Tag Archives: materials
University Professor Mark Ganter on Home Brew Printing Medium (Video)
Mark Ganter is a professor of mechanical engineering at UW. He loves 3D printing. He has machine #25 from ZCorp and has been doing this longer than these students have been alive. He is the co-director of the open3dp (Open 3D Printing) organization. And he thinks that 3D printing will cross academic boundaries, as we recently reported.
In the video below, Professor Ganter talks about a home brew printing medium for 3D printing.
Video: Maker Faire Bay Area Interviews About 3D Printing
Steve Tung brought his camera to the Maker Faire Bay Area this year and has produced a video focused on 3D printing.
Interviews include:
- Lis Sampson, founder of 3D-Bots
- Carine Carmy, Director of Marketing at Shapeways
- Ronald Rael, Professor of Architecture at UC Berkeley
A variety of materials were discussed, from plastic to ceramics to cement to wood to salt.
And Steve shows RepRap printers that can even print their own parts.
Watch the full video below.
Video: 3D Printing in Glazed Ceramics, Best Practices and Cost
Earlier we posted about a 3D printed coffee cup that went viral. This innovative design was 3D printed in glazed ceramics.
Want to learn more about 3D printing in ceramics? Watch the video below from Shapeways’ tutorial.
Glazed Ceramics are food safe, recyclable and heat resistant. The glaze is heatable up to 600 degrees celsius, at which point the glaze will start to damage. The pricing for Glazed Ceramics is calculated by surface area, not volume of material used. Minimum wall thickness is 3mm, interlocking parts (ie chains) are not possible currently.
We offer glazed ceramics in a few different glazes.
- Gloss White Glaze is $0.18/cm2
- Gloss Black Glaze, Satin Black is $0.19/cm2
- Eggshell Blue, Avocado Green, and Pastel Yellow is $0.20/cm2
3D Printer Maker Objet Breaks Records by Developing 100+ Materials
3D printer manufacturer Objet has established a new record in the world of 3D printing: the ability to print with over 100 materials. This feat was accomplished by developing 39 “digital material” composites that are derivatives of other materials that can be fed to the printer.
By comparison, most consumer 3D printers can only support one, two or three unique materials in a single model and most marketplaces only support a dozen or so total materials to choose from.
From the Objet press release:
Objet expands material range to 107 including 39 new ‘Digital Material’ composites for the Objet Connex Multi-Material 3D Printing Systems
Objet Connex Multi-material 3D Printers can include up to 14 different material properties in the same model – unique to the industry.Objet Ltd., the innovation leader in 3D printing for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing has announced 39 new ‘Digital Materials’ available with its Objet Connex range of multi-material 3D printing systems. This development places Objet customers at the forefront of additive manufacturing in terms of range of possible printing materials to choose from. Customers can now select from 107 materials ranging from rigid to rubber-like substances in terms of texture, standard to ABS-grade engineering plastic in terms of toughness, as well as from transparent to opaque, in terms of clarity and shades.
90 of the 107 materials made available by Objet are ‘Digital Materials‘, derived by the composite mixing of primary Objet materials. This enables designers, engineers and manufacturers to simulate very precise material properties to closely resemble their intended end-product with the greatest level of realism. The use of the Objet Connex multi-material 3D printer allows users to also combine up to 14 of these materials; such as rigid and flexible, or opaque and transparent materials, at the same time in a single consistent model.
According to David Reis, CEO for Objet, “With 39 new Digital Materials, Objet have become the first 3D printing company to break the 100 materials barrier. Considering that we had half this number just a few short years ago, this growth in material choice confirms our commitment to consistently deliver new and enhanced material properties to our customers,” explains Reis. These new materials will be used by design and manufacturing companies in virtually every industry segment and in every stage of their product prototyping process from form modeling to fit testing and functional verification.
The company has also today launched two new material enhancements. It now offers a new and improved Objet Rigid Black material (Objet VeroBlackPlus) providing increased dimensional stability and surface smoothness for all-purpose rapid prototyping applications.* Objet’s 2011-released High Temperature material, offering the high thermal functionality of engineering plastics will be available on all Objet Connex and Objet EdenV 3D Printers and the new Objet30 Pro Desktop 3D Printer.
Objet released a whitepaper listing the 10 reasons to shift to multi-material printing. In that whitepaper is the chart below that shows Objet’s continuous innovation in 3D printable materials.
Below is a video of a 3D printed car being manufactured with 14 different materials in the same model.
Via MarketWatch and Objet.
3D Printing Marketplace Shapeways Raises $6.2 Million Series B Funding
With over 1 million 3D printed products, 150,000 community members, and 6,000 shops, 3D printing marketplace Shapeways has just announced a new round of funding to help fuel growth in creative commerce. Lux Capital led a $6.2 million financing, joining existing investors Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures.
Below is a letter from CEO Peter Weijmarshausen we received about the funding:
On a daily basis, we make thousands of unique products and deliver them to people all over the world. We create an online experience that ignites creativity and increases access to the best of 3D printing, at the lowest cost. We work hard to open manufacturing such that everyone — regardless of technical background or expertise — can create the products that populate their lives.
As you can imagine, this is no easy task. To help us realize our vision and support our community, we’re growing an awesome team, building out the “factory of the future” in NYC, and expanding US distribution.
We’re excited to announce that we have a new partner on board to help us fuel our growth and the rise of creative commerce: Lux Capital. Lux led a $6.2M financing, joining existing investors Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures.
We plan to use these additional funds to help the Shapeways team grow and bring creative commerce and 3D printing to everyone. With over 6,000 independent designers selling their products through our marketplace, Shapeways shop owners are tapping into a new economic model in which their products are created on demand for their customers, at no additional cost. With over 30 material options including the recent launch of colored ceramics and Elasto Plastic, our community members have access to materials that rival the quality and cost of what you can buy in a store. And with over 150,000 community members from all backgrounds using Shapeways regularly, we’re in a really exciting time for 3D printing — you no longer need to know 3D modelling software to make ideas real.
Lux’s local NYC presence and network, as well as its expertise in commercializing emerging technologies, will help us as we expand and in particular, build out our NYC “factory of the future.” Josh Wolfe, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Lux shared, “We seek investment opportunities to help turn technical breakthroughs into world-changing businesses, and see Shapeways at the forefront of bringing the magic of 3D printing to everyday consumers.”
We’re moving really quickly to help bring Shapeways and 3D printing to everyone – to make it easier to make anything you want, to make it more affordable, and to make it faster, and faster.
We’re so lucky to have you on board for the ride.
Happy making,
Pete, Shapeways CEO and Co-Founder
Congratulations to the Shapeways team!
