It’s certainly an… interesting technology, although I have a feeling that this dalmatian’s creepy stare is no exception. I think any portrait will become terrifying when subjected to this technology.

The dog’s blood red eyes don’t help its efforts to remain adorable. Fortunately, Casio also has a scaled back version of this 3D-fication. They’re calling it Relief Painting Technology, and what it does is add just the right amount of texture to pictures to make them look and feel like they were paintings, like in the sample below.

But here’s the kicker to this story. Speaking with Casio, Evan Ackerman of Dvice found out that the company “is as unsure as we are about whether anyone actually wants them to be doing this.” I actually burst out laughing when I read that. That’s a nerd’s mentality right there – tech first, business second. Screw the new HDTVs and PCs, it’s nuggets of insanity like this that make me wish I was at CES.

[via Dvice]

This is the third version of the Robotic Hand, courtesy of Thingiverse user Armjunkie. It improves on the original by using fewer non-3D-printable parts, less plastic, and less sanding. The hand also requires less force to move.

I wonder how long it will take for hackers to make their own 3D printed robots. Skynet won’t be far behind, since the technology already exists to make self-replicating robots, ones that are self-aware, and killer ones too.

[via Make:]

These lamp designs were created using i.materialize’s 3D printed table lamp kit, which provides everything you need to design and output your own 3D printed lighting fixture. The 3D table lamp kit includes a lamp base, dimmer, halogen bulb, a metal base and fittings to hold the shade in place. Using a provided design template for popular 3D modeling software (including free apps like Google SketchUp and Blender) you design your shade and upload your 3D file it for printing.

You can check out a number of example designs over on flickr, and read up on the design guide (PDF) before deciding to make the investment in one for yourself. And if it’s feeling like it’s a little over your head, you can always choose one of their nifty already designed lamps.

The 3D printed lamp kit sells for €199 (~$260 USD) over at i.materialize. Be sure to specify whether you need a U.S. or European plug when you order.

Chris Krueger from The New Hobbyist reports that he also used to accidentally touch the microphone, which would mess up the audio while shooting videos. For his solution, Chris first started with a cumbersome handle, but ended up with this nice, collapsible one, which he had 3D-printed.

The 3D design file for the handle is available over on Thingiverse if you’d like to have a copy printed for yourself at one of the online 3D print services such as Shapeways or i.materialize. Once printed, the suction cups can be found at Home Depot and sell for $2 for a dozen, so the resulting handle isn’t expensive, and can easily be stowed when you don’t need it.

[The New Hobbyist via Make:]

It was created by the UK-based designers Sash Reading, Heather and Ivan Morison. They’ve dubbed it Three Cubes Collide and it was made from 1,700 3D-printed pieces, which were engineered and fabricated by Queen & Crawford. The kite uses a lightweight and durable fabric called Cuben Fiber to help keep it airborne.

I don’t know about you, but I think this thing is kind of awesome to see in flight. The modular design is supposedly scalable, so regardless of the size you print, due to its lightweight materials and carbon fiber rods, it should float.

What’s next, 3D-printed airships?

[via designboom]

My Robot Nation uses 3D printing technology to create bespoke robot figurines to your exacting specifications. Simply head onto their website, mix-and-match your choice of head, torso, arms and legs to build your robot body. If you’re feeling whimsical, you can always just hit the “randomize robot” button too.

Once you’ve figured out your robot’s basic form, you can add details like eyes, visors, weapons, and even costumes. Then pick your colors, and even add robot tattoos. You also get to pose your robot at this point, since the finished product won’t be bendable. So pick your pose wisely, since that’s the position your robot buddy will be stuck in for eternity.

Once you save your design, you pick a size, and order up your custom robot. Prices range from $17.99 (USD) for a 2″ tall robot, up to $169.99 for a 6″ tall model. Check it out for yourself over at My Robot Nation now. Be sure to spend some time in the robot Hall of Fame for some cool creations from prior customers.

It’s probably too late to get one of these in hand for Christmas, but they do offer a gift code option you could give instead. Frankly, I think that’s better anyhow, since half the fun is designing your robot in the first place, so why shouldn’t that be part of the gift?

[via Gizmag via designboom]

All you have to do is provide MineToys with the username of the avatar to be printed. They’ll then render it in HD and 3D and possibly other Dees, then send it to Shapeways to be printed.

Build a cart and ride it to MineToys’s website to order. If you think your avatar looks ugly, you can also order 3D prints of the Minecraft avatars of other users. I wonder if there’s a program that does the reverse – take your appearance and render it in Minecraft.

[via Shapeways via NotCot]

What a beautiful commercial district. It’s begging to be hit with a 3D printed tornado.

Isn’t it funny how the rise of 3D printing could take things from the virtual back to the real world? Years from now instead of playing MMOs we could be playing board games, pen-and-paper RPGs or LARPing with high quality trinkets that we print right from our homes. Speaking of which, aspiring tabletop mayors should build a subway line and head to Thingiverse to download the templates for Skimbal’s play set.

[via Architizer via Notcot]

These particular designs were made by Thingiverse user 3dYeti. They were created using a hobby-scale desktop 3D printer, like the MakerBot. They kind of remind me of AT-STs from Star Wars. Other than the banding effect which is common in 3D printing, these miniatures look almost as good as the ones made by traditional modeling methods.

Want these, but don’t have your own desktop 3D printer? You can always use a 3D printing services, such as Shapeways, so you can have access to their fancy high-resolution Selective Laser Sintering rapid prototyping machines. Just upload the designs, pick your materials and pay.

[via Make:]

They were designed by Ammnra Props, and they do a great job capturing the look of each of the personality cores. Even though the game’s cores are spheres, these still work nicely since they’re sort of like you just chopped the top and bottom off of the core so you can stick your finger into it. In addition to Wheatley, you can slip some of the lesser-known cores onto your fingers, including Space Core, Fact Core and Rick the Adventure Core. What, no Anger Cores?

The rings are produced using 3D printing technology over at Shapeways, and can be ordered up in a variety of materials. Keep in mind that while you can order them in stainless steel or silver, you won’t be able to get the colorful eyeball effect if you do that. Though I do think a shiny sterling silver Wheatley ring would look pretty awesome. If you buy one of the white or grey plastic versions, you’ll still need to paint in the details yourself. Here’s what the plastic rings look like once printed and painted:

The personality core rings can be ordered in ring sizes from 6 to 12, and prices range from $15 to $105 (USD) – depending on material – over at Ammnra’s Shapeways shop.

Believe it or not, there is a man inside that costume. He’s Denver native NeilBombad, who spent about 8 months making the Dark Knight armor of Cecil Harvey, the captain of the Red Wings and main hero of the classic SNES game Final Fantasy IV. He designed and modeled each piece on his own using reference images, then printed the armor on ABS plastic using a 3D printer. NeilBombad said it took over 500 hours to print the whole thing. He then used black ABS glue to fill in and strengthen the plastic. Hours and hours of sanding, priming and painting finally brought the armor to its shiny and solid state.

Tell Cid to fire up the airship and travel to CosBlog for more details and pictures. You can also view NeilBombad’s profile on Cosplay and Acparadise for more pics. This just trumped the Steampunk Iron Man as my favorite cosplay.

Photos by Joseph Chi Lin

[via Reddit]

The sculpture measures 12 inches in length and 8 inches in width. The 3D printing was done using rapid prototyping technology from a 3D image, obtained by rotating the graph. This isn’t Jerram’s first disaster sculpture. He’s also done one on the Hiroshima atomic bomb explosion. Next month, he plans on creating a glass version of this sculpture since he’ll be the artist in residence as the Washington Museum of Glass.

This piece is on display at the Terra exhibition at Jerwood Visual Arts in London from November 9th to December 11th.

[via Wired]

The pickaxe is about 4″ long, while the sword is about 5.3″ long. Both are made of ABS plastic and have been hand-painted. You can customize the color of your order, so you don’t have to settle for a wood pickaxe. You can even have them sent unpainted if you want.

Put down those blocks for a minute and order the Minecraft pickaxe and sword from CarryTheWhat’s Etsy shop. The pickaxe sells for $10.50 (USD) while the sword can be yours for $11. You can also download the templates for both at Thingiverse.

[via Geeks are Sexy]

This set of dice was designed by shapeways user gythawen and Masterworks, and comes in a set of numerous differently sided-dice perfect for a good old game of Dungeons & Dragons, or any other board or card game that uses dice. Personally, I’d use them as Monopoly pieces, instead of the shoe and the hat but that’s just me. The intricately-detailed dice are produced using 3D printing technology, and as seen in the image above can even be produced in bronze, stainless steel, or glossy silver.

Dice range in size from 16mm to 24mm, and a complete set will run you about $25 (USD) when produced from resin (which may be too light for rolling,) about $80 in bronze or stainless, and close to $200 in silver. Of course the antique bronze seems the most fitting with the steampunk theme, but they’re cool no matter what material you decide to make them in. In addition to the steampunk set, Masterworks also offers this cool Harry Potter-inspired set they call the “Deathly Hallows”, which is equally as awesome:

Both the dice sets and individual dice are available over at Masterworks’ Shapeways shop.

Cody Sumter and Jason Boggess of the MIT Human Dynamics research group call their creation Minecraft.Print(). It’s a Python script that takes a marked Minecraft creation and outputs an .STL file, which you can then turn into an actual object using a 3D printer. Watch the video below to see how to tag an object for printing and to see a sample print:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Yeah, it’s not a 1:1 scale model. I’m as disappointed as you are; I was fantasizing being able to walk on the stairs of Escher’s Relativity. Still,  I imagine it would be quite thrilling for many Minecraft users to see their creations actually turned into an object.

Check out the Minecraft.Print() website to download the script and to check out more sample printed objects.

[via MIT Media Lab via Hack N Mod]

Originally modeled and designed on a computer, each die is 3D printed and then meticulously hand painted to create that worn out, aged, steamy, punky, steampunk look. It’s available in iron and bronze finish and uses cogs instead of pips. Because it would be hard to represent numbers with steam. What would 6 steams even look like? That’d just be 6 water molecules.

You can order the steampunk dice from Mechanical Oddities’ Etsy shop for $11.50 (USD) each.

[via Boing Boing]

As you’ll see in the video below, some of the rings have multiple parts, either detachable or movable, like the GLaDOS ring or the Assassin’s Creed ring with a hidden dagger print.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Before you get too excited, know that Myles pulled off a Warhammer move here – the actual rings are unpainted, so how good (or bad) it ends up is still up to you.

You can order the rings at Myles’ Shapeways store. He either has a precise calculation for the value of his products or he pulled the numbers out of a hat because they all have odd prices, from $4.92 to $16.58 (USD).

[via Rampaged Reality via Gamefreaks]

Their 3D-printed aircraft is named Sulsa, and it runs on an electric motor. It cost just over $8,000 to produce. Its wingspan is 5 feet, can hit a top speed of almost 100mph and its maiden flight lasted for about 10 minutes. All in all, that’s not bad for something that was printed on a 3D printer.

Sulsa was printed on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine, which can fabricate either plastic or metal objects, layer by layer. Even the control structures and wings were printed. Of course, the plane’s motor and battery were added separately.

Just imagine what this could mean. In a few years, you might be able to print out your own airplane and start flying it – or better yet, print your own car, get inside, and drive off.

[via NewScientist via DVice]

The Clone Factory takes your 3D image, translates it into code, and then produces this spooky doll head for you. It’s then attached onto one of a variety of dolls.

The process is pretty straightforward, thanks to a 3D image scanner and a 3D printer, but its results are strange and eerie.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In the end, you’ll end up paying about $1,800 (USD) for your ‘clone’. Apparently, these dolls are most frequently used for (creepy) weddings. Hopefully, all of these clones won’t start working together and start their own Clone Wars  (heh!).

I wonder if these dolls will ever become popular in the U.S.

[DannyChoo via DVice]

That said, you do have to give artist Metin Seven credit for capturing the spirit of the pesky red bird, despite the fact that he’s been turned into a cube. Measuring in at about 3″ (H) x  2.5″ (W) x  3.5″ (D), Angry Box is perfect for holding pens, pencils, business cards or other small desktop items, but just like in the game, he’s useless for offing green pigs, monkeys, or golden eggs.

The one turn-off (besides being my red bird nemesis) is that since the Angry Box is rendered on a 3D printer, it’s expensive for what it is. It currently sells for $69.25 (USD) over at Shapeways. For that price, I’d much rather have the black bomb bird and do some real damage.