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 »
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Fashion Week and 3D Printing: Stratasys and Shapeways Hit the Runway
3D printing has been used to develop some new interesting fashion designs. At the 3D Print Show in London last October, there was a live catwalk featuring 3D printed wearables.
With Paris and New York Fashion Week in season, 3D printing is again on display.
In Paris, a Dutch designer exhibited 3D printed collections made on a Stratasys 3D printer:
Dutch designer van Herpen’s eleven-piece collection featured two 3D printed ensembles, including an elaborate skirt and cape created in collaboration with artist, architect, designer and professor Neri Oxman from MIT’s* Media Lab, and 3D printed by Stratasys. An intricate dress was also designed in collaboration with Austrian architect Julia Koerner, currently lecturer at UCLA Los Angeles, and 3D printed by Materialise, marking the second piece created together with Koerner and the ninth with Materialise.
The 3D printed skirt and cape were produced using Stratasys’ unique Objet Connex multi-material 3D printing technology, which allows a variety of material properties to be printed in a single build. This allowed both hard and soft materials to be incorporated within the design, crucial to the movement and texture of the piece. “The ability to vary softness and elasticity inspired us to design a “second skin” for the body acting as armor-in-motion; in this way we were able to design not only the garment’s form but also its motion,” explains Oxman. “The incredible possibilities afforded by these new technologies allowed us to reinterpret the tradition of couture as “tech-couture” where delicate hand-made embroidery and needlework is replaced by code.”
Van Herpen adds, “I feel it’s important that fashion can be about much more than consumerism, but also about new beginnings and self-expression, so my work very much comes from abstract ideas and using new techniques, not the re-invention of old ideas. I find the process of 3D printing fascinating because I believe it will only be a matter of time before we see the clothing we wear today produced with this technology, and it’s because it’s such a different way of manufacturing, adding layer-by-layer, it will be a great source of inspiration for new ideas.”
Learn more about Objet 3D printers at the company’s website.
In New York, designers will be sitting down with Shapeways to discuss Fashion in 3D.
Shapeways, a 3D printing design studio and marketplace that spoke at our Startup Showcase last fall, will host an interactive design experience and lectures on the future of fabrication at Manhattan’s Ace Hotel to explore how digital technology can revolutionize fashion.
Designers Michael Schmidt (famous for Lady Gaga’s bubble dress), Anna Sheffield, and Chris Habana will work with computer-aided design modelers to help guests create custom products using 3D printing on Feb. 9, in the hotel lobby. The all-day event will culminate with the unveiling of a 3D printed dress designed by Schmidt and Francis Bitonti.
At the Decoded Fashion Forum at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Shapeways’ Director of Marketing Carine Carmy will chat with designer Kimberly Ovitz about 3D printing on the runway. Ovitz will debut her first 3D printed collection for AW13, one of the few times a designer collection has incorporated 3D printing.
3D Printing Advances Dentistry in London at Daewood & Tanner Practice
The field of Dentistry is being redefined by 3D printing. As we reported last April, dental labs are increasingly using 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies to provide personalized care.
Daewood & Tanner is a specialist dental practice in London that is pioneering the use of this technology. Andrew Daewood was recently interviewed by the Financial Times.
“3D printing has recently captured the public imagination, but most 3D printers are churning out plastic junk,” says Andrew Dawood. “Dentists have been using 3D printing for 10 years, to make things that really can’t be made in any other way.”
Daewood’s firm creates dental implants using digital scans and 3D printing.
Although conventional manufacturing still produces most implants, an increasing number are being printed, often using a very durable plastic called Peek that can be implanted into the jaw to replace lost bone. “Our experience with the use of technology to assist ‘extreme cases’ enables us to make straightforward treatment even more straightforward, and for many patients, to make possible what was once considered to be impossible,” says Dawood.
Patients for whom implant treatment used not to be feasible, because they did not have enough bone left in their jaw, can now be treated. New technology allows dentists to identify islands of bone into which implants can be placed, using minimally invasive techniques. “People who once might have been told they were untreatable or needed 18 months of carefully staged, arduous reconstructive surgery, are now being treated in hours or even minutes, usually receiving fixed replacement teeth on the day of treatment,” says Dawood.
Read the full interview at the Financial Times.
Here’s a video interview with a Daewood & Tanner patient after an implant.
National Gun Control Debate Threatens 3D Printing With Regulation
As the country recovers from the recent mass school shooting in Newtown, CT, and at the same time engages in a national debate around gun control, an unlikely topic is coming under fire: 3D printing.
Basically, there are some fringe gun activists who are exploiting the national attention to gun rights to get some publicity for their new ideas. One of these, Defense Distributed has been publishing their plans for a “Wiki Weapon.”
Those who read on3dprinting.com know the potentially massive positive contributions that 3D printing can make for our global society. Unfortunately, however, some legislators are now discussing regulations on 3D printing because they are afraid people will print high-capacity gun clips.
In the release below, Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) writes about his intentions to regulate 3D printing.
Rep. Israel to Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Homemade 3-D Printed Magazines Along with Plastic Guns
As Debate Stirs Around High-Capacity Gun Clips, Homemade Gun Enthusiasts Show Clip Can be Made At Home with 3-D Printer
Woodbury, NY—Today, Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) called for a renewal of a revamped Undetectable Firearms Act that includes the ban of homemade, 3-D printed, plastic high-capacity magazines. The existing ban on plastic guns expires this year and does not clearly cover magazines. This past weekend, Defense Distributed, a group of homemade gun enthusiasts used a 3-D printer to print and test an ammunition magazine for an AR semi-automatic rifle, loading and reportedly firing 86 rounds from the 30-round clip. A video of them firing the weapon can be seen here.
Rep. Israel said, “Background checks and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print high-capacity magazines at home. 3-D printing is a new technology that shows great promise, but also requires new guidelines. Law enforcement officials should have the power to stop keep homemade high-capacity magazines from proliferating with a Google search.”
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said, “With every advancement in technology, there will be those who attempt to exploit it for unintended purposes. And in those situations, it is incumbent upon our elected officials and law enforcement agencies to take necessary action to protect the public. This common sense legislation closes a dangerous loophole in the law, and I strongly support Congressman Israel’s efforts in seeing these dangerous magazines banned.”
3-D printers work by printing layer upon layer of a material, usually thermoplastic, on top of each other in order to form a 3-D object. The revamped Undetectable Firearms Act that Rep. Israel wrote makes it illegal to manufacture, own, transport, buy, or sell any firearm or magazine that is homemade and not detectable by metal detector and/or does not present an accurate image when put through an x-ray machine. The reauthorization would extend the life of the bill for another 10 years from the date of enactment.
Steve Israel photo by Third Way used under Creative Commons license.
Filabot Reclaimer Turns Recyclable Plastic into 3D Printing Material
Introducing Filabot, a new device that lets you recycle plastic to use as filament in a 3D printer.
Originally conceived as a Kickstarter project by Tyler McNaney, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student at Vermont Technical College, the startup raised over $32,000 to develop its first product.
Many 3D printers use commercial grade plastic filament to make objects. The MakerBot Replicator 2X, for example, uses requires thermoplastic ABS. This plastic isn’t cheap, and critics of 3D printing suggest that all of this plastic is not good for the environment.
Well, Filabot has the answer to make 3D printing a bit more eco-friendly. With a Filabot Reclaimer, one can deposit recyclable plastic into the machine and end up with 3D printing grade plastic filament.
Here is an overview from the Filabot shop.
The Filabot is the revolutionary system that can turn recyclable plastic into usable filament for 3D printing. This system creates a closed loop recycling environment. Filabot allows for the ultimate personal factory, giving greater control over what type of plastic material to use.
The Filabot Reclaimer, is our flagship system, that allows for the already innovative 3D printing movement, to become more self sufficient, experiment with new materials, and recycle bad prints.
The Filabot Reclaimer includes the grinding, extruding, and spooling systems. The Grinder will tear up bottles and can handle up to a good 3in by 3in chunk of plastic. Material from the grinder can either be stockpiled or fed directly into the extruder. From there the extruder will melt and pressurize the molten plastic to push it thought the interchangeable dies. There are two dies included with the Filabot Reclaimer, a 3mm and 1.75mm, depending on the filament size needed. The spool system will automatically roll the filament onto a spool after cooling and sizing.
And below is a video of the Filabot system.
Photo by Filabot/Whitney Trudo.
3D Printing at CES 2013 Roundup: MakerBot, Stratasys and More
CES 2013 was shaping up to the the year of 3D printing with 8 major exhibitors showing of 3D printers, 3D printing marketplaces, and more. We visited the booths, heard the announcements, and talked to the teams. Here is our recap.
MakerBot Has Several Major Announcements
Last year, MakerBot won Best of CES 2012 in the Emerging Tech category. We think MakerBot deserves an award this year again for the biggest announcements. In our exclusive footage of Bre Pettis, the MakerBot CEO revealed the new MakerBot Replicator 2X “experimental” 3D printer, announced changes to the Thingiverse API, and talked about the plans for “bot farms.”
Stratasys and Objet
Recently merged Stratasys and Objet were exhibiting at CES 2013, showing Mojo 3D printers in action.
3D Systems Wins Best Emerging Tech with New Cubify 3D Printer
3D Systems had announced that they would bring the next generation 3D printing showcase to CES, and they did by introducing two new printers.
Above photo courtesy of core77:
This year they pulled the sheets off of not one, but two machines: Their updated Cube 2, a faster and more accurate update to the original, and their larger CubeX, which can print “basketball size” (10.75″ x 10.75″ x 9.5″) in both ABS and PLA.
The Rest
- Afinia showed off its latest H-Series 3D printer.
- FormLabs announced that it would be shipping its Form1 3D printer soon to Kickstarter funders.
- Delta Micro Factory Corp showed off the UP! 3D printer.
- 3D printing marketplaces Kraftwurx and Sculpteo were at the show.
What else did you see at CES? Write your thoughts in the comments!
