Can you 3D print an aircraft engine? Yes, yes you can… granted you have the inclination and enough thermoplastic to scare a small horse. Last year at Autodesk University 2009, Autodesk and Stratasys saddled up to reveal an aircraft engine created in Inventor and printed using the Fortus3D production system.

I maintain that it would have been a more dramatic presentation if the CEO of both Autodesk and Stratasys actually did ride out on the aircraft engine together… with Bette Midler singing The Wind Beneath My Wings…

However, in lieu of that, we did talk recently with Joe Hiemenz, Technical Communications and PR Guy for that Stratasys outfit about the print and how it was developed.

Think about this. A vest that allows you to receive a massage AND acts as a device to manipulate video game play, or in our case, 3D geometry. Are you feelin’ it!?

Well, before you get excited and tell your friends to cozy up behind you, think about this… are they certified to be developing products via the tight knots in your lower spinal region. hmm, I think not. Nevertheless, they can thanks to some creative Austrians from the University of Art and Industrial Design Linz.

The concept is called Massage Me and if you can’t wait for it to hit the stores, you can go DIY or host your own design massage par-tay. YES.

I must say, each pastry you pull from your pocket is more delicious than the last… You have magic pastry pockets! Magic pastry pockets? YES, and they’re covered with these links!! Dylan Cole – Cities!? Vehicles!? yes, only the best for you and your crew. Mr. Cole means business. 25 3D Characters – AMAZING. Really,…

So, crack your virtual bottles against your virtual skulls. 3DVia is cranking out the goodness this week at the 2010 Games Developer’s Conference. Yes, it’s all fun and games, but just maybe a chance to add a lil’ gleam to snazzy up your product scene.

Along with their new Social Game Billions, they’ve just made the magic behind the creation of it available to you… absolutely free. 3DVia Studio is available for download and 3DVia Scenes is the backdoor to getting your ideas out the virtual door. More after the snap!

Because the popular 3D CAD apps have no visible appendages to beat each other down into an oily goo or give their own opinion on medicine, politics or art, we’ve decided to see what the web has to say about how they all stack up in this regard.

To do it, we’re using a nifty little web app from Aaron Zinman and the MIT Sociable Media Group called Personas. It’s part of the Metropath(ologies) exhibit at the MIT university and an interesting way to see how your name can be used to lock you into a little house of web activity.

However, instead of a person’s name, we’ll enter the names of a few popular CAD companies – SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Alibre, Pro/E, and Inventor – to see who has more character and then poke and laugh at the results.