Another DIY DLP 3D Printer turns to Crowd Funding

The majority of current DIY 3D printers on the market are based around FDM technology which is a great simple 3D printing process. Put simply it takes a plastic filament, melts it down and pushes it out a tiny nozzle which is directed on to a bed which moves around in the X and Y directions to effectively draw your object. The print head is raised and the next layer is drawn on top until the part is complete. The process is slow and is limited in resolution due to the size of the nozzle opening and the Z stepping for each layer.

DLP (Digital Light Projection) on the other hand is a much faster printing process that is capable of printing very high resolution models and is a technology that is slowly creeping into the DIY 3D printer scene. Continue Reading →

Read full story

Architectural 3D Printing with the HP DesignJet

Architect Matias del Campo from Vienna has been using the HP Designjet Color 3D printer to bring his structural designs to life. Campo  has been using the machine to save time while creating difficult structures that would normally be impossible using standard model maker techniques.

Read full story

$4,000 Hi-Resolution DLP 3D Printer Kit

We posted an article last year about a new DLP 3D Printer which was being developed by a gent based in Singapore by the name of  . His machine showed promise and was capable of producing some amazingly details prints in a very short time frame. Over the past year he has invested considerable time and money into the development of his software and is now making the complete system available as kits through the crowd funding site Indegogo.  He needs to raise 300K to reach his target and is currently 1/3rd of the way through with 28 days remaining. You help Junior reach his target by pledging just $60 for a PDF copy of his plans or at the very top end $4,000 gets you a complete kit with all the components and required software to make it run.

Read on for a video of the machine.

Continue Reading →

Read full story

3DS announce Projet 3500 Professional series of 3D Printers.

3D Systems just introduced the new Projet 3500 range of professional 3D Printers to their already impressive offerings. As far as we can tell these machines replace the Projet 3000 range and apart from a new look we’re not sure if the internals have changed much from the 3000 machines. The Projet 3500 comes in 3 different configurations with a print area of 298 x 185 x 203 mm on the 3500 SD (Standard Definition), 127 x 178 x 152 mm in UHD (Ultra High Definition) on the 3500HD and 203 x 178 x 152 mm in XHD (Xtreme High Definition) on the 3500 HD PLUS. Depending on your requirements these machines can be configured 8 different ways to suit your specific needs.

Keep reading for details and video of the machine.
Continue Reading →

Read full story

Desktop or Educational 3D Printers- new ProJet 1000 & 1500

Projet 1500 3d pinter 3D Systems new ProJet 1000 and ProJet 1500 3D Printer range ticks a lot of the boxes normally associated with higher end (more expensive) machines.  This new level of 3D Printers will be very popular among small design firms and the growing educational market with features such as durable parts that are tough enough for testing fit and function, and accurate enough to test snap fit applications.  Both the ProJet 1000 and ProJet 1500 offer smooth surfaced parts and excellent high resolution detail with a minimum feature size of 0.254mm and minimum vertical wall thickness of 0.64mm

For a data sheet or video of the ProJet 1000 or ProJet 1500 in action visit www.rapid3d.com.au 

Continue Reading →

Read full story

Super detailed 3D prints from Moddler

Moddler was founded by John Vegher, one of the founders of Giant Killer Robots and Pixel Liberation Front. An Emmy winner, John brings his 12+ years of visual effects experience to Moddler.

Moddler is the premier 3d printing company for anyone seeking the highest level of surface detail available.  They specialize in turning your digital models into incredibly detailed physical models to be used as prototypes for design validation, high-end swag for clients or team members, or physical props.  These models are printed on an Objet Eden 500v polyjet 3D printer, that results in the creation of very fine detail with a high degree of accuracy.

Continue Reading →

Read full story

Dirk’s robot now eats CD’s and prints big transparent things!

Back in 2010 we posted an article about a fellow from the Netherlands who had converted a Robot that was originally used for assembling cars into a giant 3D printer. Dirk Vander Kooij’s robot is capable of printing large objects, mainly furniture, from recycled refrigerator internals. Since we last posted about him he has given his 3D printing robot a fresh coat of paint and is now being feeding it recycled CD’s so it can print clear objects such as a lamps.

Watching Dirk’s robot print is mesmerizing and reminds me of watching my first print from on a Rapman, abet on a much bigger scale. Check out the awesome video below of it in action. For more information head on over to Dirk’s website.

Read full story

Stratasys and Objet merger valued at $1.4 Billion

If you have been watching the corporate world of 3D Printing you may have notice that 3D Systems has been gobbling up a lot of 3D Printing companies. 22 at last count. This had made them one of the biggest 3D Printing companies in the World. This left a few other companies looking small in comparison… so what do you do when your competition is much bigger?? You team up. And that’s exactly what Stratasys and Objet have done with their recently announced merger. The full press release can be viewed here: http://investors.stratasys.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=664239

Both companies specialise on very different technologies, FDM v’s Objet’s Polyjet, so the merger allows them to offer different technologies to different applications.

Continue Reading →

Read full story

MiiCraft™ DLP Printer

Home built DLP 3D printers are gaining popularity all over the place. The latest one we have come across has been designed by a bunch of guys who go by the name of MiiCraft. The design is very similar to that of  DLP Printer however this one uses a Pico projector. From the looks of the photos and video’s this thing has got promise! For more information head on over to www.miicraft.com

Read full story

Tune your custom 3D Printed iPhone case!

Shapeways have teamed up with Sound Cloud to allow you to integrate your favorite audio track into a custom 3D printed iPhone case. Basically you go to their site, load up you favorite sounds snippet, drag the section of the song that you like and drop it straight on the back of the iPhone case, hit the order button and Shapeways will 3D print it and ship it to your door…. Pretty cool if you ask us. Check out The Vibe for more information.

Continue Reading →

Read full story