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3D-printed Left Shark lands artist in hot water with Katy Perry's lawyers
Katy Perry may be hard at work on her video game, but her lawyers are busy being the fun police. After the Left Shark made a lasting impression during the singer's Super Bowl XLIX halftime show last weekend, artist Fernado Sosa uploaded his 3D-printable character for folks to order at Shapeways. Well, the pop star's legal team didn't take too kindly to Sosa's creation, and they demanded the site remove the item. According to the official paperwork, Left Shark is Perry's intellectual property and that the character's image is copyrighted. If you want to help stick it to the man, you can nab the production files for the 3D-printable Left Shark over at MakerBot's Thingiverse... for now. Of course, while it's a free download from its current home, you'll have to handle the printing yourself.
Hasbro's new site lets you sell 3D-printed fan art
Hasbro recently opened up its toy universe by letting you sell fan fiction; now, it's giving you a chance to make some officially-sanctioned toys of your own. The company has just teamed up with Shapeways to launch SuperFanArt, a site that lets you both buy and sell 3D-printed designs based on Hasbro's brands. You're currently limited to producing art based on My Little Pony, but other imaginary worlds will be allowed in the "coming months." You know, just in case you're not quite so fond of Pinkie Pie's crew. No, SuperFanArt's catalog won't be as good as picking up an actual doll or action figure. However, it might do the trick if you're looking for a simple desk ornament -- or if your kids aren't very fussy about their playthings.
Shapeways intros squeezable Elasto Plastic 3D printing material for makers
See that squeezable bunny up there? It was created in a material 3D printing mail-away company Shapeways calls Elasto Plastic. The substance is the latest medium offered up from the organization, currently available exclusively to makers to help test out its effectiveness. The resulting 3D printed objects can be squeezed, squished, twisted and can hold liquids. It does have some shortcomings, however, as it dislikes high temperatures, fire and isn't so great for printing small objects. To see the material in action -- and to hear a grown man utter the phrase "flexible squishy goodness," check out the video after the break.
Visualized: Keepon family reunion
Oh, the many faces of Keepon -- well, one face, really, in a variety of different shades and textures. Various iterations of the beloved dancing robot smiled (or whatever the closest approximation is for their mouthless sort) for the camera on our recent visit to BeatBots in San Francisco. Pictured above are the original Keepon Pro, the retail My Keepon, a special blue Keepon commissioned for a German facility, a stuffed doll created by a friend of the company, a moveable wooden model designed by Keepon co-creator Hideki Kozima as a gift and two 3D printed models made by Shapeways (large) and MakerBot (small). And check out Keepon posed next to Zingy below, a sibling created by BeatBots for a UK-based power company. The family resemblance is uncanny.
Mineways: Create 3D prints of your Minecraft creations, or pay someone else to
3D printers are, indisputably, super awesome. They're boxes full of magic, hope, and lasers, which create substance from nothing and reality from dreams. Coincidentally, Minecraft basically does the exact same thing, by providing the user with a cuboid sandbox for their imagination to run wild in. Now, these two worlds of creation can be joined together via Mineways, a 3D model-exportation tool created by Eric Haines. The process breaks down like this: Using Mineways, Minecraft players can select a portion of the world they've built and export it as a texture file and 3D model, in file formats compatible with the rendering software used by 3D printers. Those files can then be printed, creating an adorable little real-life version of whatever it is you had exported. If you're not part of the 1 percent and as such do not have access to a 3D printer, your exported files can be sent to a printing service like Shapeways, which does exactly what a 3D printing service sounds like it would do. Based on the size and complexity of the model, getting something printed can run from 25 bucks for a small doodad to several hundred dollars for a complete landscape. Somewhere, a very wealthy Minecraft/model train enthusiast is extremely pleased. Click here to grab the open source software directly from Eric, and to see an in-depth how-to guide.
Mineways offers up 3D-printed models of your Minecraft creations
Sure, those gigantic tributes to Italian plumbers look great on your PC screen, but sometimes you want something a little more tangible. That's exactly what Mineways lets you do. Yep, it's another demonstration of why we all need a 3D printer in our life, although this Minecraft-friendly software can also export your models across to 3D printing site, Shapeways, which will do the whole printing slog for you. Sure, it'll cost you, but it's likely to be a mere fraction of your own 3D printer. The Mineways program is based on the open-source mapping tool Minutor and creates both a data and texture file ready to pinged across to the Shapeways site. You can also attempt to reclaim some money from those many hours sunk into Minecraft by selling your creations on the site. Check the source below for tutorials, more examples and the latest version of the model exporter. [Photo credit: postapocalyptic]
Shapeways serves up prêt-à-imprimer 3D bones, Lagerfeld stands by for full skeletal replacement
3D printed chocolates? Sure, sounds innocuous enough. But made-to-order 3D printed bones? Now, that's just morbid. For the surgical team at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children, however, the tech's come in handy as a budget-priced, pre-operative planning tool. Mark Frame, an orthopedic surgical trainee at RHSC, first came up with the idea to create the osteo-facsimiles after a costly university-made replica, commissioned for a procedure, failed to meet necessary proportion and size requirements. After undertaking a bit of self-assigned internet research, Frame sorted out a method to create renders of a patient's fractured forearm using CT scans processed via the open source OsiriX software. These were then passed through a separate MeshLab application to tidy up any artifacting, and finally exported in 3D-compatible .stl format. The resulting files were sent to Shapeways for printing, with the white plastic bone copies delivered just seven days later for £77. The hospital's been so pleased with the inexpensive outcome, that it's already begun prep work on a hip replacement surgery using a replicated pelvis -- and, no, they didn't specify if the patient was a fashion victim.
Shapeways Glazed Ceramics make 3D printed objects you can eat off of
We've seen them spit out fancy glass vases and tiny white strandbeests, and now the 3D thingy makers are pumping out cutesy salt and pepper shakers. Those hyper-glossy white rabbits pictured above are some of the first spawns of Glazed Ceramics, the newly minted food-safe material available from Shapeways. Glazed Ceramics are fired in an oven or kiln like traditional ceramics and are then coated with a lead-free non-toxic gloss -- the result is food-safe, recyclable, and heat resistant up to 1000 degrees Celsius. The new material is now available to Shapeways designers and will be until August 12th, at which point the company will decide whether its worth keeping around. For now you can sate your appetite for 3D printed shiny white dishes by clicking the source link below.
Strandbeests birthed from 3D printer pop out ready to walk (video)
While designer Theo Jansen's dreams of a race of independently multiplying Strandbeests is more than just a little bit out there, it seems he has found a way to streamline production of the rather fascinating self-propelled creatures. In language that is unique to Jansen's relationship with the things, he explains the impact of 3D printing on the Strandbeest production process as such: "Strandbeests have found a way to multiply by injecting their digital DNA directly into the Shapeways system." The 3D printed versions of his strolling mechanisms, known as Animaris Geneticus Parvus, are now available in the Shapeways store, and require zero post-printing assembly. Check out the video after the break for more of Jansen's eyebrow-lifting take on reality.
Shapeways glass vase: 3D printing at its finest
Who says pottery will never be trumped? As 3D printing becomes an increasingly viable solution to producing -- well, just about anything -- Shapeways has introduced a glass vase that would look just lovely on your mum's kitchen table. Oh, in case you missed the whole "putting two and two together bit," this is a glass vase created with a 3D printer. Traditionally, 3D printers haven't delved into the world of glass, but it's clear from this that it's not only possible, but a great material to use when looking to craft stupendously detailed gear. The colors you see were added after the fact, so in theory, you could get one in any color you so desire. Too bad a price point isn't readily available...
Joyswag: Personalized DS stylus from Shapeways [update]
[Update: The contest is closed! Keep an eye on your email to see if you've won.]Shapeways uses 3D printing technology to fabricate items based on submitted 3D models -- like the custom Nintendo-themed DS styli we've featured. The site has graciously offered to activate its futuristic alien technology for Joyswag purposes, meaning that one lucky winner will receive a stylus like the one above, designed by extrudedqwerty, in stainless steel, customized with the winner's own initials on the back. Shapeways is doing the impossible -- printing a solid object just for you -- and all you have to do is: Leave a comment telling us what kind of stylus you use now You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day This entry period ends at 11:59 am ET on Friday, July 24 At that time, we'll randomly select one grand-prize winner to receive a personalized Hylian Shield DS stylus from Shapeways ($30 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here
