I’m reading a detailed post by Ars Technica on automated theft of AutoCAD designs, but is this also applicable to 3D print designs? The post explains that multiple nefarious characters have long been using scripts as a means of industrial espionage. These scripts are secretly installed on Autodesk AutoCAD instances, and then silently relay encountered…

Piracy isn’t limited to movies, music, and games alone, you might be surprised to know that 3D models are prime targets for theft as well. For instance, BMW sued TurboSquid, 3D model marketplace, for selling their car design models, and gaming giant Blizzard is still trying in vain to take down porn parodies that…

Creative Commons recently held a workshop to identify ways to move forward in providing better ways to license 3D content. While “CC” licenses have long been used to protect digital assets such as software, images and video, the usage for 3D models has been less widespread. Some printable 3D model repositories offer the ability to…

I swore I would never buy a Replicator 2 — I don’t trust companies led with charisma. Then the sleepless nights began. I couldn’t get the beautiful black metal chassis out of my head. Three point leveling. That squirrel cage extrusion cooling fan…yowzahs. Finally, after many a late night sneaking out of bed and into the study…

Reinventing the Wheel: Part 1, Part 2 In this article, I tackle a question that many have, which is: who has what IP and who is behind these wheels? The differences between FlyKly and Superpedestrian help to illustrate what I consider to be the formula necessary for sustained innovation. The question I pose to you…

Reinventing the Wheel: Part 1, Part 3 Now that we all agree that these smart wheels are significant and innovative products, we can  take a closer look at FlyKly and Superpedestrian to determine which company is and will continue to be the innovator. Today we’ll examine how both companies manage their user communities and fund…

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve seen either the FlyKly Smart Wheel or the Superpedestrian Copenhagen Wheel — probably somewhere in your Facebook News Feed. As an avid cyclist, I knew the first moment I saw the Copenhagen Wheel that I would buy one, but got pretty confused when FlyKly launched their Kickstarter campaign…