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 »
Search Results for: 3d printer
3D Printing is a Game Changer: Feature Published by The Atlantic
American iconic magazine The Atlantic invited Hugh Evans, vice president at T. Rowe Price Associates to publish an article about a technology or trend changing the markets. His topic: 3D Printing is a Game Changer.
From my vantage point, 3D printing is right up there as one of the most exciting innovations I’ve seen in the 20 years I’ve been around here. I think it’s going to change the way goods are manufactured across many industries.
Evans starts with the back story on 3D printing, how the technology evolved from producing wax-like prototypes to durable goods.
The revolution took place when companies like 3D Systems started designing radically new materials. They came up with nanocomposites, different blends of plastics, and different blends of powdered metals. They were then able to create a part that, if you held it in your hand, you’d think it was steel. You can throw it down on the ground against cement, and it looks and acts just like steel.
Later Evans mentions various industries that are embracing 3D printing.
These new materials allow this 3D printing to be adopted by aerospace, automotive. Jaguar is using the technology for rapid product development. So is the Bell Helicopter division of Textron.
It’s pretty intuitive to apply this technology to the automotive and aerospace industries, and jewelry has always been a big market. But one of the most exciting areas is actually dental fabrication.
One company I’m excited about is using 3D printing to make prostheses. It’s a venture-backed company in San Francisco called Bespoke Innovations. There are a large number of amputees in America and around the world–I believe something like two million people have some sort of prosthetic limb or device.
Finally, Evans talks about falling 3D printer prices, enabling consumer adoption.
Six years ago the cheapest machine out there was $30,000, but most were $100,000. Today you can get a capable 3D printer for around $1,299, which launched at the Consumer Electronics Show this year.
That’s why 3D printing is so interesting. It’s not just tied up in the engineering world anymore. It’s impacting a large number of industries, and becoming more relevant to consumers. I’m seeing that even high schools now have 3D printers. I just ran into a high school teacher the other day who teaches software classes, and he was telling me, “Oh, I just bought my first 3D printer.”
It’s exciting to see this technology begin to reach its full potential. A few years ago it was a little ahead of its time, but not anymore. It’s here today.
Read the full article at The Atlantic.
Deck of cards photo by aftab used under Creative Commons license.
Top 3D Printing Headlines from Last Week: Clean Energy, Toys, Father’s Day
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from June 4 to June 10.
Monday, June 4
- The MakerBot Met Hackathon Spreads with Art Derivations
- Shapeways Friday Finds: da Vinci, Cube Pendant, Snap Bangle
Tuesday, June 5
- MakerBot and 3D Systems Execs Square Off in CES Interview [Video]
- The Silver-Ink Challenge: Can 3D Printing Bring Us Renewable Energy?
Wednesday, June 6
- Does HP Need to Make An Acquisition to Compete On 3D Printing?
- Crafting the Future: Dutch Arts Combine 3D Printing and Textiles [Video]
Thursday, June 7
- Why 3D Printing Will Be More Fun Than LEGO: Minecraft Video
- How 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Rapid Prototyping
Friday, June 8
- MakieLab Raises $1.4 Million for Personalized 3D Printed Dolls
- Why to Get Your Dad a 3D Printer for Father’s Day: The New Tool Belt
Saturday, June 9
- 3D Printing Inventor Chuck Hall Gets His Cube from 3D Systems
- Top 10 Countdown: Most Popular 3D Printing Stories in May 2012
3D Printing Inventor Chuck Hall Gets His Cube from 3D Systems
Chuck Hull is known as the inventor of 3D printing. 30 years ago, Hull was working in Southern California at a mid-size manufacturer called Ultra Violet Products. Hull helped develop the company’s ultraviolet-light curable resins, which were used to add protective coatings to furniture and other surfaces. Hull began experimenting after hours with laying down numerous coats of the resin to make plastic models and thus 3D printing was born.
In 1983, Hull formalized this technology, called stereolithography, and later founded 3D Systems in 1986.
In the photo above, Chuck Hull is showing off his own Cube, the latest consumer 3D printer from 3D Systems. Cubify’s blog commented on this event:
None of us would be doing what we do today at Cubify without Chuck and we’re so happy he continues to bring us newer, better, and sometimes unimaginably small printers like the Cube. Naturally, Chuck had to be the first to officially receive a Cube!
How 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Rapid Prototyping
3D printer manufacture Stratasys sums up the impact of 3D printing on rapid prototyping in a brief blog post. 3D printing gives us “free range to design … [without being] limited by manufacturing capabilities.” Very powerful.
It may come as a surprise, but many Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) users already take advantage of its ability to build usable products. No other technology can withstand the wide range of applications and post-processing techniques that FDM parts can take. This is just one example of how 3D printing is making design limitations a thing of the past. In this age, we are becoming more adapted to and knowledgeable of the CAD packages that give us free range to design whatever our creative minds can think of. In the past, our designs may have been limited by manufacturing capabilities, but not today. Whatever you can scan and alter, or design in CAD, you can have in your hand within hours or even minutes. Speed to production has never been faster than with FDM systems.
Via Stratasys blog.
Photo by saschapohflepp used under Creative Commons license.
Does HP Need to Make An Acquisition to Compete On 3D Printing?
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) has a $43 billion market cap and is the largest printer manufacturer in the world. But HP has not really embraced 3D printing yet and may need to make an acquisition to truly enter the market.
Seeking Alpha describes the current situation for HP:
In April 2010, HPQ signed a collaboration agreement with one of the 3D printer companies, Stratasys to create a 3D printer called DesignJet 3D. The retail price was over $17,000 when they first came out, and it doesn’t appear that HPQ is making a giant impact with this printer.
HPQ needs to come and buy either SSYS or 3D Systems. HPQ needs to play defense, by going on the offensive. It might not seem like it, but this is the same scenario as Eastman Kodak being the 800-pound gorilla in cameras and then falling behind when the time came for digital cameras. HPQ doesn’t want to miss out on this revolution. 3D printing is within 3-5 years of becoming affordable for the general public. 3D Systems has launched a personal 3D printer for as cheap as $1300. Moore’s Law is working in the 3D printing market as prices have drop 90% in the last 5 years and will continue to drop in the future.
Look at the relative stock price of HPQ vs the current 3D printing leaders (3D Systems, Stratasys, and Proto Labs). HP is down 39% while the 3D printing portfolio is up 112% over the last 12 months.
The market is still early. Will HP make a move this year or wait for the market to mature?
Via Seeking Alpha.
Gorilla photo by poplinre used under Creative Commons license.
