Book Review: 'FABRICATED: The New World of 3D Printing'

FABRICATED: The New World of 3D Printing is a new book by Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman that explains how 3D printing has changed the world forever. PSFK gives it a positive review.

The book explains the world of 3D printing in all its technologies, design tools, and downstream implications, covering corporate R&D labs to the DIY initiatives we see in the DIY and Maker communities.

FABRICATED does a great job in explaining how the technology has gained traction in industries including electronics, automotive, aerospace and the medical community. It also dedicates a good portion of the book to explaining more conceptual areas such as 3D printed food.

Read full article.

Nasa's 3D Printing in Zero-G Experiment

The potential for 3D printing on space travel is endless. The technology itself can theoretically allow structures like satellites and spacecraft to be built in space, and it’s being developed here on earth. VentureBeat reports.

One private company, Made in Space, is already piloting zero gravity 3D printing. It started testing in early 2011, and has made great strides in the future of out of this world 3D printing and design.

The company is working with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and they are building the first zero gravity 3D printer for space. The project, The 3D Printing in Zero-G Experiment, will launch into the atmosphere in 2014 headed to the International Space Station.

Read full article.

3D printer production taking off in China

China suppliers have started manufacturing and exporting 3D printers even though the technology is just starting to gain momentum the world over. The global industry, growing 30 percent annually, is expected to be worth $6 billion by 2020, with China accounting for 15 to 20 percent of supply, according to Global Sources.

The country is an early adopter, with the government jumping on this particular bandwagon about 20 years ago by investing in R&D. As a result, China now has four major research centers, including Xi'a Jiaotong University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Tsinghua University, working to bring 3D printing into the mainstream.

Individually, companies are also pursuing R&D, combining in-house endeavors with partnerships with 3D printing leaders abroad, including Germany’s EOS, and ALM, 3D systems and Harvest Technology in the US. Partnerships revolve around supply chain and technology enhancements, and manufacturing processes.

Materials compatibility, however, continues to be a challenge. Most China-made 3D printers utilize thermoplastic extrusion and light cure technology, limiting usable printing materials to plastic.

Read more.

Related: - 3D printing offers new investment opportunities in China

London-Based Startup 3D Industri.es Aims to Become the Google of 3D Search

Right in the heart of London’s emerging tech scene, a startup called 3D Industri.es, aims to revolutionize both manufacturing and internet search.

In their own words:

Imagine being able to search for components, supplies, designs, industrial parts... using shape and geometry alone. Imagine the ease of no longer having to use vague keywords that differ between companies and countries. Imagine the end of language barriers, misunderstandings and inaccuracies.

Imagine the vast efficiencies that can be gained in industries, businesses and across global supply chains.

This is not science fiction and you don't have to imagine any longer. 3D shape searching has arrived and it's about to shake up global industry. Welcome to the new dimension in search - it's evolved into the way it was always meant to be.

[via Forbes]

At the new Designs of the Year show, Open-source design and 3D printing make up a large percentage of entries

Now in its sixth year, Designs of the Year 2013, the annual exhibition is a snapshot of innovation in digital, fashion, product, architectural, transport, furniture and graphic design, with industry-nominated entries from across the world.

At the heart of the show is a great enthusiasm for the democratised, DIY, human-centred design made possible by new technologies.

The Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX) is one of the nominees.

Winner to be announced 17 April.

[via New Scientist]

Image above left, artist Yayoi Kusama's polka dot vision, one of the nominees. Not 3D printed, just a personal favorite.

First 3D Printed snowboard Snowboard

GROWit3D, a 3D printing company based in California, partnered with Signal Snowboards to achieve the unexplored: the world’s first 3D printed snowboard.

Read full article in Y-Axis Magazine.

Twikit is a start-up that will make 3D printed trophies and medals for any special occasion

3D PrintingIndustry reports on Twikit, a service for users to design their own trophy which will then be 3D printed & shipped.

A unique aspect to Twikit is the simplicity of the whole process. You can already start playing around with the design tools on the homepage, without having to click any “Start now” “Design yours” etc. buttons. The user can select from existing models and then just type in the words required on the trophy or medal.

Read more.

New Balance customises running shoe with 3D printing

New Balance, much like Nike a couple of weeks ago — which announced having 3D printed cleats, has brought 3D printing into the manufacturing process — at least for one of its highly customized running shoe designs. 3D PrintingIndustry reports.

Athletes are measured and monitored using 100 sensors to understand their precise running style. The data gather is then used to make a custom spike plate for their running shoes

Read more.

3D Printer First: A Functioning Keyboard with No Assembly

Stratasys reports on a first for 3D printing - a functional keyboard prototype featuring keys that depress in a similar fashion to a real keyboard.

This entire keyboard was 3D printing in a single print job - with no assembly of the keys into the board required.

... Remarkably, using this technology means there is no need to assemble the individual keys into the board. Instead, the entire keyboard is ‘grown’ as a single homogeneous unit that nevertheless retains its independently functioning key elements.

WebPro News points out that these keyboards can’t actually connect to a PC as they are only plastic prototypes. Real keyboards will have to be produced via traditional means until 3D printers can start creating circuitry.

Read more.

Micro 3-D Printer Creates Tiny Structures in Seconds

While 3-D printing of toys, iPhone covers, and jewelry continues to grab headlines, much of 3-D printing’s impact could be at a much smaller scale. Micrometer-scale printing has shown promise for making medical and electronic devices. MIT Technology Review reports.

... So far, 3-D microprinting has been used only in research laboratories because it’s pretty slow.

Nanoscribe, a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, has developed a tabletop 3-D microprinter that can create complicated microstructures 100 times faster than is possible today. “If something took one hour to make, it now takes less than one minute,” says Michael Thiel, chief scientific officer at Nanoscribe.

Read full article.

Ford shows off 3D printing at Geneva Auto Show

Spotted at the Geneva Auto Show this evening, at the Ford stand, 3D printers busy making a toy car (print time: over 5 hours), a 3D logo and a toy Ford motor (print time: over 12 hours).

The person able to explain why Ford was showcasing 3D printing at the Auto Show was not at the stand when I was there, however 3D PrintingIndustry recently published an article explaining that the car manufacturer was using the technology for prototyping.

Next, 4-D Printers?

4D Printing: MIT Self-Folding Strand from Skylar Tibbits on Vimeo.

Now that the promise of 3-D printing has landed on the national agenda, researchers want to increase the stakes — with so-called 4-D printing. Bits reports.

Scientists claim that their “fourth dimension” refers to time — as in the space-time continuum described by the mathematician Hermann Minkowski early in the 20th century. The 4-D structures are first generated by 3-D printers but then transform when activated.

“This is a whole new idea of printing, where you don’t just print static objects; you print things that turn into other things,” explained Skylar Tibbits, an M.I.T. researcher who is working on the printer collaboration with Stratasys, an Israeli 3-D printing company. Mr. Tibbits’s research has focused on self-assembly technologies, for things ranging from toys to furniture.

Read more.

10 Ways That Big Businesses Are Stifllng Innovation in 3-D Printing

If you're waiting for desktop additive-manufacturing technology to move closer to professional-level results, be prepared to wait for a very long time.

Wired has uncovered 10 patents that could severely stifle innovation in the low-cost segment of the 3-D printing market and keep you from making colorful, smooth-finished figures and precise, articulating parts.

These patents cover core technologies and ease-of-use features, and could take momentum from the upstarts and return it to the entrenched companies.

Read more.

How 3D printing could revolutionise the solar energy industry

More efficient, less complex and cheaper, 3D solar cells can also capture more sunlight than conventional photovoltaic (PV) models. The Guardian reports.

... Researchers at MIT believe 3D solar panels could be roughly 20% more efficient than flat solar panels. 3D printing can extend the amount of solar absorbed into cells, which may turn some haters of solar power into believers.

Another benefit is cost. While installation is the dominate cost for solar power, it is estimated that precision 3D printing could drop production costs by 50% by eliminating many of the inefficiencies associating with the waste of costly materials such as glass, polysilicon or even indium.

Read more.

3D Printing makes list of WEF top 10 emerging technologies for 2013

The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies identifies the top 10 most promising technology trends that can *help to deliver sustainable growth in decades to come as global population and material demands on the environment continue to grow rapidly".

Listed in 2nd place, 3-D printing and remote manufacturing

Three-dimensional printing allows the creation of solid structures from a digital computer file, potentially revolutionizing the economics of manufacturing if objects can be printed remotely in the home or office. The process involves layers of material being deposited on top of each other in to create free-standing structures from the bottom up. Blueprints from computer-aided design are sliced into cross-section for print templates, allowing virtually created objects to be used as models for “hard copies” made from plastics, metal alloys or other materials.

via The WEF Blog.

China commercializes 3D printing in aviation

China looks to lower the cost of 3D printing and make large titanium components to build the next-gen fighter jet and self-developed passenger plane. ZDNet reports.

By using laser additive manufactured titanium parts in its aviation industry, China is looking to become a global leader in commercializing 3D printing technology.

The laser additive manufacturing technology not only lowers the cost of titanium parts to only 5 percent of the original, it also reduces the weight of the components and enhances the strength of complicated parts.

As much as 40 percent of the weight can be reduced if the forged titanium parts on an American F-22 were made using the Chinese 3D printing technology, according to a a report on Chinese Web site, Guancha Zhe.

Read more.

Obama mentions 3D printing in State of The Union address

President Obama mentioned 3D printing during his State of the Union address, while talking about ways to create new jobs and manufacturing in the United States. Here's the passage from the transcript, via C/net:

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.

There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There's no reason this can't happen in other towns.

Read full article.

Experts reconstruct face of Richard III 528 years after his death

Two days after the bones of Richard III were found in a parking lot, 528 years after his death, a 3D-printed reproduction of his face reveals his features. Mashable reports.

The reconstruction project, led by Caroline Wilkinson, Professor of Craniofacial Identification at the University of Dundee, was commissioned and funded by the Richard III Society.

"His facial structure was produced using a scientific approach, based on anatomical assessment and interpretation, and a 3D replication process known as stereolithography. The final head was painted and textured with glass eyes and a wig, using the portraits as reference, to create a realistic and regal appearance.

Read more.

3D Printing in Advertising

Do We Have Milk? from Teehan+Lax Labs on Vimeo.

Crazy Leaf Design looks at how advertisers have used 3D printing for their campaigns and the benefits it brings. via @Info3Dprinter.

A faster and cheaper alternative to traditional methods of manufacturing is making its way into the mainstream market, and it looks to be changing the way people do business—including advertising.

-- Teehan+Lax. The company used the technology in designing a milk jug that, once paired with a smartphone, alerts the user through an app if he/she is running out of milk. The user will then be able to check for any nearby stores that he/she can buy milk from. By producing an actual milk jug with a 3D printer, they managed to save money while also showing off the usefulness of their app.

Some of the advantages of using 3D printing: 1. It's cheaper, 2. It's easy to use, 3. It's more captivating, 4.

In conclusion, 3D printing is an exciting technology that promises a sea change across many industries, and its affordability coupled with nigh-limitless design possibilities can help revolutionize advertising’s creative capabilities.

Read full article. Related November article on Do We Have Milk campaign? and video above from The Verge.

Nokia offers '3D-printing Development Kit', enabling users to print their own custom Lumia 820 case

Nokia is giving 3D-printing enthusiasts a ’’3D-printing Development Kit’’ so they can make new shells for the Lumia 820 smartphones. GigaOM reports.

...We are going to release 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials and best practices — everything someone versed in 3D printing needs to print their own custom Lumia 820 case.

According to GigaOM, by releasing the 3DK, Nokia is reintroducing that customizability in its hardware and potentially stimulating a whole new ecosystem that may actually feed back to its own internal development efforts — effectively outsourcing rapid prototyping to its customers.

Read more.

US army sent 2nd mobile 3D printing labs to Afghanistan Jan 7

The U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) deployed the second mobile laboratory to the war zone in Afghanistan on January 7, 2013. Fox News reports via 3ders.org.

REF is able to set up mobile labs at remote operating bases equipped with 3D printers, CNC mills, laser cutters and water cutters for fabricating parts on the spot.

The mobile lab is a 20-foot container, costs $2.8 million, that can be transported by truck or helicopter to any location.

"Soldiers walk into the lab and say, 'this is my problem.' The PhDs then do the work and show it to the soldiers. The soldiers give them feedback," and they work together tinkering with the tech until it is exactly fit for purpose, explained Westley Brin, product manager with the REF.

Read full article.

Related:

-- US army builds its own 3D printer

-- Just one more thing. US military working on backpack-sized 3D printer

3D Systems CubeX 3D printer, winner of 'Best of CES Award '

3D Systems announced today it won a Best of CES Award for its CubeX™ 3D printer, the ultimate desktop 3D printer that can print as big as a basketball in triple color. Produced and judged by editors from CNET the winners of the Best of CES Awards were announced Thursday, January 10, at 2013 CES in Las Vegas. Congrats!

[via Nasdaq]

First US conference and expo dedicated exclusively to 3D printing. April 22-23 in New York City

Inside 3D Printing 2013 is the first U.S. conference and expo dedicated exclusively to the 3D printing industry. It will be held APril 22-23 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Two full days of tutorials and conference sessions, as well as an exhibition of 3D printing applications and services. Register now.

A companion west coast conference will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center in September 2013.

Signing your 3D prints with digital/physical signature

It happens almost everyday that things you made are copied by others. Chris at TheNewHobbyist has come up with a speical solution: signing your 3D prints with a digital/physical signature.

In his own words:

I had looked into subtracting a logo or initials on the bottom of my prints but leaving an outline in the first few layers. Unfortunately this wasn’t always practical depending on your intended application for the part. So I took the idea of “stamping” a design into the bottom of the part and moved it up and into the center of my print.

Read more. via 3ders.org.

3D Printing News Investors Need to Know

3D Systems will be acquiring Geomagic, a company that provides 3D imaging software to scan physical objects into 3D CAD models. In this video, Motley Fool industrial analysts Blake Bos and Isaac Pino discuss why they like this merger.

Geomagic press release.

The stories that rocked my world in 2012 and made me fall in love with 3D printing

I'm new to 3D printing but everything I read fills me with excitement and anticipation. There is such a sense — just like the early Internet days — that something big is happening and the world is about to change irrevocably, again.

I have been filled with awe reading about how the medical field is experimenting with 3D printing of cells, organs, vaccines and prosthetics. I have been amazed at the creativity of designers and plain hobbiest as they came up with the most amazing innovative looking objects. I have had the best time reading about 3D printing photo booths and was amused by the first feeble attempts at making 3D printed sex toys. I've been appalled by a pro gun group called Defense Distributed who is committed to printing a 3D gun and concerned about the challenges to copyright law which might clip the wings of this amazing technology on the verge of going mainstream thanks to affordable printers, an ever increasing choice of materials and vast collection of software models available online.

But what I loved the most, was finding out how 3D printing could be used for the social good. Here are my favorite projects for 2012:

1. 3D printing could make a huge difference to emergency responses, saving a fortune by printing things like tools, basic items and equipment on the ground from recycled materials, rather than flying them in from other countries.

2. 3D printed houses could rid the world of poverty-stricken slums characterised by make-shift corrugated iron shacks. Professor Behrock Khoshnevis' project would use materials costing 25 per cent less than traditional houses and would cut labour costs in half.

3. Perhaps my favorite project, from Kenya, 3D Printed shoes to alleviate jigger sufferers. Called Happy Feet, the project aims to use 3d printing to make customised shoes for people suffering from Jigger. Thus a right shoe can be made differently than a left, depending on the level of infestation. The shoes would be manufactured from reused plastic and would also be recyclable once they are worn out.

4. And finally, the "Homeless snow globe" a jewel of a concept and campaign by clever ad agency BBH to raise awareness on the plight of the homeless in Birtain. The homeforxmas.org website invited visitors to make a donation. Each day BBH selected one donor and made them a 3D printed snowglobe — featuring their own house.

The Year in Review: Fabaloo's Top Ten Stories in 3D Printing

Fabaloo shares their top ten stories of what mattered in 3D printing in 2012.

1. Staples announces the will be offering 3D printing services in in Belguim and the Netherlands. ...

2. 3D Printing Electronics happened this year. ...

3. 3D Printing of Guns (or more accurately, parts of guns) was probably the most written about story this year. ...

4. How Musems are getting involved in 3D printing to restore ancient artifacts. ...

5. French 3D printing company Sculpteo raised $2.5 million. ...

6. Shapeways Opens 3D printng factory in Long Island, New York. ...

7. 3D printed sex toys made an appearance - but it's still early days. ...

8. 3D Printing Photo Booths made headlines around the world. ...

9. Scientists worked on 3D printing of veins and arteries. ...

10. Stratasys and Objet merged creating a monster-sized 3D company with more diverse capabilities than either company had previously. ...

Other favorite "year in reviews":

-- 2012 – Top 5 3D Printing Applications by Rachel Park

-- Personal Top 5 3D Printed Apps for 2012 by Juho Vesanto

3D Printing Ideas Among 2012 “Science Fiction Become Facts” List

Amongst BuzzFeed's list of the 27 Science Fictions that Became Science Facts in 2012, 3 were about 3D printing innovations:

-- A 3D Printing of full-size houses

-- A 3D printed jaw implant made for a 83-year-od woman

-- A 3D printed solar photovoltaic film to create cheap and flexible solar panels.

[On 3D Printing via @3DPrint_newsbot]

Ford's Gift to Engineers: MakerBot 3D Printers

Business Week reports that Ford Motor now puts 3D printers at workstations for its engineers.

Furthermore, the car company plans to put the smaller MakerBot replicators at every engineer’s desk in the coming months. Ford pitches this as its commitment to engineering, but I see it as the future of distribution if the desktop replicator technology follows the path taken before it by the minicomputer and then the PC.

Watch video on Ford's 3D printing. Read their press release.

3D printing, China’s new growth point

China plans to invest in locally-invented 3D printing technologies to boost its manufacturing power, according to a senior industrial official, reports NZWeek.

Su Bo, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said the country should establish plans and use tax incentives to speed up research and development (R&D) and application of 3D printing technologies.

“It is a revolutionary manufacturing technique. Once put to large-scale production, it will ease China’s pressure on energy and resources,” said Su at an international forum on additional manufacturing technology, which closed in Wuhan on Sunday.

David Bourell, a professor of the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States, sees great potential in the application of additional manufacturing in China."Even if the smallest portion of consumer goods are produced through 3D printing, the market volume will be tremendous", he said.

China is the world’s biggest manufacturer. If the technology can be put to broader use, the country’s productivity and energy- and resource-use efficiency will improve greatly, said Su Bo.

Read more. 3D printed dragon by Objet.

New Zealand to incorperate 3D printing in education

Next year in New Zeland 3D printers will be incorporated into K-12 education. The new curriculum standard 91622 will give students the chance to design a Chess piece that will need to be made on a 3D printer.

[3D Printing Systems via 3DPrintingModelBlog]

Even Music Isn’t Beyond the Power of 3D Printing

According to BetaBeat, this made the rounds back in August on design blogs, but it seems the techies missed it.

Realität, a Mexico City-based design firm, has devised a way to translate music into a snazzy physical form. They’ve mapped the soundwaves and printed the models using a Makerbot.

The site dedicated to the project explains what these “microsonic landscapes” are.

Read more. via Make and @3DPrint_newsbot.

Cubify launches a new app that allows users to build their own, customised Christmas Ornaments

Cubify launches a new app in the Cubify store that allows users to build their own, customised Christmas Ornaments. 3D Printing Industry reports.

The first step is to choose from any of 12 different pre-selected basic shapes, after which you can add your own decoration by clicking and dropping the decorative item on your chosen ornament.

Once you have completed the process you can download the final version free of charge for 3D printing or utilise the Cubify 3D printing service.

Read more.

McKinsey Global Institute report on how 3D printing is changing manufacturing as we know it

The Economist on a new McKinsey Global Institute report on how 3D printing is changing manufacturing as we know it.

... The old rules of manufacturing, such as “you must seek economies of scale” and “you must reduce unit-labour costs”, are being cast aside. New machines can print every item differently. More flexible robots are getting cheaper and better at doing all the boring and dirty stuff.

Add to that another 1.8 billion consumers who will join the global marketplace in the next 15 years and “Manufacturing the Future”, a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute, has good cause to be optimistic. Demand will grow not only for basic goods (which are typically made in developing countries) but also for the costly, innovative gadgets and high-tech products that rich countries make. McKinsey reckons that rich countries will keep making such products better than anyone else.

Read full article.

Report: McKinsey Global Institute: Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation
November 2012 — by James Manyika, Jeff Sinclair, Richard Dobbs, Gernot Strube, Louis Rassey, Jan Mischke, Jaana Remes, Charles Roxburgh, Katy George, David O'Halloran and Sreenivas Ramaswamy

3D printer stocks soar on Wall Street

Mark Fleming, founder of 3D Printer, reports on how 3D printer stocks are faring on the market and how investing in them is within the reach of any size investor.

The two publicly traded companies, 3D Systems (DDD) and Stratasys (SSYS), today saw some of the biggest gains on Wall Street, on an otherwise mixed day that had the S&P down 0.20%. The 3D printer stocks made an incredible showing, with Stratasys rising 7.33% and DDD rising even further, 11.52%.

These are highly volatile stocks, as they are still rather small, so news, analyst opinions, earnings and other events can move them significantly from day to day. Hell, I’ve been around long enough to know that the gains we’ve seen today could be wiped out tomorrow. But these are companies you should be in for the long term (other than any trading shares you want to play with)–with all the patents they own and the growth and momentum they have, they are going to be the leaders for some time.

Actually, I believe we’ll see them being bought out. No inside information, just my own non-professional opinion.

Researchers use 3-D printer to make parts from moon rock

A paper in Rapid Prototyping Journal demonstrates how to print parts using materials from the moon. PhysOrg reports.

In 2010, researchers from NASA initiated discussion with Amit Bandyopadhyay from the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, asking if their research team might be able to print 3-D objects from moon rock.

Because of the tremendous expense of space travel, researchers strive to limit what space ships have to carry. Establishment of a lunar or Martian outpost would require using the materials that are on hand for construction or repairs. That's where the 3-D fabrication technology might come in.

First demonstration on direct laser fabrication of lunar regolith parts
Type: Research paper
Author(s): Vamsi Krishna Balla, Luke B. Roberson, Gregory W. O'Connor, Steven Trigwell, Susmita Bose, Amit Bandyopadhyay
Source: Rapid Prototyping Journal Volume: 18 Issue: 6 2012

Related article from C/Net - 3D printer on moon or Mars could make tools from local rocks - Rocks on the moon or Mars could be used to print useful objects like tools or replacement parts.

Energy transition, 3D printing and 'smart' fabrics hailed as growth drivers for next 20 years

As par of the Technology and Innovation Futures report, the evaluating team has selected their favoured technology. Leading the way in the list are 'smart' fabrics, 3D printing and energy transition. [via GrowthBusiness]

Links in report related to 3D Printing:

-- Technology and Innovation Futures: UK Growth Opportunities for the 2020s: 2.2(11) 3D printing and personal fabrication - (pdf) scroll to bottom of report.

-- Technology Annex (pdf)

The Telegraph puts a damper on 3D printing: Stop talking rubbish.

Way beyond playing the devil's advocate, Willard Foxton at The Telegraph goes all out in tearing down the hopes, and dreams surrounding 3D printing.

Pick up any technology magazine, and you'll find gushing articles about how the world is going to be completely transformed by 3D printing – everyone from Wired to the Economist has speculated on changes to society that 3D printing will bring.

Having talked to a bunch of manufacturing engineers, I'm not so sure. All the enthusiasm for the "revolution" seems to come from journalist observers of the 3D printing scene, the companies offering the "revolutionary technology", and a handful of Lefty academics thrilled by the idea of abolishing property.

People actually involved in manufacturing are not so sure that it's magic.

-- The technology just isn't there yet – even successful prints create models that look like they've been left on a radiator for a few hours.

-- You have to appreciate how expensive and how specialised most factory tooling is. You can run [a 3D Printer] for six months and never make the same item twice.

-- It would be 10 to 15 years before printers able to create factory-quality products would appear, and that ones able to do metal would probably never make it into the home.

-- None of the current methods of home 3D printing ... are even close to reaching the standards a machine would require.

-- 3D printing is the microwave of manufacturing. Like microwaves, 3D printing will be important, but this isn't the industrial revolution that techno-libertarians would have you believe.

In 1995, another luminary didn't believe in the Internet tidal wave either.

Read full article.

Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent

Crowd-funding website Kickstarter is being sued for its promotion of a new 3D printer. The BBC reports.

More than 2,000 users contributed over $2.9m to help Massachusetts-based Formlabs build the device.

However, 3D Systems - a leading maker of printers that turn computer design files into real-world objects - has alleged one of its patents was being infringed by the machine.

It has also filed a lawsuit against Formlabs itself.

The two defendants have yet to respond to the accusations.

Read more.

Wohlers Report 2012. Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing State of the Industry Annual Worldwide Progress Report

Wohlers Report 2012
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing State of the Industry
Annual Worldwide Progress Report
ISBN 0-9754429-8-8

Order here: US$495

Related article. - 3D Printing Industry Will Reach $3.1 Billion Worldwide by 2016 (Forbes)

... Here are just a few of the companies the report mentions or discusses that you’ll recognize: EOS, ExOne, Fab@Home, MakerBot Industries, Materialise, Objet, Optomec, ReaLizer, RepRap, Shapeways, Stratasys, and 3D Systems. He covers Australia, China, Europe, India, Israel, Japan, South Africa, and some other places you might not have known were active in 3D printing.

The report looks at how existing industries are leveraging 3D Printing. For example, how are CAD models going mobile? What are the medical applications? ... Insight into the materials for medical modeling and how surgical models are evolving. The realities of 3D scanning and reverse engineering are explored and 3D-scanning applications that are coming up because of these needs.

[via @3DPrint_newsbot]

The DreamVendor: A 3D printer in a vending machine

Students at Virginia Tech have created a 3D printer in a vending machine. You supply the files on a SD card, the part comes out in a bin.

In their own words:

The DreamVendor is an interactive 3D printing station for Virginia Tech students to enable them to quickly fabricate prototypes for their academic, and even personal, design projects.

Think of it as a vending machine with an infinite inventory - you simply insert an SD card that contains 3D printer code (generated from your CAD model) into the machine; the DreamVendor then prints your 3D part and dispenses it into a bin when it's finished.

In addition, the DreamVendor houses physical examples of the latest research by the members of the DREAMS Lab.

Reddit, Technabob via @laurenthaug

Chris Anderson: Why I left Wired - 3D Printing Will Be Bigger Than The Web

Chris Anderson has exited one of the top jobs in publishing - Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine - to pursue the life of an entrepreneur, making a big bet that 3D printers represent a massive new phase of the industrial revolution. ZDNet reports.

Speaking at a Wired "Culturazzi" event, Mr Anderson explained, there is Aliaba - an online registry of factories that will make anything for you. He told a story of ordering thousands of small electric motors, custom designed, paying with PayPal and receiving them via the mail in just a few weeks.

We are all born makers," Mr Anderson said, we are all creative. If you cook, or write, or take photos, and many other things that people do, are all creative tasks.

He spoke about the invention of "desktop publishing" when laser printers, combined with software such as Adobe Pagemaker, revolutionized the publishing industry. You no longer needed a massive print "factory" and deal with unions, you just clicked a button on your screen, "Print." A massive industry had been reproduced as a simple icon.

And that's what 3D printers represent, nothing less than the consolidation of the massed factories of the industrial revolution, into a single icon on your computer's screen: "Make."

This is the promise of 3D printers, they are "replicators" they enable us to photocopy reality: "Rip. Mod. Make."

They represent the next industrial revolution and it's because of this that Mr Anderson left his job. "It will be bigger than the Web," he predicted.

Read article.

Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson [Amazon]

Girl's Grammar School selected for UK Government's 3D printing study

A top-performing school has been selected to take part in a Government study about high-tech printing, reports This is Kent.

Simon Langton Girls' School in Canterbury is one of 20 maths and science schools across the country to take part in the trial of 3D printing and how it could help with teaching academic subjects.

The school is being sent a Makerbot 3D printer this month and then must report on the year-long study.

Read full article.

3D-Printed Biobots Will Crawl Through Your Body, Targeting Toxins

3D-printed biobots might one day roam the insides of our bodies, sensing and neutralizing toxins, targeting tumors and releasing drugs, and acting as cellular repairmen. Research published today in Scientific Reports takes a first step toward that goal.

[via Popular Mechanics]

3D printing: Can it help people in disasters?

Imagine if after an earthquake you could airdrop machines that build houses in under a day. Imagine if you had cheap and accessible medical kits that could produce bespoke medicine on demand. Imagine if you could fabricate shoes, clothes, solar cells, lamps, toilets, pipes, water pumps, and just about anything else on site and at the touch of a button.

The scenario is still a fantasy, but could a process called 3D printing ever make it a reality? Could the technology ever make a significant impression on the humanitarian world? Ian Byrne reports for trust.org.

3D printing could make a huge difference to emergency responses, saving a fortune by printing things like tools, basic items and equipment on the ground from recycled materials, rather than flying them in from other countries,” said Steve Haines, mobilisation director for global campaigns at Save the Children International.

“The technology needs more work to make it reliable to use in these contexts, but the opportunities are endless.”

Read full article. Image from engadget.

Related: - 3D printer could build a house in 20 hours