FoldStar provides a very unusual 3D model generation system. The New Jersey-based company’s product, by the same name, is a generative system to dynamically create 3D models of folded geometry. Here’s how it works, in their words: Doubly-Periodic Folding Tessellations are a versatile family of deployable materials that repeat a pattern in “row” and “column”…

Image: Yannick Castaing Need an introductory 3D modeling tool? MagicaVoxel is what you need. MagicaVoxel is a free, open source software package that provides simple, yet surprisingly powerful 3D modeling capability. Creator ephtracy explains: A free lightweight 8-bit voxel art editor and interactive path tracing renderer. And that is precisely what this is. At first…

A French company, Bombyx Prod, has devised a different way to provide 3D print services to manufacturers. The problem being attacked here is the low-volume production market. This market exists because there are those who require smaller volumes of products than would otherwise justify the expense of setting up a traditional manufacturing line. Several 3D print…

This could be a very big idea: 3D Hybrid Solutions announced a system to convert everyday CNC machines into powerful 3D metal printers. The startup company, based in Los Angeles, offers add-on hardware that could become a tool in a multi-tool metal CNC machine. Typical competent metal CNC machines today offer the ability to mill…

Crystallon is a new feature for Rhino3D / Grasshopper CAD design that automatically generates lattice structures. Lattices are a critical component for the future of 3D printing. Why? Because they create structures that are a) useful, and b) only producible by 3D printing processes. The value equation here is for companies to shift into new…

Call me surprised, but Ultimaker is moving ahead rapidly. The company embarked on a tricky strategic change a couple of years ago and now it seems to be paying off with a blockbuster announcement from Bosch. The giant manufacturer has agreed to equip their worldwide offices with Ultimaker 3D printers. This could amount to thousands…

We’ve heard a lot about “personal” 3D printing in the past, but perhaps it’s time for “personalized” 3D printing. By “personal” 3D printing, I mean the ownership of a 3D printer and production of objects for personal use. This was, and probably still is, the vision for consumer-based 3D printing. While there was a great…

I’m reading more about the concept of “metamaterials”, and believe this is a lot more important than I imagined. What Are Metamaterials? But first, what are metamaterials? They are simply 3D objects that gain their properties from an ingenious internal structures. In other words, an object made of metamaterials may adopt different engineering properties compared…

At CES last week, I noticed something interesting at the T3D booth. If you recall from our previous stories, T3D is a 3D printing startup that produces a clever desktop 3D printer that re-uses your own smartphone as the printing engine. The T3D mobile desktop 3D printer uses a resin process to create solid objects. Photopolymer resin is…

It turns out that Microsoft has now officially ceased production of their popular 3D sensor, the Kinect. What does this mean for 3D printing? The Kinect’s purpose originally had nothing whatsoever to do with 3D printing; it was designed as a method for Microsoft’s gaming console system, the XBox, to have an unusual input method.…

The web-based version of SketchUp is now official. Trimble’s SketchUp is a very popular 3D modeling tool that is used worldwide. I believe a large component of its popularity is due to the fact that for a time Google-owned SketchUp before it was sold off to France-based Trimble, who has managed the product since then.…

A 3D printer manufacturer has a new application target: foam! Foam, you ask? Everyone is familiar with foam, as it’s been around for decades. Foam has been traditionally produced with a chemical reaction process: resins are mixed that produce countless small bubbles. These bubbles become fixed when the resin solidifies shortly thereafter. Foam is incredibly…

Formlabs announced a new “color kit” for their equipment. The company has marketed resin-based desktop 3D printers for years now, but until recently had a rather limited selection of resins. At the beginning they had only a standard utility resin available in grey and clear colors. Times have changed; Formlabs now offers a wide variety…

When 3D printing arrived, the public waited to see how it would change the world. While no major changes can be noted yet, as the cost of 3D printing drops and it slowly enters the mainstream market, businesses revolving around the technology are beginning to appear. By blurring the line between producers and consumers, and…

Something quite interesting was observed at the recent FormNext exhibition. This year’s FormNext was indeed the largest dedicated exhibition of 3D printing equipment, materials, and services ever held in human history, with 420 exhibitors and over 20,000 attendees. However, I noticed something very interesting when compared to the same show last year. This year there…

We’ve just done a quick test of a new 3D model repair tool, CUR3D Maker Edition. The need for 3D model repair tools has never been higher, with the number of 3D printers increasing rapidly around the world. 3D printers and their software typically treat poorly formed 3D models in a bad way, often resulting…

3Devised is about to launch their new “PLUTO” desktop 3D printer on Kickstarter. The machine is resin-powered and uses the “top-down” approach, unlike almost every other SLA-style 3D printer, which tends to illuminate (usually with lasers) through the bottom of a transparent tank. Instead, the PLUTO fires its light downwards onto the (hopefully) flat and…

This could be big news for 3D printing of all types: iMakr intends on opening up 40 new 3D print retail shops across the globe. It’s actually a franchise arrangement, whereby local entrepreneurs can gain iMakr’s expertise, brand and processes for deployment in a regional setting. This leverages the experience iMakr has gained over the…

New Matter has released a new desktop 3D printer that improves on their original design. We first encountered the company some years ago and were impressed with their approach. While their device was quite inexpensive, it distinguished itself with a sophisticated cloud system to manage and operate the 3D printer. In other words, it was…

MakePrintable announced an interesting integration with Cura that should make life much easier for many 3D printer operators. Recap: MakePrintable is a startup that offers a very powerful 3D model repair service. Their cloud-based software seems to be able to repair even the most awfully formed, but still STL-syntactically correct 3D models. I’ve tossed some…

A new handheld 3D scanner is announced, and it sports a very attractive price. The new “peel 3d” is a simple-to-operate handheld 3D scanner that uses structured light to collect 3D point data on a subject. The associated software then quickly interprets the points into a usable 3D model and even provides very straightforward methods…

MatterHackers announced a new, upgraded 3D printer set-top controller, the MatterControl T7X. MatterHackers, a California-based 3D print reseller, markets a variety of different 3D printer brands and a wide set of filaments as well, but to us they are most well known for producing a very interesting set top box for typically “dumb” desktop 3D…

3DAGOGO, the startup company behind 3D print cloud service provider Astroprint, is attempting to raise funds through crowdsourcing. The MicroVentures campaign intends on raising at least USD $50,000 for the company, with a maximum amount set at USD $500,000. As of this writing, early into the campaign, they’ve raised a little over USD $20,000. On…

Stella, a “Polyhedron Navigator” provides a way to very quickly view and generate almost any type of 3D polyhedron you can imagine. What’s a 3D polyhedron? While you may bump into them in real life constantly, it’s a geometric concept that encompasses a broad set of possible objects. Wikipedia defines them as: In geometry, a polyhedron (plural…

Germany-based voxeljet announced a new 3D printing process they call HSS. voxeljet is known for their line of very large format 3D printers, which are specialized for the production of casting molds. Many companies use voxeljet technology to produce large cast metal parts, and in many circumstances, do so much more effectively than using conventional…

With Mercedes-Benz announcing last year that it is now selling 3D printed spare parts for its cargo trucks, 3D printing is gaining momentum as a commercial strategy for large-scale manufacturers. But what does 3D printing mean for non-enterprise businesses and entrepreneurs? Can 3D printing really offer ordinary people the chance to change their lives? As the technology…

Japan-based Mimaki formally announced a new and rather interesting full-color industrial 3D printer. The new machine, the 3DUJ-553 UV LED, is the first 3D printer for the organization, which to this point has produced only 2D color equipment. But they are a large corporation with decades of experience developing very high-quality printing solutions, today making…

An interesting technique used by some Ultimaker users could put a better finish on your 3D printed parts. It’s called “Neosanding” and is a way for flat surface layers to be “polished”, so to speak. The technique has been developed by Ultimaker forum moderator Neotko from Spain, who has recently posted a version 2 method…

Italy-based WASP announced a new version of their flagship 3d printer, the DeltaWASP 20 40 Turbo2. WASP has become very well known for their reliable – and sometimes overly large – delta-style 3D printers. They’ve developed equipment that can 3D print in a variety of unusual materials, including local clay, plastic pellets and other substances.…

Entertainment giant Disney has published (pdf) an interesting study on a compliant mechanism system they’ve developed to assist in 3D design, which could be very useful for 3D printing. What is a “compliant object”? They explain: Fueled by progress in technology and computation, however, many fields of engineering have started to embrace deformation and to leverage flexibility…

MyStemKits announced an international expansion of its 3D printing kits and curriculum, which could eventually lead to breakthroughs in 3D print use worldwide. MyStemKits is a US-based organization that provides educational packages for students and teachers to learn about 3D design and print in the classroom. We’ve written about them previously when they launched larger quantities…

There are 3D print fashion designers, and there are fashion designers who go a bit farther. One of them is Francis Bitonti. Bitonti has been working in the 3D print field of fashion design for many years, and we’ve seen his works at multiple exhibitions. In fact, our records show that he’s been awarded Fabbaloo’s…

From something quite obscure a few years ago, 3D printing is now at the point where you can obtain a degree focused on the technology. 3D printing, or Additive Manufacturing, as it is sometimes known, has long been a single-course subject in engineering schools, or as a tool one might learn as part of lab…

Though 3D printing was slow to catch on when equipment was expensive and resources were hard to come by, we’re living in a different world now. 3D printing jobs are in demand. 3D Printing Jobs on the Rise Many companies and private individuals are embracing the convenience and practicality that come with 3D printing. As…

3D metal printer manufacturer Höganäs delivered a new machine to a client this week, but it’s not a typical client. Readers may recall my enthusiasm upon discovering Höganäs last year. The Swedish company produces metal powders for additive manufacturing, but also develops and markets their own 3D metal printing equipment. The 3D metal printer, shown here,…

I’m trying out a new online service that hopes to enable makers to work together on open source hardware projects. 3D Orchard is a web service designed by three enthusiasts hoping to ignite the development of many more open source hardware projects. To that end, the service offers three features: A browser-based community-style 3D CAD…

Canada-based Mosaic Manufacturing announced a new version of their Palette multimaterial accessory, the Palette+. If you’re not familiar with the Palette concept, it is a very unusual approach to achieving multimaterial 3D printing on almost any open materials desktop 3D printer. Imagine this: a multicolor print is simply a long series of filament swaps, from…

“I got two words for you brochacho, CARBON FIBER.” Some 3D printers can print in carbon fiber, but this 3D printer is made from carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is an increasingly popular material in the 3D print world, due to its low weight and high strength. Multiple 3D printers now have the capability of 3D…

A recent Kickstarter project from OPENCREATORS has shown a 3D printer with features we haven’t seen previously. The cryptically-named BS210 is a desktop 3D printer using the standard filament extrusion process, and the machine is mostly typical among many in the market, with the exception of a couple of rather unusual features. Certainly it appears…

I’m reading an interesting story about how a photographer designed and 3D printed a specialty film camera and realized what this actually signifies. The camera project in question was undertaken by Paul Kohlhaussen, a photographer and designer based in London. Kohlhauseen, like some professionals, has an affinity for the older film approach to photography, over…

A startup company has launched a 3D printer specifically designed for clay 3D printing. ClayXYZ, found currently on Kickstarter, has developed a simple and low cost 3D printer that prints just clay. But it’s not any clay, it’s the commonly available “air hardening clay” that doesn’t require firing in a furnace as most clay does.…

Mosaic Manufacturing announced a new cloud-based multi-material software tool for 3D printing, CANVAS. The Canadian company has been busy building and marketing the Palette, which we’ve covered previously. This device is an ingenious 3D printer accessory which dynamically splices differently colored input filaments together in just the right sequence and lengths to enable printing of…

Previously the company marketed the AstroBox (no touch), which provided an easy means for you to connect an otherwise standalone desktop 3D printer to a powerful cloud environment, from which many interesting and useful functions became instantly possible. And that’s really what Astroprint is all about: maintaining a huge cloud network of 3D printing participants…

I’ve written on the concept of digital inventory previously, but now a company is doing so directly. The basics of the concept are found here, but in short, the idea is to maintain a digital, rather than a physical, inventory of spare parts to reduce costs. Just 3D print the parts when you require them.…

Desktop Metal has finally shown their 3D metal printing technology, and from a first look, it does appear to be game changing in several respects. The mysterious east coast startup has been a bit of a puzzle for some time now. We’ve seen only glimpses of their equipment and hints of powerful capabilities. But now…

Last week Carbon and Adidas announced a deal to produce 3D printed midsoles. But how big is this deal, exactly? It’s hard to gauge the magnitude of a business deal from popular reports, but I believe it can be estimated based on the statistics shown to the public. Carbon has developed a custom resin specifically…

Looking for an easy way to find/create 3D printable terrain models? Go no further than TouchTerrain. TouchTerrain is a project of the University of Iowa that allows you to select a rectangular surface area of anywhere on the Earth and then download a 3D model of the surface terrain. 3D Print a Terrain Models The…

SketchUp has a very interesting extension called “PlaceMaker” to instantly generate 3D models of cities. I don’t often recommend SketchUp for 3D printing purposes, as it is primarily focused on visual 3D, rather than the solid 3D required for proper 3D printing. It’s just too easy to create non-3D printable models in SketchUp and you are…

I read an interesting announcement from Aleph Objects and colorFabb that begs a question about the latter’s strategy. Aleph Objects is, of course, the producers of the very popular line of LulzBot desktop 3D printers. These are very well regarded machines that have proceeded well through a number of increasingly powerful iterations, leading up to…

Carbon introduced a couple of new items that should make their products far more interesting to those intending on production use. The problem with almost all 3D printers when considering “production” is that they are not designed for production. They are designed for prototyping. They require human attention at frequent points during their operational cycle.…