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 »
Register for Inside 3D Printing Chicago: July 10-11 – Discount Available
Inside 3D Printing Chicago
Inside 3D Printing Conference attracted 3,000 attendees and top exhibitors like MakerBot and 3D Systems to its inaugural event in New York. Now, after months of exponential growth and tremendous 3D printing coverage in the news, the conference will head to Chicago this July 10-11.
The topic has piqued the interest and involvement of government officials like Congressman Bill Foster of the 11th Congressional District of Illinois who will discuss digital manufacturing and its connection to policy, education, and jobs at the event.
Greg Diamond of 3D Systems plays a 3D printed guitar in the exhibit hall of Inside 3D Printing Conference in New York City.
Industry players, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors will meet in Chicago to discuss the impact of 3D printing on various fields. Speakers include Scott Crump, Founder and Chairman of the Board at Stratasys, Ralph L. Resnick, President & Executive Director of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining (NCDMM), and Cydni Tetro, Entrepreneur in Residence for Disney.
The event will even feature the designer and architect who created style icon Dita von Teese’s famous 3D printed dress to discuss 3D printing’s influence on fashion and art.
Sessions include Industrial Scale Additive Manufacturing Technologies, 3D Printing and the Future (or Demise) of Intellectual Property, and The Printed Athlete: How 3D Printing is Changing the Nature of Sports. View the full program here.
Cody Wilson, Founder and Director of Defense Distributed, discusses 3D printed guns during his session at the Inside 3D Printing Conference in New York City.
PERK: You’ll save 15% off your Gold Passport to the event with code ON3D. Register today.
3D Printing Startup Mixee Labs Expands Portfolio with Artisan Jewelry Launch and Platform
Mixee Labs Adds Customizable 3D Printed Jewelry and Has Plans for More
In November, 3D printing startup Mixee Labs launched Mixee Me, a platform where you can design and 3D print your own likeness in a figurine. We reviewed our 3D printed mini-me in December. Within the first month of launch, Mixee Me was a top 5 shop on Shapeways, and in Time Magazine’s Top 10 3D Printed Gifts of the year.
Now Mixee Labs is expanding with the launch of a web platform where designers can create interactive models of their products for consumers to customize. With each web app, or “creator,” anybody will be able to create unique objects without knowing how to model, and watch them come to life without needing to buy a 3D printer.
Mixee Labs has extended its production partnership with Shapeways, using 3D printing to manufacture these personalized objects on-demand and ship directly to the customers.
As part of the launch, Mixee Labs is featuring Quark Jewelry by Stijn van der Linden, of the studio Virtox. Quark Jewelry’s innovative design draws on the intricate movements of subatomic particles. Stijn has been a leading figure in the 3D printing community. His designs have been featured in the Wired Store and the Today Show.
Below is a gallery of images for Quark Jewelry.
Here is a testimonial by designer Stijn van der Linden.
Ever since I first learned about subatomic particles and their spiral movements in magnetic fields, I could not help but be inspired. The different charges, masses and speeds determine the trajectories and create these astounding images in bubble chambers.
With the arrival of accessible 3d printing, I got to work to capture this beauty in jewelry.
I wrote a piece of software that would trace possible (and impossible) orbits and trajectories in 3 dimensions.
But I had a hard time choosing which models to actually try and print as the variations were endless.
Then a few months ago I got the urge to bring this project back to life and in search for a solution I stumbled upon Mixeelabs.Mixeelabs was working on an online platform that allows designers to easily create web apps which are able to generate 3d printable models! We joined forces and are very proud to present “Quark Jewelry”.
Want to try it out? Here are some links.
Quark Jewelry (3D printed sub-atomic designed jewelry creator)
Mixee Me (3D printed figurine creator)
Top 3D Printing News Last Week: MakerBot Father’s Day, SupplyBetter
3D Printing News
A roundup of the top 3D printing news from June 3 to June 9:
Wednesday, June 5
Friday, June 7
SupplyBetter Launches 3D Printing Comparison Engine to Give Designers More Choice
SupplyBetter Launches Comparison Shopping for 3D Printing
Calling itself the “Kayak of 3D Printing”, SupplyBetter provides comparison shopping for 3D printing. With over 200 suppliers, SupplyBetter gives more choice to a designer or consumer looking for a 3D printed object. Sometimes you want to print high quality and sometimes you want low cost. SupplyBetter helps you find the right fit.
We spoke with SupplyBetter co-founder and CEO Matthew Du Pont.
On 3D Printing: Tell us what SupplyBetter does.
Matthew Du Pont: SupplyBetter does two main things.
1) We help buyers find better service bureaus for 3D printing – most companies online are trying to sell you their own printing services, even if they’re not the best fit. We have a database of hundreds of companies that provide 3D printing, which lets us match companies with the right supplier based on geography, material, price, speed, and application. It’s similar to Kayak – buyers come to us, upload a drawing and some information on what they want, and we pick the best suppliers and pull together quotes for the buyer.
2) We help buyers find better contract manufacturing beyond 3D printing. Our eventual goal is to be the best way of finding manufacturers for custom mechanical parts, so whether they need a small run of wood parts in the US or metal casting in China, we’re happy to help them out. We charge buyers if and only if they select a supplier we find for them, and have helped people with wood, plastic, and metal parts.
On 3D Printing: How did you get started?
Matthew Du Pont: Matt and Rob have been friends for seven years. They both have previous unpleasant experiences with procuring custom parts (Matt at a trucking company, Rob at a robotics company), and decided to build a better way to get things made. They’ve been working on SupplyBetter since early 2013.
SupplyBetter has helped buyers in North America and Europe, and quoted suppliers worldwide. Our customers so far have mainly been hardware startups and makers, seeking to prototype or bring prototypes to production.
On 3D Printing: Where can someone go to learn more?
Matthew Du Pont: Here are some links:
www.supplybetter.com - The main homepage, for people looking for quotes on 3D printing
www.supplybetter.com/
www.supplybetter.com/getting_
MakerBot Celebrates Dads and Grads with 3D Printing Deals
MakerBot Offers 3D Printing Deals for Dads and Grads
Every year, June marks Father’s Day and graduation season, or “Dads and Grads” as marketers call it. If you’re looking for something unique to celebrate the occasion, 3D printer company MakerBot has a few great gift ideas.
First, MakerBot is offering access to their 3D Photo Booth in their NYC store, free on June 9 from 12pm to 6pm.
We visited the store in April and checked out the scanner for ourselves. Here’s how it works:
- You sit in a booth and are surrounded by cameras.
- You line your head up so that it fits in the frame shown on the screen.
- Cameras take multiple photos from multiple angles.
- And that’s it! In a few hours, you have a digital head waiting for you on Thingiverse.
- You can buy a 3D printed version of your head for $20 to $60.
The second offer is for Grads:
We’ll also be celebrating graduates this June at the MakerBot Store. Any recent graduate that brings in a copy of his/her diploma or proof of graduation will receive a free MakerBot 2013 Graduation 3D printed lithopane. If you’ve seen our lithopanes on Thingiverse, you already know about the awesomeness in store. Graduation lithopanes will be available June 1 – 30, so be sure to stop in while supplies last.
Via MakerBot.
