Tag Archives: Maker Faire
Browser-Based Modeler 3DTin Acquired by Lagoa in 3D Printing Consolidation
“We are excited to be giving our support to the growing community of makers, young creators and 3D printing prosumers” – Thiago Costa, CEO and co-founder of Lagoa
Lagoa, the 3D cloud platform company, has acquired 3DTin, a browser-based 3D modeling tool. Over the past 3 years, 3DTin has grown a user base of more than 100,000 designers who signed up to use the Cloud-powered, simple 3D modeler. Lagoa raised money and launched earlier this year with a photo-realistic cloud rendering product.
With Lagoa’s products, you can work on rendering projects from your low end laptop, where it used to take a rack of powerful desktop machines before. Lagoa leverages the cloud to do the compute intensive rendering jobs. You can import your 3D models (in many different formats) to Lagoa’s Scene editor, apply different materials to the model, adjust the light configuration in the scene and create gorgeous picture perfect renders like this one.
The acquisition demonstrates Lagoa’s commitment to its vision of bringing the accessibility and power of browser-based 3D applications to everyone. In addition to supporting 3DTin’s community of young creators and makers, the acquisition will allow Lagoa to improve its scene editing capabilities in its online 3D rendering platform. Lagoa intends to maintain 3DTin as an independent solution. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“The browser-based nature of 3DTin makes it the perfect addition to Lagoa,” said Thiago Costa, CEO and co-founder of Lagoa. “We are excited to be giving our support to the growing community of makers, young creators and 3D printing prosumers that make up 3DTin’s user base. We also look forward to the new scene editing capabilities we will be able to bring to Lagoa as a result of the acquisition.”
3DTin Founder and Developer Jayesh Salvi said, “We are thrilled to be joining Lagoa, who share our passion for the accessibility and freedom of browser-based 3D tools. With Lagoa’s exceptional rendering product, 3DTin users will be able to do more with their 3D models. They will continue to enjoy all the great features they have grown to like in 3DTin and can expect more enhancements to their workflow, thanks to Lagoa.”
Both the Lagoa rendering application and the 3DTin modeling tool will be on demonstration at World Maker Faire in New York City, September 21-22, at Lagoa booth number MP39, Pavillion C.
History of 3DTin and Lagoa
3DTin was the first company to enable browser-based modeling, in 2010. Free and easy-to-use, 3DTin is a 3D modeling environment that is perfect for beginners and young makers, but with a growing list of advanced features it is attracting professional 3D artists as well. For more information, visit http://www.3dtin.com/.
Lagoa is a 3D Cloud Platform utilizes the power of cloud processing for photoreal 3D visualization and collaboration, and allows developers to create their own applications via their API library. Fast and powerful, Lagoa enables 3D artists, designers, engineers, architects and advertisers to collaborate while rendering and finalizing spectacular 3D content. The company was founded in 2012 in Montreal, and has offices in Bonn and Boston. For more information, visit http://home.lagoa.com/.
3D Printed Robot Moves Like an Inch Worm on Power Lines
3D Printed Robot Design Reduces Costs
Nick Morozovsky is a mechanical engineering graduate student at University of California San Diego, where he has designed a robot he calls SkySweeper that can traverse power lines to search for damages in the wire. The robot is a novel design because it only has a motor at the joint, and inexpensive because it uses off-the-shelf electronics in combination with 3D printed plastic parts. This makes Morozovsky’s robot an immediate competitor in the space.
“Current line inspection robots are large, complex, and expensive. Utility companies may also use manned or unmanned helicopters equipped with infrared imaging to inspect lines,” said Morozovsky in an interview with his school. “This is much simpler.”
Morozovsky plans to introduce the robot at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Tokyo in November, as part of a paper titled “A Low Degrees of Freedom, Dynamic High Wire Robot.”
The SkySweeper is competing in the Road to Maker Faire Challenge to win $2,500 to pay for expenses for the World Maker Faire in New York in September. If you like this robot, go vote for Skysweeper until August 13 at http://review.wizehive.com/
Top 3D Printing News Last Week: Maker Faire, Contest, Art, Kickstarter
3D Printing News
A roundup of the top 3D printing news from May 28 to June 1:
Tuesday, May 28
Wednesday, May 29
Friday, May 31
- ModelBox 3D: Artists Launch Kickstarter to Bring 2D Images to Life
- 3D Printing is Now – Perspective of a Dad Entrepreneur
Saturday, June 1
Maker Faire Bay Area Exhibits Grassroots 3D Printing Innovations
Maker Faire Shows Off 3D Printing
Each year Maker Faire comes to the Bay Area and it seems the 3D printing exhibit continues to grow in scale. With 120,000 attendees and thousands of makers, it’s a great event.
Our friends at Hack Things went to Maker Faire and wrote this recap.
The section on 3D printing — a tiny part of the entire event — was bigger than what we saw in New York. And even more 3D printers were scattered throughout the exhibition hall. There were some delightful variations.
- A team from Berkeley demonstrated 3D printing with sawdust or cement.
- The SandBox fuses thin layers of sand to create objects. The unfused sand acts as support so any geometry can be created and there’s no need for extra support structures. This mimics a property of the much more expensive SLS (selective laser sintering) technology.
- Fred White showed off his soon-to-be-on-Kickstarter Apex 3D printer head. It can print six separate filaments or fluids simultaneously. As he pointed out, you could print a teacup and fill it with tea in one pass.
- Oleksiy Pikalo has a 3D printer that can draw patterns in carmel in the foam of your latte. He’s working on a version that will work for beer.
- And the Serpentine 3D printer, designed by architecture students, uses clay to rapidly create structures.
Read the full write-up at Hack Things.
Visit the Maker Faire website.
Read more articles about Maker Faire.
“Invent To Learn” Shows Impact of 3D Printing and Makers on Education
Invent To Learn: 3D Printing and the Maker Movement Take Center Stage in a New Book on Education
In a new book, Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, internationally respected educators Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager capture the excitement of the maker movement and share the educational case for bringing making, tinkering and engineering to every classroom.
When 110,000 adults and children attend Maker Faire to learn together, exchange expertise, and showcase their creativity, it is clear that there is a learning revolution underway. Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom is the first book to introduce this phenomenon to educators and situate the lessons of the maker community in an educational context.
As schools embrace exiting new tools such as 3D printing, Arduino, wearable computers, robotics, and computer programming, Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom helps them get the greatest learning return on investment. The book explores these new technologies, places them in a historical context, and advises educators on how to create rich learning adventures in their classroom.
Nicholas Negroponte, Founder of the MIT Media Lab says, “Learning is often confused with education. Martinez and Stager clearly describe “learning learning” through engagement, design and building. The best way to understand circles is to reinvent the wheel.”
Beyond an explanation of “game-changing” ways to construct knowledge with technology, Invent To Learn features advice on effective teaching strategies for project-based learning and meaningful STEM experiences for learners of all ages. The book concludes with strategies for “making the case” and inspiration for school transformation.
While Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom combines theory, history, practical classroom tips, and countless resources, at its heart is a plea to place the child at the center of learning experience. Schools may purchase the technology of the maker movement, but the greatest potential will be realized when creativity, construction, and children are the focus.
Holly Jobe, President, International Society for Technology in Education says,”Rarely does an education book come along that provides a cogent philosophical basis and an understanding of learning, thinking and teaching, as well as providing practical guidance for setting up effective digital-age learning and “making” environments.”
Get the book at Amazon.com or learn more at the Invent to Learn website.
