3dprinting
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Airbus drone is made almost entirely from 3D-printed parts
Airbus isn't content with 3D printing motorcycles -- it's crafting aircraft, too. The aviation giant used the recent Berlin Air Show to introduce Thor, a drone built almost exclusively from 3D-printed parts. Everything that isn't electrical is built from polyamide, whether it's the propellers or the landing gear. The result is a robotic aircraft that's both quick to make (there are no tools involved) and extremely light -- the entire 13-foot-long vehicle weighs a modest 46 pounds.
Cornell researchers create 3D printer that builds as you work
There's no denying the benefits of 3D printing for hobbyists and folks looking to prototype potential products. However, making changes typically means waiting for the current version to finish printing and starting a new build from scratch. Researchers at Cornell University are looking for a better solution that makes for easy tweaks and they've built "an interactive prototyping system" to do so. The "on-the-fly" 3D printing setup outputs the design that's being worked on as its created in a CAD file, allowing the user to pause for testing, measurements or to change the model that's still in progress.
World's first 3D-printed office opens in Dubai
The world's first 3D-printed office building opened this week in Dubai, Reuters reports. The 2,700-square-foot, single-story building was built in just 17 days using a gigantic, 20-foot tall 3D printer and a special mix of concrete, fiber reinforced plastic and glass fiber reinforced gypsum.
Microsoft wants you to share your 3D printer over your network
Sure, you can use your old-school paper printer from virtually any device in your home. But what if you want to use your 3D printer in the den while you're lounging in the living room? Microsoft might just come to your aid. It recently released a Windows 10 IoT Core app (currently only for the Raspberry Pi) that lets you access a 3D printer from any Windows PC on your local network, whether it's through Ethernet or WiFi. Once it's running, it acts like any other networked gadget -- you don't have to be picky about the apps you use.
This freaky electric motorbike was 3D printed with metal powder
The Light Rider is an electric motorbike that weighs just 77 pounds and has a frame like an alien skeleton. Its creator, Airbus subsidiary APWorks, crafted the bike with 3D printing -- but it's not plastic. The hollow frame is aircraft-grade aluminum (this is Airbus, after all) and it takes shape via thousands of thin metal layers produced in a bed of metal powder.
The 'smoothing beautifier' will make your 3D prints less ugly
Sculpteo, the Paris-based company that does cloud-based 3D printing for consumers and companies like Staples, has launched a process that results in more finished-looking objects. Called the "smoothing beautifier," it is used on objects printed by laser sintering, otherwise known as additive manufacturing. Normally, the plastic-based powders result in a rough finish on prototyped objects (or little statues of yourself). However, the new technique, which is applied after printing, provides a "perfectly smooth and shiny finish," according to the company.
3D-printed hair leads to fuzzy machines and sticky blocks
A while back, MIT researchers found a way to easily create 3D-printed hair: smart software can create thousands of tiny polymer strands (smaller than 100 microns, if you want) that give objects a fuzzy texture. Now, however, they're finding practical uses for those natural-feeling surfaces. If you specify the right angles, density, height and thickness, you can make the hair do surprising things. On a basic level, you can create blocks that only stick to each other under certain conditions, or paint brushes that produce very specific effects. However, it really gets interesting when you vibrate the hairs -- you can create motors and sensors that are as baffling as they are clever.
3D-printed wheelchair promises more comfortable rides
Wheelchairs are rarely as comfortable as you'd like. You either have to settle for a generic design or wait ages for a custom model that might still be a little awkward. However, London design firm Layer might have a better way: it's unveiling Go, a prototype wheelchair that could be easier to live with. The design has manufacturers scanning your body so that they can 3D-print seats and footrests that match your exact dimensions. It'd be more comfortable, of course, but it'd also account for your weight and create an ideal center of gravity that reduces the chances of tipping over or sliding.
The latest 3Doodler 3D printing pen is smoother and easier
The team at WobbleWorks has been quick to iterate on the concept of a 3D printing pen in the past 3 years, and it's not stopping any time soon. The startup has unveiled the 3Doodler Create, a third-generation pen that irons out some of the remaining kinks. The refined drive system should give you smoother output, but the real centerpiece may be the ease of use: WobbleWorks is promising simpler controls that get anyone printing "in seconds." It's even a bit flashier, as there's an both an ambient light bar as well as a transparent panel to show what's going on inside.
MakerBot will start outsourcing its 3D printers
Less than a year after opening its 170,000-square-foot factory in New York City, MakerBot announced today it will partner with international manufacturer Jabil to produce its 3D printers moving forward. Over the next few months, the company will lay off a number of employees and shut down its Brooklyn facilities as it transitions to Jabil's factories overseas.
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Toyota's concept for the next generation has a 3D-printed dash
Toyota is looking to the future of car ownership with its latest concept, the uBox, which it created in collaboration with graduate students at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research. The carmaker imagines uBox customers as entrepreneurs and members of "generation Z" -- the vehicle is designed to be fluid, transforming from a recreational vehicle into a kind of mobile office via a reconfigurable interior. Owners would be able to customize the vents, dashboard display fixtures and door trim with 3D printing, plus there would be an online hub for people to share their designs. The uBox has a curved glass roof and 110-volt sockets along the inside and outside of the vehicle so Gen-Z-ers can power their electronics, too.
New Balance's rare 3D-printed running shoes cost $400
Late last year, following in the footsteps of rival Adidas, New Balance introduced its first 3D-printed running shoe. But the company didn't share many details back then, other than revealing the footwear's existence and teasing and eventual release. Thankfully for people who are interested, New Balance has announced that the Zante Generate will be available to consumers on April 15th, albeit in extremely limited form. There are only 44 pairs total, so you'll have to act fast if you want one.
MIT 3D prints a complete walking robot
A team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab believe that it's created a new way to 3D print whole robots. The breakthrough that researchers have made centers around creating what's being called "printable hydraulics," a way to create liquid-filled pumps inside the manufacturing process. According to CSAIL director Daniella Rus, the technique "is a step towards the rapid fabrication of functional machines." She adds that "all you have to do is stick in a battery and motor and you have a robot that can practically walk right out of the printer."
'The Next Rembrandt' is a 3D-printed take on the painter's style
A new Rembrandt painting has been unveiled in Amsterdam on Tuesday, and we're not talking about a newly discovered work. No, this one called The Next Rembrandt is truly brand new, created using data, algorithms and a 3D printer within the span of 18 months. A team of data scientists, engineers and scientists from various institutions, including Microsoft and the Rembrandt House Museum, joined forces to create this homage to the great painter. The team examined all the Dutch master's known paintings to come up with the perfect project: a portrait of a 30 to 40-year-old Caucasian male with facial hair, wearing dark clothes with a collar and a hat on his head, facing to the right.
The 3D-printed eggs that could save vultures from extinction
It's hard to drum up sympathy for vultures. They do, after all, feast on the carcasses of dead (and diseased) animals. But at the International Centre for Birds of Prey in the UK, conservationists are hoping to keep extinction at bay for one African species by 3D printing vulture eggs. The replicas, which are made to simulate the same shape, weight and feel of actual vulture eggs, pack sensors inside (kinda like a Kinder surprise egg, except not at all) to gather data on the complicated incubation process. Wired reports that researchers at the ICBP have already begun testing these faux eggs on captive vultures to cull temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide, light and rotation data -- all transmitted wirelessly -- for its captive breeding program.
'Biopen' lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery
If you need knee replacement surgery in the future, doctors may be able to create a custom-made joint from your own stem cells. A team from St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, have developed the Biopen, a type of 3D printer that uses "ink" made from hydrogel and stem cells. While 3D printing stem cells isn't new, the exact shape of a patient's cartilage often can't be known until they're cut open. Using the device, surgeons can precisely customize the joint to the patient with surgical "scaffolds," then permanently harden the biogel using ultraviolet light.
Trim this 3D-printed bonsai tree by hand, just like a real one
Bonsai trees are cool. But Nendo is cooler. Pair the Japan-based design studio with a future-centric baby tree, and you've got something. As phone carrier Softbank launched its own crowdfunding site, amid a sea of products we've already heard about, the design firm's Creative Director Oki Sato took to the stage with something actually intriguing: a plastic bonsai tree that you can prune -- or even print a finished article.
Girl's superhero-inspired 3D-printed arm spews out glitter
When Jordan Reeves was given the chance to create her own superhero-inspired prosthetic arm, she conjured up something other 10-year-old girls can only dream of. She designed a cannon that can slip into her left arm that stops above her elbow and shoot sparkly ammunition: glitter. Jordan designed her "weapon" named Project Unicorn when she participated in nonprofit KIDmob's and 3D software company Autodesk's Superhero Cyborgs program in San Francisco. It connected kids with who needed prosthetic arms with engineers who helped them realize their own superhero-inspired designs.
Pranksters scammed Nintendo fans with 3D printing and Photoshop
It's getting tougher and tougher to determine what's real on the Internet. Thanks to Photoshop and 3D printing you can create nearly anything. That's exactly what two pranksters did using the upcoming Nintendo NX as a subject.
