3D-Coat - Voxel sculpting, Retopology, UV-mapping, Texture painting. Beyond 3D printing: The all-in-one factory - tech - 15 August 2013. Researchers Develop Flexible Metal for 3-D Printers. A group of researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a liquid metal material that could be used in 3-D printers and lead to flexible gadgets. The technology is outlined in a paper published in the journal Advanced Materials, which describes the flexible metal as “stretchable” and explains that many tiny dots of this material could be placed together to create larger, bendable sheets of metal. screenshot via North Carolina State UniversitySmall drops of metal could be connected together to create flexible electronics. The metal, an alloy of gallium and indium, is liquid at room temperature.
But when it is exposed to air the alloy can create a thin skin around its outer layer. Although flexible metal might sound futuristic enough, the paper also says that this metal can be “self-healing,” similar to animals that can regenerate limbs when they are sliced off. Mr. RepRap. Design Series 3D Printers for Product Design. Growing Popularity And Decreasing Cost Of 3D Printers. Three-dimensional printing has been around since the late 80s, but it has gained popularity as of late. It has become the cause and foundation for a rising generation of engineers, architects, and other innovators. The capabilities of this technology appear to be limitless, from enabling us to print everyday household items in the comfort of our own home, we can print shower heads, tools, toys, spoons, guns, and food. One hospital in Houston, TX, is using a 3-D printer to build replicas of patients to better prepare for surgery.
In China, researches also unveiled a 3-D bio-printer which can construct human body parts. The possibilities for this technology are inspiring and seemingly endless. Until recently, 3-D printing capabilities were limited to the size of the printer itself. But MIT-based researchers and instructors have teamed up to tackle the problem. Synthesizing food may not be too far off into the future. Got a Kinect and a laptop? Get ready to 3D print. Volumental's vision is to be able to 3D print more or less anything you can see Image Gallery (7 images) Scanning and 3D printing an object could become much simpler if 3D printing company Volumental is successful in crowdfunding the development of a web app which would allow users to scan and print 3D objects using nothing more than a Kinect sensor and a web browser.
View all Though the company already has a web service that allows people to upload scanned 3D models, Volumental says that it needs to refine an app which is better able to differentiate a thing (toys, pets, family members are among the suggestions) from its surroundings in order to be able to print the object in isolation. If funded, the app raises the exciting prospect of being able to scan more or less anything. Volumental is aiming to develop the app inside of three months. Though that sounds ambitious, Volumental is not a beginner in the field of 3D scanning. You can see the team's campaign video below. About the Author. Local 3D Printing | 3D Hubs.