies, Fathom, Afina, Made in Space, Leopoly, and more.
PERK: Enter our discount code: ON3D for 15% off your full conference pass. Prices increase onsite, so register now.
Home 3D Printing Can Save You $2000 Per Year (Infographic)
Learn about home 3D printing in this detailed infographic
Hat tip to our reader @morgaNicole who shared this great infographic with us. Published by Line/Shape/Space, Autodesk’s creative blog, the infographic gives a one-page primer on the benefits and ROI of 3D printing at home.
Click on the image above, or click here to access the full infographic (3.6 MB), to read about:
- How 3D printing works
- How much it costs
- What you can print
- What’s in it for small business
- and, getting started
Top 3D Printing News Last Week: 3D Systems, Guns, Skateboard, iTunes
3D Printing News
A roundup of the top 3D printing news from September 2 to September 8:
Tuesday, September 3
Wednesday, September 4
Friday, September 6
Sunday, September 8
