Tag Archives: Thingiverse
MakerBot and Stratasys Take Center Stage at the Inside 3D Printing Chicago Keynote
MakerBot and Stratasys Share a Vision for the Future of 3D Printing
Two industry giants, Scott Crump and Bre Pettis, lay out their vision.
Scott Crump, Chairman of the Board of Stratasys, and Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, kicked off the Inside 3D Printing conference in Chicago this morning with an exciting vision of a future where 3D printing becomes a part of our daily life.
It all began in the late 80s, when Scott Crump wanted to make a toy frog for his daughter. Scott and his wife Lisa built the frog, and with it the first 3D printer, with little more than a glue gun and a toy plotter in their kitchen. A passion was born, and after the food started tasting like plastic, they moved the operation to the garage. In 1989, they patented the first FDM (fused deposition modeling) machine, or 3D printer. Today Scott Crump is Chairman of the Board and Chief Innovation Officer of Stratasys, the largest commercial 3D printer company in the world. With over 30,000 printers sold, Stratasys has a global presence and annual revenues of over $350 million. They currently produce over fifty five percent of the commercial 3D printers in the market.
“Welcome to Stratasys and welcome to a 3D world,” passionately stated Scott Crump, “where the only limitation is your own imagination.” Crump emphasized how it’s amazing that a toy froggy led to building an exoskeleton that allows a girl to have fully functional limbs. In addition to turning manufacturing on its head, 3D printing will have a positive impact on people’s lives. “The manufacturing revolution has started and it’s not changing slowly,” says Crump. “Stratasys looks forward to leading the way to a future where we will see millions of 3D printers from home to industrial use.”
Crump then introduced Bre Pettis, the co-founder and CEO of MakerBot, who spoke about his journey into the 3D printing world that has made these printers accessible to consumers. He mentioned that he and his co-founders Adam and Zach began playing with the idea of 3D printing in 2007 at the hacker space, NYC Resistor. By January 2009, they founded MakerBot, which has recently been acquired by Stratasys for $403 million. Much like Scott and Lisa Crump started in their kitchen, Pettis mentioned how they “started as three guys, a laser cutter and a dream.”
After speaking to friends that they saw a future where you could download objects, they came up with Thingiverse where the latest challenge is for someone to come up with a birdhouse to download. Thingiverse has just launched a customizer where people who don’t know what CAD stands for, can design their own iPhone case design. Pettis mentioned, “Consumers now live in a world where they don’t have to choose between two products,” they can make one for themselves. He set forth his favorite example of a toy train track that can be made functional through 3D printing.
Scott Crump and Bre Pettis emphasized that 3D printing is here to stay and will become ubiquitous in our lives.
Authored by On 3D Printing contributors Rodrigo Garza Zorrilla, technology entrepreneur and advisor, and Lisa M. Pérez, co-founder of Heart Design Inc.
iPhone App PhotoUpLink Launches 3D Printed Photo Frames
Photo App Developer Publishes Designs for 3D Printed Photo Frames
Since 2006, independent software designer Mark S. Morris has been working on PhotoUpLink® for various platforms, first for Mac and Windows then for iPhone, allowing multiple photos to be conveniently uploaded by iPhone users to Tumblr photosets, Facebook albums, FTP sites and email attachments.
Morris has added to his repertoire by creating a 3D printed picture frame. Called the PhotoUpLink Picture Frame, users can download the files and print it themselves to serve as frames for their favorite photographs The PhotoUpLink Picture Frame is an answer for those who are always looking for that perfect picture frame to store their most memorable photographs – now both the frame and photo can be printed at home.
The picture frame will hold one wallet size 3” x 2” photo print. This frame size is built for compatibility with most 3D printers for personal use, and has been extensively tested to be home 3D printable with ABS, PLA and even wood FDM filament types. The frame files include desk stands for landscape or portrait photo orientation, and it 3D prints with rear holes for wall hanging.
The PhotoUpLink Picture Frame is a free download available now on MakerBot Thingiverse. The frame can also be purchased with no logo on Cubify as a 3D print in a variety of materials including color plastics, ceramics, sandstone or metals, then shipped to your door.
You can view photos of the 3D printed frame on Flickr.
The frame will take about an hour to print, each stand about 30 minutes at 50 – 70% fill. A higher fill percentage makes a sturdy frame with a good base weight. The stand slot is designed to be a tight fit, you may need to trim and manually finish the print. Wallet size photo prints are easily home printed or ordered online.
IBM Sees Exponential Growth of 3D Printing Industry
More than just a tool, 3D printing is an emerging ecosystem.
– Paul Brody, IBM on the exponential growth of the 3D printing industry
At the Siemens Global Innovation Summit in Phoenix, IBM’s Paul Brody gave a look at how manufacturing transformation is changing the traditional rules of product design and development.
Brody highlighted 3 technologies: 3D printing, intelligent robotics, and open-source engineering.
On 3D printing, he discussed key trends:
- 3D printing is rapidly achieving levels of performance required to be production-ready
- 3D printing is already used in production for medical devices and aerospace
- Performance is improving year on year
- At lower volumes, unit costs are competitive with machining and plastic injection molding
He also dove into trends on open-source and crowdsourcing, asserting that 80% of consumers told IBM they are willing to help enterprises develop their products. Brody claimed, “Accept their help or see them build your competition on Kickstarter.”
IBM had partnered with The Economist to analyze the growth rate of open-source design repositories, namely Thingiverse, and found that the number of 3D printable items is on an exponential upwards path while complexity as measured by number of parts is on a steady increase.
Paul Brody’s full talk is embedded below and more research from IBM is available here.
Defense Distributed Attains License to Create 3D Printed Guns
Look who now has a license to manufacture firearms! The work begins!
– Cody Wilson, Defense Distributed
Controversial 3D printed guns maker Defense Distributed has attained a license to manufacture guns. An image of the Type 7 license was published on Defense Distributed’s Facebook page along with a note that said “The work begins!” This license allows the company to sell the parts they have been manufacturing, such as components for automatic weapons as well as its potential “Wiki Weapon.”
There has been much debate on the topic:
- MakerBot pulled plans for gun parts from Thingiverse following the Newton school shootings
- Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) is looking to introduce legislation to prohibit 3D printing of gun parts
- Chris Anderson weighs in saying “3D printing is a terrible technology for the working components of a gun.”
Here’s the original launch video for Defense Distributed, now with over 1 million views.
Fab Lab of the Week: Westport, CT Library’s MakerSpace 3D Printing
This week’s featured Fab Lab is the Westport, CT library, which provides public access to two 3D printers. The library’s MakerSpace was featured in The Republic, a Columbus, Indiana publication.
The hottest attraction at the Westport Library is not a book or collection of DVDs, but rather two manufacturing units.
At the heart of the spacious library, an area called MakerSpace has been carved out to encourage creativity and the spirit of invention. Inside the space are two MakerBot Replicator machines — 3D printers, as they are more commonly known.
Librarians have observed an increase in vistors interested in 3D printing.
It was after a hugely successful Maker Faire last April that librarians started thinking about getting the 3D printer and creating a space just for makers, hence MakerSpace.
Reference librarian Margie Freilich-Den said the library helps its patrons with job searches, and the Maker Faire was just one step to encourage residents to “get back to our manufacturing roots” and encourage people with ideas to try them out. Maker Faire is sponsored by Maker magazine and is its own brand promoting innovation, invention and doing things yourself.
“It’s another way to use the library,” said Marcia Logan, the library’s communications coordinator.
Since the first 3D printer started operating in July, dozens of visitors have come in to see it, use it and learn.
One man brought in his patented design for a device that plugs into a car cell phone charger and locks the phone so it cannot be used to text or talk while driving. Another man brought his own patented design for a medical device, a type of catheter.
But most either try to see what it can do by choosing an item from a computer program of 3D designs called Thingiverse, or print something they need, like cases for iPhones, staff members said.
The Westport Library will be sponsoring a mini MakerFaire in April.
