3D-printing
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Textural printing lets you get handsy with famous paintings
The act of enjoying paintings and photography has always been a visual experience, one where you look, but don't touch. However, at the quinquennial (once every five years) Canon Expo this week, the company showed off new technology that might change your relationship with the images on your walls, turning them into objects your fingertips can appreciate as much as your eyes.
ICYMI: Turbine sunbather, NASA stress test and an aquatic hedge trimmer
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-447825{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-447825, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-447825{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-447825").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, Usain Bolt may be the "fastest man on Earth" but he can't outrun a cameraman on a Segway. An amatuer drone pilot stumbles across a sunbather 200 feet above the ground. NASA puts its 3D-printed rocket engine pump through a grueling series of tests. The UK showcases its amphibious weedwhacker and some delightfully demented genius has recreated the Pokemon theme song within Grand Theft Auto V. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
MIT's newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time
One of the biggest hindrances to current 3D printers is that they almost exclusively stick to a single precursor be it plastic, metal or glass. At most, you can get one that extrudes three materials at a time and they're going set you back a quarter of a million dollars. However, a team of researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have debuted a novel solution that allows users to create more complex items in a fraction of the time and cost by printing up to ten different materials simultaneously.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: 3D-printed villas and Earth-like planets
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. NASA dropped a bombshell this past week: The Kepler Space Telescope has discovered the most Earth-like planet to date. The rocky planet is slightly larger and warmer than our world, but it orbits a star and has the right conditions for liquid water. Meanwhile, the search for alien life goes on -- and Stephen Hawking gave his support to a $100 million project seeking to find out if we're alone in the universe. Exploring distant worlds is a challenging endeavor -- last week NASA proposed a novel robotic spacecraft that could harvest wind energy while surveying gas giants like Jupiter. And the Smithsonian Institution launched a Kickstarter to save Neil Armstrong's moon landing space suit, which is starting to fall apart after years of storage.
Despite recent challenges, Makerbot opens new factory in NYC
The past few months haven't been easy for Makerbot. But it doesn't seem like the restructuring and sizable layoffs are affecting the company's progress. Today it announced the opening of a new, 170,000-square-foot manufacturing center in New York City. For Makerbot, it means being able to double the production capacity of 3D printers, as well as offer better quality assurance for these machines -- and, considering a recent lawsuit, the timing couldn't be better. This doesn't only signal a commitment from Makerbot to keep growing its own operations, but also shows it doesn't plan to give up on a 3D-printing industry that's been struggling. The huge, upgraded space is located in Brooklyn's Industrial City, so you can expect Makerbot's 3D printers to keep the "Designed & Built in Brooklyn" branding for at least the next ten years.
3D-printed DNA 'bunnies' could deliver drugs into your body
"DNA origami" is nothing new -- in fact, IBM once considered it as a way to make microchips. However, Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have become ridiculously good at folding the building blocks of life, and built a bunny to prove it. The point was not to do a party trick, of course, though rabbit-shaped DNA is delightful. Rather, the team wanted to develop a fully-automated, 3D-printing-like method for folding DNA. Researchers could one day use the technique to create structures that don't break down in the human body in order to precisely deliver drugs.
Man 3D prints dart gun to protest weapon blueprint law
In the wake of recent shootings, many Americans think the US needs at least slightly stricter gun laws. However, when it comes to 3D-printed weapons, one maker begs to differ. Peter Alaric built a 3D-printed dart gun to make a point about proposed State Department laws banning weapon blueprints on the internet. Calling President Obama "our Fuehrer," he said "this gesture of protest further proves the obvious futility of attempting to regulate speech and ban simple mechanical objects." His creation fires 40mm blowgun darts via a piston and rubber bands, and can even hold accessories like laser sights.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: cliffside homes and The Bark Knight
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. What if your car was powered by sunlight? It sounds like a dream come true -- but that's exactly what a team of Dutch engineering students have cooked up. The Stella Lux is a four-seater electric car with a powerful solar roof that actually generates more energy than the vehicle uses. In other futuristic transportation news, Local Motors just unveiled plans for the world's first production line of 3D-printed cars. The ultra-customizable vehicles include a sporty racer and a beach-ready buggy. Automakers and tech companies around the world are fervently working on self-driving cars, and it turns out the technology could be a tremendous boon for the environment. A new study shows that autonomous robocabs could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 94 percent. And this week, two electric airplanes made history by successfully flying across the English Channel.
ICYMI: 3D-printed art, a Pac-Man satellite and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-137378{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-137378, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-137378{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-137378").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The giant robot duel challenge response is in from a Japanese mecha-manufacturer (aimed at some lippy Americans with a super paintball gun) and it's throwing hella shade y'all. Switzerland's EPFL space agency realized its old cubesats were cluttering up space so it came up with a hungry hippo of a satellite that should start gobbling up its smaller kin by 2018. And an architect hacked a 3D printer with LEDs and is creating beautiful paintings with light.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: hoverboards and a 3D-printed car
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. A working hoverboard has been the elusive dream of Back to the Future fans and transportation nerds for decades. Now, Lexus claims that it has built a prototype. The company's SLIDE hoverboard uses magnetic levitation technology, similar to high-speed bullet trains, and it is cooled by liquid nitrogen. In other transportation news, the US Department of Defense is working with Malloy Aeronautics to develop a hoverbike for the Army. Getting stuck behind a big truck isn't just annoying -- it can be very dangerous. So tech giant Samsung has designed "see-through" trucks with rear-mounted video panels that display the road ahead.
ICYMI: Street view climbing, a "real" hoverboard and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-880458{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-880458, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-880458{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-880458").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Tesla's teased a prototype car charging station powered by strangers' footsteps; Lexus released a video of a hoverboard that's "rideable now," (psst ... it still needs magnets and isn't as cool as this); and Google used mountain climbing's most famous men and women to take street view to Yosemite's El Capitan in this trippy video.
V-Moda's 3D-printed headphones can cost you up to $40,000
From clothing to food, 3D-printed consumer goods are still hit or miss at this point. Even so, that hasn't stopped companies from trying to capitalize on the novelty of it. The latest to do so is audio outfit V-Moda, which has revealed plans to use new components for customization purposes. Starting today, V-Moda will let users personalize its XS and Crossfade M-100 headphones with 3D-printed shields made of different materials, such as fiber, stainless steel, sterling silver, solid 14 karat gold and platinum.
Why easyJet is banking on VR, drones and 3D printing
When you book a flight with a company like easyJet, it's usually for one of two reasons: you want the cheapest tickets possible, or it's the only airline operator flying to your destination. Nobody chooses easyJet for their in-flight entertainment, or the drinks and nibbles that are available while you're thousands of feet up in the air. But for the most part, that's okay. We're all looking for a deal, and provided the flight is on time and the seats aren't too uncomfortable, most of us are happy to forgo these luxuries in order to save some cash. easyJet knows its business model well, and that's why it's exploring new technologies that can help with its day-to-day operations. These are projects that could make its commercial flights cheaper, more reliable and ultimately less stressful for customers. Some are designed for the public and clearly visible, but others are being developed behind closed doors to improve training, manufacturing and repairs. To explain some of its more experimental ideas, easyJet crammed them all into an aircraft hangar in Milan.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: rain lamps and solar-powered pod homes
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Everything about Tesla is groundbreaking, including its direct-sales model. Laws in New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Michigan have sought to prevent the electric carmaker from bypassing third-party dealerships and selling cars directly to customers. Last week, Tesla scored a big win in Maryland, when the state's governor signed a bill allowing the company to operate its own dealerships in the state. In other green transportation news, a 28-year-old woman is preparing to row all the way from Japan to San Francisco in a rowboat, with no support vessel. Airplane manufacturers have yet to unlock the potential of 3D-printing airplane parts, but the engineers at GE Aviation recently conducted a test, offering a possible glimpse of the future. The team created a mini jet engine that can roar up to 33,000 RPM, and it comes right out of a 3D printer.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: floating cities, solar bikes and a Dr. Seuss house
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The Volkswagen Camper van is one of the most iconic vehicles of the 20th century, but VW hasn't put out a new model of the hippie standby since 2003. That could all change soon, as a VW board member recently revealed that the carmaker is planning to unveil an electric concept Camper in the near future. In other automotive news, Tesla has launched a new edition of its Model S sedan. The Model S 70D will replace the Model S 60, and it will be powered by Tesla's dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. Most industry observers acknowledge that self-driving cars are the future, but one car company believes they're also the present. Korean automaker Hyundai is set to release a semi-autonomous car later this year. The car won't exactly drive itself, but it will have the ability to stay in a lane on the highway and adjust the car's speed in response to traffic conditions.
Daily Roundup: a popular GoPro song, Tesla autopilot mode and more!
In today's edition of the Daily Roundup, find out why a certain song is used in so many GoPro videos, learn about Tesla's new "autopilot mode" and get the scoop on Stanford scientists modifying leukemia to eat itself. Get the details on these stories and more past the break.
Tiny 3D-printed drill is powered by a hearing aid battery
We've seen teeny-tiny 3D printers before, and now we're getting pint-sized creations to match. An ingenious engineer from New Zealand set out to make the world's smallest cordless drill, and the result is pretty remarkable. The tiny tool measures just 17mm tall, 13mm long and 7.5mm wide, with a 0.5mm twist drill that can pierce soft objects. Creator Lance Abernethy designed the outer shell in Onshape with a regular drill for reference, before printing it with his trusty Ultimaker 2 3D printer. It's powered by a hearing aid battery and connected with wiring stripped from a headphone cable. The hardest part, unsurprisingly, was assembling all of the parts inside, because the wires kept breaking off and threatening to short-circuit the battery. Needless to say Abernethy pulled through, giving Borrowers everywhere an ideal power tool for their next home renovation.
Argos now lets customers order 3D-printed jewellery online
Argos is under relentless pressure from Amazon in the UK, so it's looking to personalised services as a way to stand apart from its online-only competition. Today, the company is launching a new site for 3D-printed jewellery, which includes rings, bracelets and cufflinks. Customers can tweak the designs with their own names, words and phrases, and Argos promises to deliver the final product in 21 days. 3D printing is often associated with low-quality trinkets, but here Argos is clearly targeting a more luxurious market. All of the products are available in silver and 18 carat gold plating, with prices ranging between £50 and £220. It's a small trial for now, and Argos is enlisting 3D printing specialists Digital Forming and Innovate UK to help out with some of the technical aspects. If customers embrace the service though, the company says it'll consider expanding it to other areas of its business, such as lighting and homeware. 3D printing isn't a silver bullet for dethroning Amazon, but it represents the level of risk Argos needs to take to stay competitive.
Watch these artists 3D print animation into reality
Why 3D print a computer animation? 'Art' is a good enough reason for us, and that's exactly what drove Dutch artists to put a hundred frames into a single mind-bending installation. Using an Ultimaker 2 3D printer and liberal amounts of glue and string, artists Job, Joris and Marieke squeezed all the cells from a short animation (below) into a single mise-en-scene. At a glance, you can see the fate of the teal-hued hero as he vaults off a cup and into a vase, with each detail (including a bouncing ball and shattered cup) faithfully reproduced in PVC. If you want to feel like you're inside a computer where time has lost all meaning, it'll be exhibited at Amersfoort's Kunsthal museum on March 29th.
Wannabe Elon Musks can 3D print their virtual spaceships
If you think you've got a bright future in spaceship design, the Kerbal Space Program simulator will quickly humble you -- beneath the playful surface is an accurate, unforgiving physics system. The lucky few that manage to get their virtual craft in orbit or beyond can't be blamed if they'd like to commemorate the achievement. A printing company called Eucl3D now lets you do exactly that in PVC -- all you have to do is upload your Kerbal .craft files, and for $99, you'll get a plastic replica of your ship.
