API Evangelist Blog
3D Scanning with Google Glass to 3D Print
Posted on 06-24-2013
Walking around the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore Todd, simply chose an item, walked around it whilst muttering to himself/Glass and walked away with enough images to convert into a 3D model using 123D Catch.I just walked around the work, repeating, ok glass, take a picture over and over, 30 shots in total. No real care in aiming the shot. I just looked at it and thats it. Then I manually uploaded the photos from Google Autobackup to 123D Catch on my computer and proceeded as normal.
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MakerBot Merger Will Boost Desktop 3D Printing
Posted on 06-20-2013
If there was any doubt 3D printing was going to be taken seriously by the business world, then note this news: Minnesota-based Stratasys just had a big-city shopping spree and picked up MakerBot, a cool Brooklyn-based 3D printing company you may have heard of, for $403 million.It wasnt exactly a buy that was far afield for Stratasys, itself a professional-grade 3D printer operation.But the merger, set around $403 million in stock and potentially another $201 million in performance-based payouts, has sent some shockwaves around the maker community.Reactions range from concerns that the larger company may absorb MakerBot, or at least the special sense of community the small four-year-old company engenders, to excitement that the startups efforts are getting the recognition it deserves.(See also What Is A MakerBot, And Why Does It Matter?
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Theres Something About 3d Printed Shoes
Posted on 06-19-2013
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One of the most interesting items to 3D print on a high-power color 3D printer turns out to be shoes.We were blown away when we first encountered a color 3D printed shoe last year - the visual realism is only broken when you pick up the shoe and realize its made of sandstone.
Weve discovered a number of shoe print images on Zprints Flickr stream, some of which we show here.All of these are not real shoes.They are 3D prints, each made on a Zcorp color 3D printer.
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Stratasys acquires MakerBot
Posted on 06-19-2013
There are some who say that MakerBot has done more for DIY 3D printing than almost any other company.Likewise, the venerable industry stalwart Stratasys has long held its own in professional circles.So it kind of makes sense that they should team up together.The two companies have announced a proposed $403 million in stock to merge MakerBot into the Stratasys fold as a subsidiary entity.MakerBot would continue business as usual, with Bre Pettis remaining at the helm.
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BREAKING: Stratasys Acquires MakerBot
Posted on 06-19-2013
Call us wrong on this one.The other week we suggested it didnt make much sense for Stratasys to purchase MakerBot, in spite of rumors.Regardless of our analysis, simultaneous press releases from both companies this afternoon say a deal has in fact been made.
The deal, set to close in Q3, is a stock swap where MakerBot will merge with a Stratasys subsidiary and operate separately, maintaining its own identity, products and go-to-market strategy.
Our previous analysis listed reasons why the deal didnt make sense.
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3D Printed Sports Logos: Illegal?
Posted on 06-19-2013
Boston, Massachusetts is the original home of ZCorp, now owned by 3D Systems.Its also the home of the Boston Bruins NHL hockey club, currently battling the Chicago Blackhawks for the championship Stanley Cup.
In 2011 the Bruins won the cup and the folks (or perhaps fans) at ZCorp printed out the Bruins official logo above.Since that time weve seen multiple sports logos developed specifically for 3D printing.Normally these logos are 2D items, so it takes some creativity to convert them into 3D structures.
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Finland Looks to Enter the 3D Printing Market
Posted on 06-07-2013
In a recently announced partnership, the Institute of Photonics at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and Dutch company LUXeXceL will partner together to create a photonic 3D printer.Started only a few shorts days ago, the UEF’s Institute of Phototonics has hit the ground running, grabbing its first large industrial partnership within a week of its opening.It’s partnership with optical rapid prototyping firm LUXeXceL will leverage the company’s Printoptical Technology, a method for printing optical quality components that don’t require post processing.According to LUXeXceL their Printoptical systems uses a modified wide format industrial printer to deposit droplets of a UV-curable polymer onto the print surface.Once deposited a UV-lamp mounted inside the print head immediately cures the polymer.
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China Turns to 3D Printing
Posted on 06-06-2013
Apparently some 40% of 3D printer installations are in the United States, while other countries lag significantly behind.China is positioned at only 9% despite being the worlds leader in manufacturing.
That may change as a new conference specifically focused on 3D printing took place in Beijing.The World 3D Printing Conference, which concluded last week, was evidently the first of its kind in China.
Many of the six hundred attendees were likely unfamiliar with 3D printing and this could have been their first up close encounter with the technology.
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3D Printing Retail Store To Open In Illinois
Posted on 06-06-2013
Weve seen MakerBot pioneer 3D printing retail deep in New York City and then in London at the iMakr store.Now theres another retail venture taking place in Evanston, Illinois - which is just north of Chicago, for those unfamiliar with the area.
GetPrinting3D is a showroom where visitors can take a look at 3D printing technology first hand, ask questions and examine 3D printed objects.The shop is set to open in late June.
The Dayton, Ohio-based company has evidently been selling 3D print technology for some time, but now has chosen to open a retail operation in Evanston.
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X-Box One Prototyped with 3D Printer
Posted on 05-31-2013
At its Redmond, Washington, headquarters, Microsoft unveiled its next generation video game console the X-Box One.The console, which will feature 15 exclusive titles, Skype video calling, and a voice and gesture command feature, came with one other surprise; it was prototyped using 3D printers.Admittedly, Microsoft isn’t a new comer to the world of 3D printing.For the last 3 years, the hi-tech giant has used 3D printing to prototype their Surface tablets and X-Box controllers. To keep up with all of this prototyping, Microsoft has three 3D printers dedicated to its hardware design center.
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