Amazon Gets Into 3D Printing

E-commerce behemoth Amazon.com has thrown its weight in support at 3D printing.

Over the last week they have begun to roll out a 3D printing category, listing 3D printers, parts, supplies and software.

3D printers include:

• MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer
• FlashForge 3D printer, dual extruder w/2 ABS spools
• Afinia 3D Printer H-Series
• Cubify Cube 3d Printer Silver (2nd Generation) Latest One
• Mbot Cube 3d Printer Dual Head
• Airwolf 3D Printer AW3D V.5 + 1 LB Filament Assembled Prusa Reprap Repstrap
• FelixRobotics BV, 100 040.0, Felix 2.0 Complete DIY 3D printer kit
• and more

It’s exciting to see Amazon getting behind 3D printing!

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!

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens this week in Las Vegas. This year will include over 20,000 products from more than 3,000 exhibitors.

CBS News highlighted 3D printing as one of the key trends at CES this year, along with Ultra HD and mobile computing.

MarketBot, 3D Systems Corp and Sculpteo are among a handful of companies that make 3D printers that will be showing off new products at CES 2013, Scientific American reports. As home 3D printers become more affordable, the community of enthusiasts also continues to grow. Cracking the mass consumer market may be the next step for manufacturers of 3D printers.

“The consumer space is a key market for 3D and small steps have been made in this space via hobbyists and model makers in arts and craft projects and self-employed designers,” Accenture senior executive Kumu Puri writes in a blog post for Forbes.

Here is our list of the top exhibitors showing their latest developments in 3D printing.

3D Systems

Since 1986 3D Systems has transformed entire industries with powerful 3D content-to-print tools. The company intends to democratize access to affordable 3D content-to-print solutions for professionals and consumers. Launched last year at CES, Cubify is 3D System’s consumer zone (www.cubify.com).

Booths: LVCC, Central Hall - 15447, Venetian Ballroom - 71003

See our coverage on 3D Systems.

Afinia

Afinia will be showing it’s award winning 3D printer, and full line of ABS filament. Our H series 3D printer was voted “Best Overall Experience” in the recent make magazine 3D printer shootout. Live 3D printing demonstrations will be held continuously during the day.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 36388

See our coverage on Afinia.

Delta Micro Factory Corp.

Maker of popular personal 3D printer, Up! Series.

Booth: Venetian Ballroom - 70524

See our coverage on UP! 3D printers.

Formlabs

The Form 1 is the first truly high-resolution, low-cost desktop 3D printer, achieving professional quality at a price individual designers and engineers can afford. Our technology fills the gap between low-quality hobbyist machines and high-end printers that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 35160

See our coverage on Formlabs.

Kraftwurx

Kraftwurx is the worlds original platform for 3D printing in the cloud. Showcase, buy, sell and create virtually anything you can imagine in 70 materials and worldwide shipping. Based in Houston, TX, our mission is to empower everyone for custom-made goods and empower manufacturing to deliver it.

Booth: Venetian, Lvl 3 - 74411

See our coverage on Kraftwurx.

Makerbot Industries

MakerBot® is a global leader in desktop 3D printing with engineers, entrepreneurs, and people who just like to make things. Honored as Popular Mechanics “Overall Winner” for best 3D printer, Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2012, and Fast Company 2012 Innovation by Design Awardee.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 3 - 32025

See our coverage on MakerBot.

Sculpteo

Sculpteo offers a fully online 3D printing service – from the upload of your 3D model to the final object – designed to make this new technology easy and accessible to all. In addition to affiliates, Sculpteo, has its own 3D printing facilities in France for R&D purpose.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 2 - 26111

See our coverage on Sculpteo.

Stratasys, Ltd.

Stratasys is a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems for prototyping and manufacturing applications, recently merging with Objet to create leader in 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing.

Booth: LVCC, South Hall 4 - 35463

See our coverage on Stratasys and Objet.

You can setup your own CES itinerary at the MyCES website.

See you at CES!

A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from July 23 to July 29.

Monday, July 23

• 3D Printing Industry Will Reach $3 Billion by 2018 – Report

Friday, July 27

• Afinia Targets Consumer Market with New 3D Printer Priced at $1499
• Organovo 3D Printing: Bold Mission But Needs Cash, May Offer Secondary

Watch out MakerBot and Cube! Adding to the competitive market for consumer 3D printers, Afinia enters with the H-Series priced at $1499 and weighing under 11 lbs.

From their press release:

Afinia, a division of Microboards Technology LLC, a leader in specialized printing solutions for 3D printing and rapid prototyping has officially launched its H-Series 3D Printer. The Afinia H-Series 3D Printer provides a true “Out of the Box 3D Printing Experience” as the 3D Printer comes fully assembled, with easy to install software for both the PC and Mac. The printer is both portable and affordable at a low cost of $1499. The Afinia H-Series can prototype a part or model that is up to 5 inches cubed in dimension.

The custom designed 3D Printing Software features an easy-to-use interface for laying out, orienting, duplicating, and scaling your designs. Simply use the included utility to calibrate the printhead height, and within minutes you are printing. The software imports .stl files, and allows the output to be customized in terms of the amount of support material and “raft” (base support) printed. Breakaway support material created in the printing process is simple to remove, and tools for aiding the breakaway are included. Design files can be created using a variety of online softwares, professional software packages such as SolidWorks ™, or by downloading from the extensive online community for free.

The Afinia H-Series 3D printer uses inexpensive, high-quality plastic filament offered in a wide array of colors including: natural (white), black, red, yellow, glow blue and glow green. The portable H-Series 3D Printer weighs less than 11lbs making it easy to transport. Additionally, the H-Series can print in a standalone mode. Simply choose your .stl file, printing parameters, and hit print. You will then be free to disconnect your computer from the printer at any time.