Tag: 3d Printing

The burgeoning small scale 3D printing industry is focused on producing plastic or metal objects. A small team of makers led by Gerard Rubio hopes to turn the spotlight on a more practical material: fabric. The OpenKnit is a work-in-progress open source printer that automatically knits thread to create clothing based on digital templates.

The new PS3 racing game Gran Turismo 6 lets players drive concept cars made expressly by automotive companies and other brands for the game. Honda is one of those companies, but it’s also using a newer form of technology to reach out to its fans.

3D printing can help you create prototypes or mockups quickly. Or should I say relatively quickly – it can take a 3D printer hours to print even moderately-sized objects. To speed things up, students from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the Hasso Plattner Institute tested adding LEGO to their workflow.

We know that 3D printers can print objects out of plastic, food, animal tissue and metal. Now a company called Mark Forged claims that its upcoming Mark One 3D printer can print using carbon fiber, the wonder material known for its high strength-to-weight ratio and cool looks.

Technology has made it easier for prospective parents to see what their child looks like, even before he or she is born. There’s ultrasound (to get a rough outline), 3D imaging, and even 4D ultrasound so you can clearly see your unborn baby’s face and physical features in real time.

Valve has a life-size model of the Sentry Gun from Team Fortress 2 to guard their office. Programmer and 3D artist Jeff Wong may not be a big shot like Gabe Newell and his employees, but he has a turret manning his house too.

3D printing shop Mixee Labs – makers of awesome geeky jewelry – will soon launch a custom bobblehead printing service called Mixee Bobblers. As with the jewelry, Mixee Bobblers will let you design your own bobblehead right from your browser.

Chocolate. It may arguably be better than bacon. And today we have some important chocolate news. Hershey has just announced a partnership with 3DSystems to produce a 3D printer that prints in chocolate. Imagine chocolate shaped like anything, maybe even with a hollow caramel maze inside or something.

Miniatures and figurines are some of the best aspects of tabletop gaming. But if you’re playing a tabletop RPG, you might not be satisfied with the figurines that come with your game or even the ones you can buy online.

There’s already a Minecraft port for iOS devices, but a new iOS app called Blokify takes the addictive building mechanic of Mojang’s hit game and makes it much easier to get into. Blokify uses simple touch controls and easy access to different cubes, without the hassles of keeping an avatar alive.

Even though 3D printing is still a young technology, customers already have a lot of brands and types of 3D printers to choose from. The founders of Deltaprintr hope to set their device apart by coming up with a great balance of simplicity, efficiency, quality and affordability.

LEGO opened Cuusoo to let fans pitch ideas for play sets. But if you have a 3D printer, you don’t have to wait and beg for a minifig of your favorite character. Just do what Michael “Skimbal” Curry did and make the minifigs yourself.

Two of the biggest challenges with today’s desktop 3D printers are that they 1) don’t print very large objects and 2) are painfully slow. The Solidator 3D printer aims to change both of those things, in a printer that costs less than $5,000.

Perhaps the most exciting area of technological growth for the early 21st century is in the realm of machines which make it fast, inexpensive and easy for anyone to create physical objects. Devices such as 3D printers, laser cutters, tabletop milling machines and other computer-controlled manufacturing tools are now within reach of small business entrepreneurs and hobbyists, and are headed towards the consumer market as well.

3D printed objects are usually rigid, or at least made of parts that were printed separately. This makes it time-consuming if not outright impossible to print large objects or ones that need to be flexible or adjustable.

We’ve seen a variety of 3D printers designed to make food, but most of them either make only one kind of food or are designed for professional use, like serving astronauts in space. A company called Natural Machines is working on a food printer that will be easy enough for ordinary people to use and will be able to make a variety of dishes.