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 »
Nokia and MakerBot Showcase 3D Printing at Mobile World Congress
Over 60,000 attendees flocked the Mobile World Congress 2013 conference as it kicked off today in Barcelona. All of the major handset manufacturers, TV suppliers, and mobile operators were there with large booths. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop introduced a new line of mobile phones during his keynote, and there was quite a crowd at the Nokia invite-only booth in Hall 8.
Well, we were there too. And so was 3D printer pioneer MakerBot with several MakerBot Replicator 2s on display.
In January, Nokia announced a 3D printing development kit, or 3DK, encouraging people to hack their Lumia phone to create their own custom cases.
Today, Nokia showcased their new partnership with MakerBot on a 3D printing community project.
The 3D Printing Development Kit provides a 3D template and case specs for printing shell covers for two of Nokia’s latest smartphones – the Nokia Lumia 820 and the newly announced Nokia Lumia 520. Using the 3DK anyone with a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer can print their own shell. Nokia and Makerbot are demonstrating the exciting possibilities for 3D printing at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 25-28.
“Nokia provided the Lumia 820 specs, and MakerBot optimized them for printing the case on a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer. It’s a really cool shell that fits great,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. ”You can print in Nokia PLA blue, translucent white, or in any of the other numerous PLA colors. The design has a cool imprint and an oversized Nokia logo on the back.” The Nokia Lumia 3D printing files are available on MakerBot’s Thingiverse.com and will also be optimized for customization through the MakerBot Thingiverse Customizer.
Nokia is the first major phone company to release 3D templates for its hardware that can be printed on a 3D printer. It not only allows Nokia Lumia owners to personalize their phones, but brings Nokia into a whole new spectrum of innovation in the mobile phone category.
“Nokia’s design DNA is all about self-expression so getting involved in this community project is a natural extension of that philosophy,” said John Kneeland, a Nokia Community & Developer Marketing Manager. “3D printing is in an exciting development phase and we’re keen to help people explore this new technology.”
Top 3D Printing Headlines Last Week: Education, Infographic, Ears
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from February 18 to February 24:
Wednesday, February 20
Cornell Professor Develops Technique for 3D Printing a Human Ear
3D printing organs and stem cells is currently being researched and may become a reality someday. What about 3D printing an ear using material to synthesize human cartilage?
Lawrence Bonassar, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University, has been working to solve this problem by developing a “living ink” that can be used to 3D print the cartilage for a human ear. His research was published in the journal PLoS One and featured on NPR.
“The ear is really remarkable from a mechanical perspective,” says Lawrence Bonassar, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University who has been working with a group to develop a better replacement ear.
To make the ear, Bonassar and his colleagues scanned the ears of his twin daughters, who were 5 at the time. They used a 3-D printer to build a plastic mold based on the scan. Those printers, similar to a home inkjet, lately have also been adapted to experiment with making chocolate, guns, and even kidneys.
They then injected a soup of collagen, living cartilage cells, and culture medium. The soup congeals “like Jell-O,” Bonassar tells Shots. “All this happens quickly. You inject the mold, and in 15 minutes you have an ear ready to go.”
Well, not exactly. What they have is an ear-shaped chunk of cells that would have to be tucked under the skin on the side of the head by a plastic surgeon before it could become an ear.
To test whether their ear-mold would become living, useful ear cartilage, the researchers implanted samples under the skin on the back of laboratory rats. In three months, cartilage cells took over the collagen, making for a solid-yet-flexible chunk of cartilage that retained its precise shape and size.
Bonassar thinks this technology can be used in humans in 5 years, with any luck.
Below is a video featuring this amazing research.
Via NPR.
Must-See Infographic: How 3D Printing Will Revolutionize the Classroom
As 3D printing becomes more accessible to the public, educators are learning how this technology can – and is – revolutionizing the classroom.
In this rich infographic by OnlineDegrees.org, the subject of 3D printing in education is explored.
Key topics include:
- Which universities have embraced 3D printing
- Materials used in 3D printing
- How 3D printing is being incorporated into the classroom
- 3D lesson plans
Published under Creative Commons license.
3D Printing in the Classroom to Accelerate Adoption of Technology
Interest in 3D printing is increasing, and there are new programs introducing the technology into the classroom to encourage students to get exposure to the potential of 3D printing at an early age.
In a recent New York Times blog post following President Obama’s State of the Union address, the question was posed:
“Can the United States get a foothold in manufacturing one 3D printer at a time?”
The article continued to cite several examples of how education programs for 3D printing may make this reality.
First, the Creative Machine Labs at Cornell:
Hod Lipson, an associate professor and the director of the Creative Machines Lab at Cornell, said “3-D printing is worming its way into almost every industry, from entertainment, to food, to bio- and medical-applications.”
It won’t necessarily directly create manufacturing jobs, except perhaps for the printers themselves. Dr. Lipson, the co-author of “Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing,” said that the technology “is not going to simply replace existing manufacturing anytime soon.” But he said he believed that it would give rise to new businesses. “The bigger opportunity in the U.S. is that it opens and creates new business models that are based on this idea of customization.”
Second, new programs at the University of Virginia:
In addition to the lab that the president mentioned, a federally financed manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio, schools are embracing the technology. The University of Virginia has been working to introduce 3D printers into some programs from kindergarten through 12th grade in Charlottesville to prepare students for a new future in manufacturing.
“We have 3D printers in classrooms, and in one example, we’re teaching kids how to design and print catapults that they then analyze for efficiency,” said Glen L. Bull, professor and co-director of the Center for Technology and Teacher Education. “We believe that every school in America could have a 3D printer in the classroom in the next few years.”
The education system may want to speed things up. The time between predictions for 3D printers and the reality of what they can accomplish is compressing rapidly.
Read the full feature at the NYTimes blog.
