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Staples is launching an in-store 3D printing service
First it sold select 3D printers in stores, then it sold print-by-mail services in Europe -- now Staples is offering US customers a chance to print objects on-demand and on-site. The company's launch event is focusing on the fun side of 3D printing, serving up action figures and personalized Starfleet officers to walk-in customers, but Staples says it hopes the service will catch the attention of small businesses. Customers will have access to up to seven kinds of printers and six types of materials in store, including the Cube and Cube X models Staples already sells. Larger jobs will be farmed out to 3D Systems -- the company behind the 3D printed guitar we saw at Engadget Expand last year. Don't have the modeling chops to prepare your on 3D-printable file? Staples has that covered too, and is planning to train graphic design consultants to help customers model their vision. Unfortunately, Staples hasn't announced pricing for any of these services yet, but at least the pilot program seems robust enough to give UPS a run for its money.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental
The company that helped invent rapid prototyping has been in the 3D printing game for nearly three decades. In recent years, 3D Systems has been making an aggressive play at the consumer market with products like the Cube, CubeX and Sense as one of the driving forces in the desktop 3D printing revolution. January 7, 2014 7:00:00 PM EST Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.
Office Depot starts stocking 3D Systems printers online
Could 3D printing be the future of office supply stores? Staples, for one, has been dipping its toes in those rising waters, offering a limited selection of devices on its site. Office Depot's following suit, making the seemingly logical move of including the third dimension in its printing offering. The chain announced today that it's added 3D Systems' Cube and CubeX to its online store, selling the printers for $1,299 and $2,499, respectively. It's not quite a 3D printing kiosk in every store (who wouldn't want a personalized Star Trek figure while you wait?), but it's always nice to see a company looking to embrace emerging technology.
Eyes-on with 3D System's CubeX and next-generation Cube (Update: video)
3D Systems isn't exactly new to the consumer 3D printing space, but its history lies in professional additive manufacturing. Its machines have found homes around the globe in high profile businesses like Boeing. That hasn't stopped the company from rolling out a pair of impressive home options at CES. The company's CEO Avi Reichental stopped by our stage chat for a while and let us play with the two new devices, the CubeX and the second-generation Cube. The Cube X is a rather beastly device. While technically it might able to sit on a desk, we wouldn't exactly call it a desktop printer. The 1,030 cubic inch-build platform is large enough print a basketball, though, one that wouldn't bounce very high. Such a build would take quite a long time however, with the lower 500 micron resolution taking up to 12 hours to spit out. If you bumped it up to 125 microns an easily breakable sphere would be yours in about 24 hours. Still, that's quite a bit faster than some printers out there, and it can accomplish the feat in three colors -- something no other consumer model we've seen is capable of. Even though we've seen high resolutions out of machines like the Replicator 2, the difference 25 microns makes is practically indistinguishable. Everything from chain mail to mugs are within reach. Rather impressively, just like its little brother, the CubeX relies on cartridges instead of spools for dispensing plastic -- either ABS or PLA. 3D Systems even calls them "smart cartridges" since it can distinguish between the two plastics and adjust the properties accordingly.
3D Systems' CubeX 3D printer does three color prints 'as big as a basketball'
3D Systems isn't stopping with the release of one 3D printer at this year's CES. Nope, the company's launching a new, high-end model on our very stage. It's calling the CubeX "the ultimate desktop 3D printer," featuring a build platform that can handle prints up to 1,030 cubic inches (10.8 x 10.45 x 9.5-inches) -- or as big as a basketball, hence the above image. The CubeX has three printing modes at resolutions up to 125 microns and three different print fill densities. Like its lower-priced counterpart, the printer can do PLA or ABS plastics and features a cartridge system for feeding in plastic. It'll run you $2,499. More info can be had in the press release after the break -- or by watching our stage interview with the company's CEO.
