Tag Archives: rapid prototyping
Must-See Infographic: How Long Until the 3D Printing Revolution?
In this must-see extensive infographic, the emerging 3D printing revolution is profiled and detailed. Who are the players? Where is the industry going? Will there be a legitimate marketplace or will pirated 3D printed goods emerge? It’s all here.
Objet Showcases Exquisite 3D Printing Applications at the 3D Print Show
Objet Showcases Exquisite Examples of Professional 3D Printing Applications at the 3D Print Show
Two pieces from Neri Oxman’s ‘Imaginary Beings: Mythologies of the Not Yet‘ series, recently exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, take centre stage on the Objet stand (P19 Level 2, Porter Tun Room). Printed using Objet’s unique Connex multi-material 3D printing technology, Oxman explains why the process was significant in the development of the pieces, “Objet 3D printing technology was extremely important in dreaming up this project. It wasn’t about generating forms and then using 3D printing to print them. It was really about using multi-material technology as an opportunity to think about how to make these ‘contraptions’ or ‘wearable myths’ mythical, and how to actually make them work better as products or objects for the human body.”
Legacy Effects’ Jason Lopes, another Objet technology user, explains how 3D printing is used within the business in two seminars on Saturday 20th October 15:00-16:00 and Sunday 21st October 11:00-12:00. An award winning full service character design, make-up and animatronic studio, Legacy Effects’ work can be seen feature films such as Avatar, Iron Man II, Shutter Island, Alice in Wonderland, and Thor and has been nominated for an Academy Award® for Iron Man. With Objet Eden and Objet Connex multi-material 3D printers, Lopes’ team is able to react to short deadlines, cater for multiple projects and make changes and different versions easily with quick conversion from scan files: “The best thing about 3D printing for me and my team is that our customers and actors can interact and try out the fit of our concept designs. When we produce character suits, creature mock ups and make-up effects, the materials are so durable and workable they can really see how it’s going to work out for them on set.”
Designer Daniel Hilldrup will also feature Objet 3D printed work at the show. ‘Flux‘, appearing in the 3D Printshow’s art gallery, was produced on an Objet Connex multi-material 3D Printer.
Described by Hilldrup as “a statement on the transference of energy and its transition and total transformation from one physical state and form into another”, Flux depicts black candle wax melting into the liquid base of a candelabra, captured, like a fossil, at a specific moment in time.
“We’re delighted to count Objet among the exhibitors at the 3D Printshow,” says Kerry Hogarth, founder of the 3D Printshow. “As a leading player in the 3D printing community, providing professional equipment for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, Objet makes an excellent addition to the show.”
Below is a video of the Objet Connex in action.
Via Sacramento Bee.
Video: NASA Engineers Use 3D Printing to Design Mars Rover
NASA engineers use 3D printing to build a next-generation rover to support humans exploring other worlds, such as asteroids and, eventually, Mars.
Stratasys 3D printers were used for rapid prototyping to help keep costs down and get the parts designed perfectly. Watch the video below.
Printed Optics: Disney Research 3D Printing to Create Future of Toys
Collaborators from Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University are using 3D printing to create the future of interactive toys they call “Printed Optics.” Excerpts from a research paper are included below.
We present an approach to 3D printing custom optical elements for interactive devices labelled Printed Optics. Printed Optics enable sensing, display, and illumination elements to be directly embedded in the casing or mechanical structure of an interactive device. Using these elements, unique display surfaces, novel illumination techniques, custom optical sensors, and embedded optoelectronic components can be digitally fabricated for rapid, high fidelity, highly customized interactive devices. Printed Optics is part of our long term vision for interactive devices that are 3D printed in their entirety. In this paper we explore the possibilities for this vision afforded by fabrication of custom optical elements using today’s 3D printing technology.Printed Optics is a new approach to creating custom optical elements for interactive devices using 3D printing. Printed Optics enable sensing, display, and illumination elements to be directly embedded in the body of an interactive device. Using these elements, unique display surfaces, novel illumination techniques, custom optical sensors, and robust embedded components can be digitally fabricated for rapid, high fidelity, customized interactive devices.
3D printing allows digital geometry to be rapidly fabricated into physical form with micron accuracy. Usable optical elements can be designed and simulated in software, then 3D printed from transparent material with surprising ease and affordability.
But Disney’s vision is much grander. Watch the video below.
More at Disney Research.
Via WebProNews.
3D Printing Mobile Labs: A New Combat Strategy for the U.S. Military
The U.S. military is embracing 3D printing in a novel way: they have developed mobile labs that can prototype and manufacture replacement parts or innovative equipment in combat.
The service’s Rapid Equipping Force, known as the REF, took a standard 20-foot shipping container and packed it with high-tech, prototyping machines, lab gear and manufacturing tools to create the Expeditionary Lab — Mobile.
Soldiers no longer have to wait to bring ideas back to scientists and engineers back in the states. The REF has brought the experts to the soldiers in combat.
The first mobile 3D printing labs were deployed to Afghanistan this summer. Each lab costs $2.8 million.
Col. Pete Newell, commander of the Army’s REF, explained the motivation. “The soldiers out there, they know how to do stuff; they know how to fix stuff and they know what they need to be able to do, but what they don’t have is the technical expertise in many cases to do it themselves.”
The extreme heat in Afghanistan quickly eroded the eight-hour battery life of these devices down to 45 minutes, a problem that loaded down dismounted soldiers with the weight of extra batteries for multi-day missions.
Engineers created a special adaptor and power cable for a standard military-issue BA5590 battery, which now powers the Minehound for up to nine hours. The fix also allowed soldiers to take the battery off the device and wear it on their body for better weight distribution and reduced arm fatigue, Newell said.
Expect to see a growth in 3D printing mobile labs – not just for combat scenarios but also for handling natural disasters and other peace-time missions.
Watch the video below for more details.
Via Military.com.
