Sandboxr Custom Figurines
Want a custom 3d printed figurine of your favorite video game character? When it launches out of its private beta, Sandboxr could be the place to check.
The promise of 3d printing is customized manufacturing. We’re beginning to see content providers for models, with marketplaces such as Shapeways and Thingiverse allowing people to find content and 3d print them without much technical knowledge or 3d modelling skills. Sites like MixeeMe and MyRobotNation let users swap out pieces of the models but have limited pose options. Sandboxr lets models built for animation be placed into custom poses and handles the 3d printing. You can use sliders to play through animation loops, or manually position limbs and accessories. Then, click the buy button and Sandboxr will mail your custom 3d print in exactly that pose. Continue Reading →
Review of Felix 1.5
Do you want to 3d print objects, or do you want to learn about 3d printers? The Felix 1.5 ends up giving buyers a little of both. Most thinking about getting the Felix 1.5 from Felix Printers will be getting it as the kit, to save the €400 cost of the upgrade from the DIY kit to fully assembled. It’s a unique machine, with some great design ideas, but it comes with a few flaws. Continue Reading →
What Should I 3d Print First?
When they get a new 3d printer, many people ask what should you 3d print first. Here are some standard test prints that people try first. These prints let you easily compare your prints against other people with the same machine, so if you run into issues, they can help. Or they just look good. Here are some things you can print first with your new 3d printer.
A cube
One of the simplest items. You should be able to create this easily in any 3d modeling software package. If not, now’s your trial by fire. Make a 20mm cube, then measure it with calipers to see how close your software and printer setup got. If the sides have flaws in them, or you ended up with a bird’s nest of filament, adjust the parameters until you can get a reliable tiny cube. An extension of this is the essential calibration set. These are standard prints experienced people can eyeball and tell you what settings you need to change. Continue Reading →
Objet 3d Printed Fashion Dresses
More Couture through 3d printing. MIT professor Neri Oxman, who explores organic forms through 3d printing, teamed up with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen to produce these custom 3d printed couture. The dresses debuted during the 2013 Paris Fashion week. Continue Reading →
ExOne IPO Analysis
Industrial 3d printer maker ExOne will IPO in the coming months and list as XONE on the Nasdaq market. They hope to make about $75 million through the IPO. The prospectus they recently released to potential investors contains gems on ExOne and the 3d printing market in general. Continue Reading →
3d Printed Custom Pez Dispensers
When they were approached by a client wanting a unique 3d printed Holiday gift for the client’s employees, 3d printed jewelry company Hot Pop Factory came up with a novel mix of candy and 3d scanning. They scanned each employee’s head with a kinect using ReconstructMe, cleaned the scans in meshmixer, and 3d printed each to fit a pez dispenser. Instead of a cartoon character, each employee gets to eat pez dispensed from their own head.
3d Printed Birth Control
When designer Ronen Kadushin creates, he designs with society in mind. He releases his designs to the public as CAD files, letting anyone use them. His recent design, the Bearina, is a concept design for a 3d printed IUD. It shouldn’t actually be used, because most 3d printed materials are not bioinert – certainly the two used in consumer grade 3d printers are not – ABS and PLA. As a concept, it shows the power of 3d printing. Something that normally costs $400-850, can be 3d printed for orders of magnitude less.
While these might work as prototypes, they could also be toxic, depending on the material used to 3d print the design. 3d Systems prints prostheses, some using bioinert materials. If they wanted to spin off a company to give low cost access to birth control to developing nations, they could. Perhaps a philanthropist could do the same. We might even see China 3d printing IUDs to help solve their population issues.
Buy Small Test Batches of Color Filament
As a creator of 3d products, I find myself visualizing the shape of the print, then the color it would be best in. When I want to print a tiny goldfish model in orange, I usually give up, because who wants a full spool of bright orange filament? 3d Printer Joseph Chiu decided he would fix the dilemma, and he’s opened a store that sells small quantities of colored filament. No longer do you have to buy a huge section of a strange color and only use it once, wondering what you’ll make with that aquamarine.
Each color comes in 100g increments of 1.75mm filament. This filament should work with Makerbots, RepRap, Up, Afinia, Solidoodle, and any other 3d printer that uses 1.75mm ABS. Buy some, and let your creativity go wild.
USPTO Additive Manufacturing Meeting Recap
The US Patent and Trademark Office held a meeting today of the Additive Manufacturing Partnership. The open sessions seemed to be informative as a 3d printing introduction, but with an unclear overall purpose. Presenters on behalf of Stratasys and 3D Systems talked about their technology, outlining some of their patent portfolios and how their patents allowed them to dominate the 3d printing marketplace while they were in effect. Now that many of the formative patents have expired, newcomers are flooding the market with new innovations.
Shapeways outlined their business, but offered little during their presentation on patent and trademark issues they face. In discussion during time between presentations, they revealed they frequently deal with trademark issues, especially from users uploading 3d models directly from videogames. In general, they remove items from sale until a dispute is resolved, and Shapeways facilitates communication between the seller and rights holder.
The USPTO presenters talked about how they try to educate their patent examiners and welcomed input from the industry in guidance and public education. They will be releasing a tv special on 3d printing in the coming months.
Overall, the feeling seemed to be that the companies involved both relish their own patents and hate the limitations enforced by the patents of their competitors. We left the meeting feeling that all the parties involved had their own focus, and aligning the interests would be difficult if not impossible.
Interview with Mixee Me Co-Founder Aaron Barnet
Mixee Me makes it easy to make 3d printed cartoon versions of yourself and friends with their free online figurine designer. Mixee Me Co-Founder Aaron Barnet took some time to answer our questions about Mixee Me’s growth, its technology, and what he sees as the future of 3d printing.
What’s your favorite Mixee so far?
My favorite Mixees are the ones that play a role in people’s lives. For example, one couple bought Mixees of themselves to take on their honeymoon, and they want to take pictures of their Mixees in their honeymoon locations as a memento. Another pair of Mixees was recently involved in a marriage proposal.
How has the reception been of Mixee Me?
The reception has been really exciting. We don’t have a budget for traditional marketing, so we’ve been relying on blog coverage and word of mouth which has led to some great coverage. Everybody from artists to soccer moms have been using Mixee. Continue Reading →