Items tagged with 3D printing
3D printing has increased in popularity over the last few years. These printers have been used in a wide variety of environments, including classrooms, labs, and homes. Many are now looking to 3D printing for industrial purposes, and these kinds of projects require a massive printer and a large amount of resources. One university may be able to provide all the necessary products for large scale 3D printing -- The University of Maine -- which just unveiled the world’s largest 3D printer. This 3D printer will be capable of printing objects up to 100-feet long. It can print objects up to 70-feet long in its current state, but a new building will be constructed to house its full configuration....
Read more...
There is hope that one day in the perhaps not-too-distant future, organ donors will not be needed. Not because the human race is going extinct (thought that's certainly a possibility), mind you, but because scientists have achieved a medical breakthrough by producing the world's first 3D printed heart, using a patient's own cells. Image Source: Tel Aviv University via Advanced Science One of the reasons why this is such a big deal is because heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States. For patients who find themselves with end-stage heart failure, a transplant is the only option. Donors are obviously in short supply, compared to the number of people who...
Read more...
Traditional 3D printing that is commonplace today can often take a very long time to create an object. This is because the printer must complete one layer at a time, sometimes requiring hours or at times days to complete the entire printing process. However, a team of scientist and engineers led by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new 3D printing process that uses lasers said to be hologram-like to create an entire 3D object in just seconds. The lasers create the objects inside a tank of liquid resin, and the new technique is called volumetric 3D printing. The team working on the project believes that volumetric 3D printing can overcome many of...
Read more...
It's very likely that 3D printers are going to be a big part of our future, but for the average user, today's desktop models typically command prices that are hard to justify. That's one thing that can't be said about the OLO 3D printer, however, as it costs a mere $100. And no, that's not an error. We're talking about a 3D printer that costs about the same as a couple of AAA games. OLO was first announced in October at the World Maker Faire in New York, where it earned itself an Editor's Choice award and accolades from media all over the world. Following that immense hype, it launched a Kickstarter campaign just a couple of days ago, and ended up exceeding its $80,000 goal in mere hours. As...
Read more...
You can create just about anything with a 3D printer these days. That includes guns, pancakes, and now a running shoe, courtesy of New Balance, which beat rivals Nike and Adidas to the punch. New Balance also got a major assist from 3D Systems, a company based in North Carolina that developed a new elastomer powder material called DuraForm Flex TPU. The special material makes up the shoe's midsole. Unlike other materials New Balance has played with in the 3D printing arena, DuraForm Flex TPU is fairly lightweight, coming in at just 40 grams more than a traditional foam midsole design. It's also strong and elastic, traits that make the new midsole design appropriate for running shoes. Simply calling...
Read more...
There's no doubt that 3D printing is one of the coolest technologies released over the past decade, and given all we've seen from it up to this point, there's also no doubt that it's going to be a big part of our future. While today's 3D printers are still limited in what they can do, they've already been capable of creating usable exoskeletons for those who need them, and that's beyond cool. But, we're still at the beginning of what will be possible with 3D printing. Earlier this year, we learned of an advanced printer that would allow its users to print in multiple colors, and overall, that's a big advance in the technology. Now, though, researchers at MIT have delivered a prototype for something...
Read more...
It's hard to argue that 3D printing is awesome, but one thing that seems to be widely agreed-upon is that printing in just a single color can get a bit boring after a while. In time, printers that will allow you to create multi-color objects are sure to trickle down to the mainstream, but with The Palette, there's soon to be a stopgap solution. As seen in the shot above, The Palette isn't a 3D printer itself, but rather an add-on. In effect, it acts as a proxy between your existing 3D printer and different-colored filaments. As a project prints, The Palette will feed the appropriate color filament through, allowing you to turn something bland into something really cool looking. An example: Note...
Read more...
Paper printing? That's old-school. Today, the popularity surrounding 3D printing is immense, and it's even gone on to spawn other sorts of interesting printing scenarios, such as printing fabrics and soft objects. While so far, it's mostly been a select few who've taken advantage of 3D printing, technological advances and dropping prices will begin to make it more widely available - even to kids. Autodesk's Ember 3D printer That could happen sooner than later thanks to a partnership that just kicked off between Autodesk and Mattel. Based off of its Spark 3D printing platform, Autodesk is going to be releasing a couple of new apps that will help make 3D design and printing easier than ever so...
Read more...
The latest milestone in Amazon’s quest to get products to your door faster is going to involve trucks that can print items on the way to your house. Amazon filed a patent this week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that envisions delivery trucks bearing 3D printers, rather than boxes. The patent lays out a fairly simple plan. A customer places an order, which is directed to a local Amazon truck. “A manufacturing apparatus can be selected to manufacture the item based on the 3D manufacturing instructions,” the patent abstract reads. At that point, the truck heads to your house with your 3D-printed components in tow. The potential for such an operation...
Read more...
It really goes without saying that 3D printing is awesome, but whether or not a printer is going to be a common sight in our homes down the road is yet to be seen. Unlike a paper printer, a 3D printer has far different uses, and most people might not have the need for something like that outside of experimentation. This is something that Amazon realizes well, and its just-launched '3D Printing Store' is proof of it. Similar to eBay's 'Exact' store that we talked about last July, Amazon's 3D Printing Store will allow consumers to pick an item, customize it to their liking, and then place an order. Can't be bothered with the amount of effort required for that? Some premade items are being made...
Read more...
If you've been paying any attention to the 3D printing world over the past year or two, chances are good that you understand its potential, and its expected growth as time goes on. Really, 3D printing only hit the public consciousness a couple of years ago, but already it's been used for a number of interesting things, such as medical equipment and even toys - heck, it's even printed music (albeit primitively). According to Canalys, the sky's the limit, and from here-on-out, 3D printing will see a 45.7% growth each year, with it ultimately becoming a $16.2 billion industry by 2018. As impressive as that is, $16.2 billion is likely just the start. By that time, 3D printers will be more affordable...
Read more...
"Would you like a 3D printed toy with that?" That's a question that doesn't yet exist inside any McDonald's fast food restaurants, but give it time and it may become a mandatory query, at least when ordering a Happy Meal. In this day and age of the Internet of Things, society is becoming increasingly connected, and companies are harnessing technology in unique ways. What does this have to do with the golden arches? Mark Fabes, director of IT for McDonald's in the U.K., recently spoke at the Fujitsu Forum in Germany on the topic of the "disruptive customer" and his/her push for digital toys. McDonald's faces a new generation of customers, including kids being raised on digital gadgets like smartphones...
Read more...
The way spacecraft are built is about to change. Tethers Unlimited just received a $500,000 Phase II contract from NASA to continue its plans for robots that will use 3D printing to create spacecraft in space. If it succeeds, squeezing satellites and other spacecraft into rockets could become a thing of the past. NASA has helped fund development of SpiderFab, which plans to build spacecraft from materials delivered by rocket. Image credit: TUI The program, known as SpiderFab, relies on spider-like robots that print large components from materials that are sent to space via rockets. “On-orbit fabrication allows the material for these critical components to be launched in a very compact...
Read more...
With Windows 8.1 around the bend, Microsoft is taking the opportunity to add support to the OS for 3D printing. As Microsoft’s Gavin Gear explains in a blog post on the topic, printing in 3D with Windows 8.1 is much like printing in 2D (such as printing a document) right now. If it works as smoothly as Gear describes, 3D printing will be more streamlined process (and easier, it appears) in 8.1 than it is with third-party software right now. In fact, Windows 8.1 may even help those third-party programs improve the 3D printing process for you, too. The 3D printing process with the help of new Windows 8.1 support. Image credit: Microsoft Right now, 3D printing typically involves several steps...
Read more...
