Bukito 3D Printer is Portable, Affordable and Fast

Last year, Diego Porqueras from Deezmaker launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Bukobot 3D printer and raised $167,410 from 290 backers, or an average of $577 per backer. With that successful track record, Diego’s team has launched a new campaign for the portable and affordable Bukito 3D printer.

Hat tip to Hack Things who also covered this story.

Windows 8.1 Adds 3D Printing to the OS

In a watershed moment for 3D printing adoption, Microsoft announced native OS support for 3D printing.

Microsoft executive Antoine Leblond demonstrated the new capabilities on stage at Microsoft’s Build conference. Developers will be able to build apps that can export objects to a 3D printer with a single click. Leblond commented that 3D printing will be “just as easy and seamless as printing in 2D.”

Leblond called out two 3D printers that will have native support in Windows 8.1: the MakerBot Replicator 2 and the 3D Systems Cube.

How to learn more about Windows 8.1 and 3D Printing

Microsoft has updated the Windows product development guide to include some documentation about 3D printing.

Windows 8.1 Preview adds support for 3D printing, allowing printers to seamlessly install with plug and play support, to queue jobs for printing, and to be managed by Windows. It also enables Windows Store apps to submit 3D print jobs to these devices.

Digging deeper into the documentation, there is an outline of how to get started. To add 3D printing to your app, you must:

• Be familiar with C++, 3D manufacturing API, and Windows printing.
• Have Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2013 Preview for Windows installed.
• Have an app to which you want to add printing. If you don’t have your own app, you can download the 3D Print Sample app and use that app.
• Have a 3D-capable printer installed. If you do not have a 3D printer, you can get a sample 3D print driver package from Microsoft’s 3D Printing SDK.

There’s a new Kickstarter champion in town: The RoBo 3D Printer. After setting up a Kickstarter campaign to raise $49,000, it looks likes the RoBo team will raise over $500K to build a a low-cost, open source, easy to use 3D printer.

What is RoBo 3D? 

RoBo 3D is the ultimate 3D printer everyone has been waiting for. We combined the best minds from the open source community, the best hardware we believe can give the best prints, and our own ideas based on our experience working with 3D printers. The open-source design is made so people like us can go online and find all the documents that show the ins and outs of how to make a RoBo 3D. In true rep-rap fashion, RoBo 3D has been made so that it can print out its own parts. Once in your hands, print out another for a friend! Come experience it and together, lets create something great.

Who is RoBo 3D for?

Architects- print out model homes and buildings for clients. Change and print out again without hassle.

Designers- Have an idea that you want to bring to life? Print out your designs and see if they were everything you imagined. If not, change it and print out the next idea.

Hobbyists/DIY- Easily create your projects in the comfort of your own home.

Small Business owners- Manufacture your own products at the office!

Students- Senior engineering project coming up? Use RoBo 3D to proint the parts you need to get the job done done.

Home owners- Replace broken household items for next to nothing!

In their campaign, RoBo 3D provides a comparison matrix to the MakerBot. What jumps out the most is the price: $520 vs $2,199 for the MakerBot Replicator 2.

Below is their Kickstarter video. Congrats to the team for raising $500K!

MakerBot announced its new MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer, its 4th generation MakerBot and the best ever desktop 3D printer, according to CEO Bre Pettis.

Targeted at engineers and professionals, but priced closer to the consumer models, the Replicator 2 is a force. It is a major step forward from previous home 3D printers and features:

• 100 micron layer resolution – no more ridges
• PLA – renewable bioplastic 3D printing material takes less power to print
• It comes assembled, not a kit

The new printer is priced at $2,199, a slight increase from the original MakerBot, which costs $1,749.

In addition, MakerBot launched new software called MakerWare.

Introducing MakerWare™, the ideal software to drive your MakerBot—and not just because it’s pretty and simple to use. This Beta release of MakerWare™ includes an all new slicing engine that prepares models up to 20 times faster than before and improves print times by up to 30 percent. But wait, there’s more!

• Some clever code optimizations make for stronger, more consistant prints.
• MakerWare™ lets you open multiple models at once and arrange them on the build platform.
• You can easily scale, move, or rotate individual models or groups of models at once.
• Now you can work with both .stl and .obj files.

Here’s a video showing MakerBot’s new announcements.