Tag Archives: Shapeways
Supermodel Coco Rocha Loves 3D Printing and Shapeways
Supermodel Coco Rocha and 3D Printing
Shapeways had a special visitor to their 3D printing factory in New York City: Supermodel Coco Rocha. Coco is interested in how 3D printing will change the world of fashion.
After learning how to program Shapeways’ 3D printers, Coco was entertained by stories of 3D printed fashion such as the gown for Dita Von Teese, the collection with Kimberly Ovitz and thousands of designs from the Shapeways community inspiring designers around the world.
More at Shapeways blog.
Inside 3D Printing Conference Is Next Week – Discount Available
Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo kicks off next week, April 22-23, in New York City. This is the first conference of its kind in the region and several of the industry’s heavy hitters will be present.
Attendees will hear presentations on 3D printing’s impact on daily life, education, food, engineering, design, architecture, manufacturing, firearms, fashion, and business, while networking with professionals from 3D Systems, Shapeways, MakerBot, Solidoodle, and more. View the full agenda here.
Speakers include Hod Lipson of Cornell University who co-authored Fabricated: The World of 3D Printing, Hugh Evans III of T. Rowe Price Associates, Brett Lyons of Boeing, Gonzalo Martinez of Autodesk, Jennifer Ritter of Estee Lauder, and Ofer Shochet of Stratasys. View the full speaker list here.
The conference’s two full days of tutorials and seminars will provide attendees with a blueprint for how to invest and utilize 3D printing in coming years, while the exhibit hall will showcase the latest 3D printers and services.
Use On 3D Printing’s exclusive discount code: PRINT for 15% off a full-conference pass. Avoid on-site prices and register by April 21.
3D Printed Pets: Researchers Scan and 3D Print Animal Skeletons
3D Printed Pets
3D printing is now being used for nearly everything, but what about 3D printed pets?
Researchers at Notre Dame have combined their study of Biological Sciences with 3D printing. The team created a method for CT scanning anesthetized animals, such as rats and rabbits, converting the scans into contiguous 3D models, and then 3D printing the animal skeletons on a range of 3D printers.
Here is the abstract for their publication on this research.
Three-dimensional printing allows for the production of highly detailed objects through a process known as additive manufacturing. Traditional, mold-injection methods to create models or parts have several limitations, the most important of which is a difficulty in making highly complex products in a timely, cost-effective manner. However, gradual improvements in three-dimensional printing technology have resulted in both high-end and economy instruments that are now available for the facile production of customized models. These printers have the ability to extrude high-resolution objects with enough detail to accurately represent in vivo images generated from a preclinical X-ray CT scanner. With proper data collection, surface rendering, and stereolithographic editing, it is now possible and inexpensive to rapidly produce detailed skeletal and soft tissue structures from X-ray CT data. Even in the early stages of development, the anatomical models produced by three-dimensional printing appeal to both educators and researchers who can utilize the technology to improve visualization proficiency. The real benefits of this method result from the tangible experience a researcher can have with data that cannot be adequately conveyed through a computer screen. The translation of pre-clinical 3D data to a physical object that is an exact copy of the test subject is a powerful tool for visualization and communication, especially for relating imaging research to students, or those in other fields. Here, we provide a detailed method for printing plastic models of bone and organ structures derived from X-ray CT scans utilizing an Albira X-ray CT system in conjunction with PMOD, ImageJ, Meshlab, Netfabb, and ReplicatorG software packages.
3D Printer Comparison
The research team used three different methods for 3D printing the skeletons: consumer 3D printer MakerBot, 3D printing service Shapeways, and industrial 3D printer ProJet HD 3000.
Below is a detailed comparison:
| Method of Printing | Advantages | Disadvantages | Cost per Model |
| MakerBot | Extremely fast, variety of color options, able to print in two colors, extremely inexpensive | Lowest level of detail. Removal of support materials is slow (on the order of a couple hours). | $3.50 |
| Shapeways | Varity of color options, variety of materials for printing, high level of detail, relatively inexpensive | Two-week time to process and receive an order | $41.61 |
| ProJet HD 3000 | Relatively quick turnaround, highest level of detail, high throughput, easy to remove support materials (wax). | Most expensive up front cost ($80,000 equipment), only one color option during practical use. | $30.00 |
A video is available that walks through their method of scanning and a comparison of the results. You can watch the video at the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). Chapters include:
| 0:05 | Title |
| 1:41 | Image Acquisition and Data Processing |
| 4:21 | Makerbot Printing |
| 6:33 | Shapeways Printing |
| 7:32 | ProJet HD 3000 Printing |
| 8:45 | Results: 3D Printed Models |
| 10:39 | Conclusion |
iPhone 3D Printing: Design and 3D Print Easter Eggs on Your iPhone
iPhone 3D Printing: How about a 3D printed Easter?
With Easter coming this weekend, there is an iPhone app that lets you design and 3D print custom Easter eggs. The app is called Magic 3D Easter Egg Painter by Vishal Srivastava and uses the Shapeways 3D Printing API to 3D print in full color sandstone.
Your iPhone becomes a Movable Window that allows you to see and paint all sides of your Egg from every possible point of view.
When you’ve finished creating your Egg, you have the option of ordering a 3D printed figurine of your creation from inside the app. They make great keepsakes or can be hidden in Easter Egg hunts!
Happy Easter!
3D Printed Toys: A Profile on Toy Designer Wayne Losey and Modibot
Wayne Losey designs 3D printed toys. He’s a veteran toy creator, having worked for Hasbro and Kenner for 13 years designing some of the most popular toys in the market that generated over $1 billion in cumulative revenue, including GI Joe, Batman Forever, Superman: Man of Steel, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Vor-tech, and Micromachines. Today, Losey has his own product called Modibot, a 3D printable system of interlocking parts that lets you build your own fantastical creatures and characters.
Building a 3D Printed Business
As Losey was designing his new toy system, he embraced 3D printing as a way to get to market without the traditional inventory cost. Losey currently has 168 products for sale on 3D printing marketplace Shapeways. You can create spartans, patriots, dinosaurs, and more — toys that young boys love to put together and create. Like many competitors in the marketplace, Modibot comes in kits that kids put together themselves.
Losey was recently interviewed by Shapeways about his inspiration.
I like to create tools and toys that help people express their own ideas and creative spirit. The goal is to create things that people connect with in a very personal, hands-on way. ModiBot as a product is really what you make of it, I’m not trying to be the next big, prescriptive, entertainment property, I’m helping people to tell their own story. Mo is something noteworthy that people have sitting around on their desks. Other people take notice, pick it up and have a hard time putting it down. Its way for people to talk about what they love.
I’m inspired by tools, disruptive ideas and whats happening on the fringes of culture. As a professional, I had lost that hands-on relationship to my work. My work reflects a reconnecting with the work and an exploration of what is possible in desktop manufacturing.
Wired interviewed Losey in January about the benefits of 3D printing applied to toy making:
Having been burnt by seeing his creations in the bargain bin, Losey is in love with the print-on-demand nature of 3-D printing. “It’s an extremely sustainable business model. There’s no over-purchase of inventory and subsequent mad rush to sell that inventory and invest it back into the next batch,” he says. “Like many software businesses, it’s a constant beta mentality, where it’s tweaked until it works.”
Promoting and Telling the Story
Losey keeps an active Flickr and Tumblr account to follow the developments of his toy story. Below is a photo of his son with the caption: ”This was what I was looking forward to when we were designing Xevoz. My son enjoying them. Only took 8 years. #TotallyWorthIt”
Losey’s Modibot sells as a set and is easy to put together as shown in the video below.
Pricing
How do prices compare? We looked at LEGO, Fisher-Price and Modibot for a dinosaur kit. Modibot is competitive, but not super cheap. The ModiRaptor Dino Kit is $37.05 on Shapeways compared with the Fisher Price Imaginext Dragon for $39.99 and the LEGO Dino Birthday kit for $147.99.
So is 3D Printing the Future of Toys?
In a word, yes.
Wayne Losey is a veteran toy designer who is bringing best-in-class toys to 3D printing, breaking down the design barrier that one might assume large toy manufacturers have over independent creators.
While prices are Losey’s products are equivalently expensive as mass market products today, 3D printed toys will undoubtedly come down in price as 3D printing becomes more affordable and mainstream. For just $3, you can download the Modibot design and print your own on your home 3D printer.
Modibot photos by KidMechano used under Creative Commons license.
