For many, a line of LEGO-inspired 3D printed jewelry is sure to bring a wave of nostalgia. For others who still regularly buy LEGO sets, it’s simply an ingenious way to repurpose those extra bricks as fashion accessories. Such is the premise behind the new jewelry line from French design studio Hint Lab. Thomas and…

Making something on a 3D printer these days is easy. You upload the files to your computer, add in the filament, and you have your brand spanking new item within a couple of hours. Casting metal, on the other hand, is much more complicated. But Seth Robinson of Robinson Foundry could marry the two methods…

Among other industries that have seen a rapid change due to the implementation of additive manufacturing, jewelry designers are able to create entirely different forms that, even up until a few years ago, were too costly to implement into a day-to-day workflow. Between the combination of generative modeling software and various methods of small-scale 3D…

Making things with LEGO is cool and pretty easy. The same thing goes for creating the bricks themselves. Due to the toy’s simple design and the amount of stuff you can build with it, there’s a lot of unofficial products which try to emulate the Danish company’s iconic bricks. Even though they might have been…

Unlike the expensive 3D printers, a 3D pen isn’t the most precise instrument for making printed models. That’s not entirely the pen’s fault, however. By adding in a human element, you’re effectively reducing the speed and accuracy for a more personalized 3D print. Still, some people like that human touch – even if it doesn’t…

If you break it down to the basics, 3D printing simply involves heating filament and using a bunch of preprogrammed electronics to place it where you want. So, in theory, you can cut out all the complexities by heating the filament and manually spreading it yourself… right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aJDnpeFHaY While 3D printing pens definitely exist, the…

Voxelab Aquila is the new FDM 3D printer on the market that has managed to establish a compelling reputation right away. Voxelab Aquila 3D Printer Voxelab is the sub-brand of Flashforge which is already known by most of us. Aquila is the first printer of Voxelab and it comes at an alluring $200 price, but…

Finding the right free 3D modeling software that will fit your current skills and knowledge can be a challenge. For beginners, any type of this software is a tad intimidating. With a variety of software out there, finding a simple one can be truly a bit of work. If you are someone who is just…

A resin 3D printer makes highly reliable prints through the use of SLA, LCD, or DLP technology. It solidifies UV resin and transforms the liquid into high-quality 3D models at a greater rate. To dig in further, Stereolithography (SLA) is the earliest form of resin 3D printing and operates by adding a substrate of photosensitive…

If you’ve recently just bought a new 3D printer, chances are your mind is going berserk thinking about the potentials your new toy has. But hold your horses! Instead of printing something as large and complex as a 3D printer or, dare I say it, a house, you might want to start your new printer…

The number of 3D printer products on the market has increased dramatically in recent years, with new and updated models emerging on a larger scale. Interestingly, some stand out as highly powerful, and Prusa is one of them. The Brains Behind Prusa Prusa is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of 3D printers. It continuously…

In this day and age, a good number of the world’s population is already using 3D printing technology. From large manufacturing companies utilizing Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) to the more common Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) found in commercial 3D printers, almost anyone with a couple of bucks to spare can buy and make use of…

Investing in a high-end 3D printer can almost always guarantee you quality prints. However, given the plethora of choices in the market, you might end up suffering from buyer’s remorse. That is why inspecting their features, capabilities, and capacity are crucial. Through the help of our team of experts led by technicians, 3D enthusiasts, and…

Adobe announced the coming availability of a new feature in their Capture app: Scantastic. The Capture app, which is available for iOS and Android platforms, has been around for a while and has been used in the Adobe ecosystem for capturing vector graphics. One of the frequently used functions in graphics arts is to convert…

Welcome to our series ‘Shop Talk’, where Dan Slaski interviews people in the thick of product development business, who make the magic happen and turn their ideas into reality. Have an interview suggestion? Send it in. Xometry is an online mega manufacturing marketplace ready to take whatever 3D models you can throw at them.  Xometry isn’t…

An incredible demonstration of the capabilities of belt 3D printers has been completed: a 20 foot (6-meter) long part has been produced. Karl Brown of NAK 3D Designs achieved this incredible feat on a pre-release version of the upcoming 3DPrintMill from Creality, likely as a demonstration of its capability. Belt 3D Printers Belt 3D printers…

How can you use rainwater? To grow veggies, raise a clutter of Ocelots, or fill your kiddie pool to name a few. While you may have turned the kiddie pool into a giant margarita to make it through the rest of 2020, there are plenty of ways to collect and use rainwater, granted you don’t…

Crocs, Inc. is an American company based in Niwot, Colorado that offers comfortable leisure footwear and is known for innovation. In 2020 Crocs sales have surged partly due to people staying at home in response to COVID-19. The company saw a 14% increase in March 2020 when compared to 2019 sales numbers. Crocs has done…

I’m reading a fascinating story about how a small motorsport company is using 3D printing in a very different way. The company is Finland-based JML-Sports, which is an automotive company specializing in rebuilding decades-old “cult cars”, like the Toyota Celica or the Mitsubishi Lancer. It’s the brainchild of Finnish rally car driver Jari-Matti Latvala, Latvala…

BMF has released details about their new industrial-grade 3D printer targeting the micro parts market – the microArch S240. Projection Micro-Stereolithography The Boston-based company has been on our pages earlier this year when they revealed their technology. The resin-based 3D printing process they use is called “PμSL”, for “Projection Micro-Stereolithography”. PμSL is able to achieve…

I bumped into a 3D print accessory I’d never heard of, and think it’s a pretty good idea. The accessory is “Plastic Repellent Paint”, distributed by Slice Engineering. They are a reseller of unusual components for 3D printing since 2017, and their product line consists of a few exotic hot ends, replacement parts, accessories, and…

How do all those selfie-shootin’ video pros snag that smooth video? Well, outside a tripod or a wall and roll of duct tape, they’re likely using a fancy gimble device to steady their on-screen antics. While you can find a few in the $120 price range, you could also just make your own. *gasp!* Yes,…

While most people remember the Nintendo Game Boy as one of the first portable game devices, they tend to forget the number of peripherals you could attach to it: a modded backlight to illuminate the screen, a Game Link Cable to connect two or more Game Boys together, the list of accessories goes on and…

MakerBot announced a new service called MakerBot CloudPrint, which is intended to deliver a seamless 3D printing experience to clients. MakerBot Print Up to now MakerBot 3D printer operators would use MakerBot Print to prepare and schedule jobs for attached MakerBot devices. That tool has been around for several years, and it’s proven to be…

I know you’ve got a special place in your heart for the ol’ dry cell battery but I think we can all agree that a torus of hot plasma heated to millions of degrees Celsius is absolutely ideal for all our personal energy needs. Unfortunately, personal fusion power is quite possible yet with, ya know,…

It’s days like these where you’re in your speedboat zipping from port to port with bags of frozen melon balls ready to hand out and bless everyone’s day with sweet, icy goodness. Yet, how do you keep those melon balls from getting drenched by the mad wakes you’re frothing up in the bay? I know…

Since it became relatively accessible in the halcyon days of 2009-2017, give or take, 3D printing has been lauded as revolutionary tech – and for a good reason. Even excluding specialized machines that might solve homelessness from the equation, you’ve still got a hefty bit of creative power within reach. When it’s not geared towards…

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a method of using holography in 3D printing. Holography is an optical method of producing and recording a three-dimensional light field by using multiple light sources to create an interference field. You’ve likely seen holograms from time to time; they are those strange images that suddenly burst…

If there’s one plant you can grow in your workspace with very little sunlight, weekends without water, and the occasional sneer from a co-worker with an aversion to plant-life, it’s a succulent. There is, however, one thing it does need. Warm, moist, humid-erifically, moist air. I’m fascinated by large water feature fountain and atrium designs…

“If you want something to stand out, the best way to do so is to light it up like a Christmas tree.” Creators Ollie Hanton, Michael Wessely, Stefanie Mueller, Mike Fraser, and Anne Roudaut have taken this idea to heart and crafted a method to add light on any surface using a unique electroluminescent coating.…

Today I’m looking at a 3D printer I had not seen before, the Incus Hammer Lab35. Incus Background Incus is a spin off of Austria-based Lithoz, who have done very well with their line of ceramic 3D printers. Now it seems they’ve leveraged their expertise to produce a metal 3D printer that is capable of…

Researchers at UC Davis have developed an unusual new form of 3D printing that uses Droplet-Based Multiphase Emulsion. One of the big challenges in 3D printing is the inability to handle multiple materials. Typical 3D printers of today can 3D print a single material at a time, with certain more advanced models being able to…

A new online service has emerged that hopes to guide 3D printer operators to better printing parameters: 3DOptimizer. FabControl SIA, the producers of 3DOptimizer, seems to be a spinoff from well-known 3D printer manufacturer Mass Portal. Their claim to fame was being able to achieve 3D prints of astonishing quality, so there’s definitely skill present.…

The idea of parallel 3D printing is incredibly powerful. The rap against 3D printers has long been that they are monumentally slower than traditional manufacturing equipment to produce finished units, even though they are able to make objects of any design on the next print job. This slowness has sometimes been the reason for not…

If you’ve done any character sketching or modeling, you’ve likely used one of those poseable wooden figurines to frustrate you enough to eke out something that looks mostly human. It’s just a reference but, as you know, bodies are different sizes and shapes. So, what if you had a web app to pose up all…

Have you got an old laptop laying around that still boasts decent performance specs but is too banged up to take on the road? Are you looking for your next DIY electronics project? Well, Youtuber Matt of DIY Perks may have just the project for you! We’re talking an All-in-One PC conversion. Yep, a makeover…

If you happen to own stock in Nano Dimension, it’s definitely your lucky week, as the price quadrupled after a surprise announcement.  The company announced a breakthrough in its technology that will be of significant interest to the industry. Nano Dimension produces equipment to 3D print circuit boards. While circuit boards are essentially 2D structures,…

Miele, the high-end German manufacturer of consumer goods, now offers downloadable 3D models for printing. The company produces a wide array of top-notch consumer products, including vacuums, stoves, refrigerators, washers and dryers, wine coolers, dishwashers, coffee makers, and much more. Last year their revenue exceeded €4B, making them one of the largest producers of appliances…

I don’t know what you think when you hear of small prints that can expand to 40x their size, but my first thought is JACKETS. Thousands of little jackets printed, stored, and expanded with heat when I need a new one. Just think, unlimited jackets. Of course, there are some other applications like, oh, let’s…

Ah! The early days of flight! Experimental flights, experimental aircraft and, most interesting of all, experimental engines. Since 1903 there have been all matter of engines from air-cooled to liquid-cooled, inline, v-type, rotary, piston, turbine, and more. A bump in the 100+ year history of the aircraft engine is the Curtiss Number 3, a V-8…

Did you know Autodesk is providing free access to Fusion 360 due to the crisis? Fusion 360 Features Autodesk’s Fusion 360 system is a powerful cloud-based CAD tool that can provide both beginners and full-time professional designers a worthy experience. The system includes a wide variety of CAD features, including 2D sketching, 3D modeling, simulation,…

I thought I’d heard all I needed to know about 3D printed corals some years ago, but I was wrong. Some years ago, D-Shape, a then-emerging construction 3D printer manufacturer, demonstrated a way to 3D print coral reefs using their concrete printing process. Essentially they developed a rough design for a coral-like concrete structure, then…

With so much going on in the world, it’s easy to go out on a balcony, stare off to the horizon, reflect inside and say, “I have SO many awesome mixtapes!” Or had, if you tossed them in a fit of KonMari rage. If ya do have some stashed away, however, we have the PERFECT…

I’ve bumped into a very interesting technique that could save an enormous amount of support material and 3D printing time. Support structures are an inevitable aspect of 3D printing: some geometries are simply not capable of being printed without support for overhangs exceeding the threshold of your device. Typically this ranges from 45 to 60…

Or maybe I should say, you’ll want to buy it. If it was just a $59 dollar 3D printer… maybe. Or if it just was a giant LEGO block… maybe. But a $59 dollar, LEGO compatible 3D printer… SOLD. And that’s what the 3DFORT printer is. “3DFort 3D Printer represents a whole new kind of…

I’m reading a paper from Texas A&M University researchers that discusses the notion of using in-situ materials for additive manufacturing of buildings.  When you learn more about this concept, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it is a sweeping change in philosophy regarding construction in general, rather than simply a new material for construction…

I’ve received a detailed update from Photocentric regarding a spectacular improvement in their COVID-19 production rate.  If you recall, last week I reported on the Photocentric’s efforts to mass-produce a disposable ventilator valve. This component is, in some areas, in short supply and thus there could be interest in being able to produce them quickly. …

During the crisis, many are anxious to “do something” to help, and 3D print experts are stepping up to do their part.  Many groups and companies have organized COVID-19 projects to help hospitals, redirect their resources to manufacturing essential goods, and other ventures. But on an individual basis, it can be more challenging to figure…

With COVID-19 spreading, the state of the world has changed faster than you can change your shirt in the morning. We’ve gone from running about like productive worker bees to huddling in our house… nearly overnight. Part of me is like: And the other part is all like: Just about every aspect of life has…

With all the quarantining and disease spread lately, you’ve probably thought, “When’s the next flight off this crazy planet?!” Alien abduction volunteers? “Take Wuhan!” Hey now! The virus has already spread. “Blow the planet!” Calm thyself. “I’m outta here!” Ok, granted you’ll take all your bacteria and viruses with you, but should you be planning…