3D Printing and the end of ownership - my plastic future There is a lot of discussion online regarding the possible (inevitable?) copyright/intellectual property/patent/legal fights around personal 3D printing. However, I’ve yet to see anything about a different fight that I have experienced several times now, so I figured I’d write about it and see what others think. Mine, mine, mine! As long as I’ve been printing on my Thing-o-Matic I’ve felt joy, wonder, and a bit of pride over the things I’ve been able to design and 3D print and hold in my hand in a matter of minutes. Several times over the past months that I have been 3D printing things, I’ve misplaced a piece or two here or there; or like today, a whole bag of pieces! And then I realized in one of those physically stumble and grab onto something moments: I can simply replace these “things” by 3D printing more of them. Unlike other items that share this sense of personal ownership, I hadn’t paid money for these items. Questions questions… Do we then lose the wonder of our own pieces?
3D Printing You are in: Future Technologies : 3D Printing 3D Printing Imagine a future in which a device connected to a computer can print a solid object. A future in which we can have tangible goods as well as intangible services delivered to our desktops or highstreet shops over the Internet. And a future in which the everyday "atomization" of virtual objects into hard reality has turned the mass pre-production and stock-holding of a wide range of goods and spare parts into no more than an historical legacy. Such a future may sound like it is being plucked from the worlds of Star Trek. The following provides an overview of 3D printing technologies and their present and likely future application. Current Technologies 3D printing is an additive technology in which objects are built up in a great many very thin layers. Another 3D printing technology based on the selective solidification of a tank of liquid -- or 'vat polymerization' -- is DLP projection. Commercial 3D Printers and Online Services
Agile Contents entrará en América Latina con adquisiciones este año,Catalunya, expansion La tecnológica, especializada en la gestión de contenidos multimedia, se implantará en Colombia y Brasil con la compra de empresas. Estos países aportarán el 35% de las ventas en 2011. Agile Contents empieza a pensar en su internacionalización. La tecnológica catalana, especializada en gestionar la presencia digital de las marcas, quiere exportar su modelo de negocio a América Latina. Los planes de crecimiento de la compañía llegan después de la entrada en el accionariado de las firmas de capital riesgo Inveready Seed Capital y Fides Capital, el exconsejero delegado de Applus+ y director general de Tecnitoys, Sergio Pastor, y la exdirectora de comunicación de La Caixa y Agbar, Eulàlia Puig. El directivo justifica la elección de América Latina porque, al ofrecer servicios de comunicación, “el idioma pesa”. Proyectos La compañía ha empezado a abrirse camino en este continente con la adjudicación de algunos contratos. ¿Salida a bolsa?
Kurzweil Warns Retailers at Shop.org to Plan for Major Paradigm Shifts Attendees of this year's Shop.org Summit were treated to a talk by inventor, author and futurist Ray Kurzweil, who said the exponential growth in IT/computing power means the world will be very different in 3 years. He warned retailers to make sure they build change into their plans and business models. "There are major paradigm shifts taking place in 3 years - every sector of society is being transformed, and retail cuts across everything we do," he said. He cited a development that could have a significant impact on retailers and on shipping carriers. Online sellers are already using 3D printers to "manufacture" their products - see this article in EcommerceBytes from June, "Shape of the Future: Make Your Own Products to Sell with Shapeways." Consumers will use augmented reality (AR) in stores, according to Kurzweil, so they will experience virtual reality and real reality at the same time. "Retail is the nexus where technology meets the consumer," he said.
3D printing and fabrication: Open source hardware 2009 – The definitive guide to open source hardware projects in 2009 Part of The definitive guide to open source hardware projects in 2009 3D printing – Open source hardware is now making things. Physical things you can print out, over the last few year 2-3 projects have really gained momentum and made some wonderful advances in low-cost desktop 3D printing. Contraptor Contraptor is a DIY open source construction set for experimental personal fabrication, desktop manufacturing, prototyping and bootstrapping.Price: See siteVisit project page Fab@Home Fab@Home is a project dedicated to making and using fabbers – machines that can make almost anything, right on your desktop. MakerBeam MakerBeam is a project to build a toy and tool for the open source imagination. MakerBot MakerBot is an affordable, open source 3D printer. RepRap RepRap is short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper. Phillip Torrone Editor at large – Make magazine. Related
Inveready entra en Transbiomed mediante una ronda de financiación de 1,2 millones,Catalunya, expansion Inveready Seed Capital cierra su segunda operación desde comienzos de 2011. La sociedad de capital riesgo impulsada por el grupo Inveready ha tomado una participación minoritaria en la biotecnológica Transbiomed. Se trata de una spin-off del Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), que ha desarrollado un test de orina que permite el diagnóstico precoz del cáncer de próstata. La compañía fue constituida en diciembre de 2007 por los doctores Jaume Reventós, Andreas Doll y Miguel Abal, del Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebrón. También participa en la firma Raimon Forés, directivo de Amgen. La compañía ha cerrado su primera ronda de financiación, valorada en 1,2 millones de euros. La compañía quiere que su dispositivo sea una alternativa a las biopsias para determinar la existencia de este tipo de cáncer. Según Transbiomed, el cáncer de próstata es la segunda causa de muerte por cáncer en varones mayores de55añosenEstadosUnidos. Inveready gestiona dos fondos de capital riesgo.
Who will get the biggest slice of 3D-printed pie? | Crave MakerBot's Bre Pettis says his 3D printers are for everyone. 3D Systems' Cathy Lewis begs to differ. Each spokesperson made a strong pitch during our 3D printing roundtable at this year's Consumer Electronic Show. Who's right? 3D Systems: Old guard expertise 3D Systems announced its Cube 3D printer at CES this year, but the company has been involved with additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping since 1986. Along with its forthcoming $1,299 Cube, 3D Systems will also sell you its Sinterstation Pro DM250 (PDF), a $1 million machine that can print usable metal hip implants. Between the Cube and Sinterstation, 3D Systems offers 3D printers, laser-based stereolithography machines, and other additive manufacturing products for customers ranging from hobbyists to industrial and mechanical engineers. Cubify primarily offers two services. Cubify also lets designers sell their plans as standalone files. Does Cubify incorporate DRM or offer some other IP protection? "Nothing," Kulkarni said.
Vueling empieza la venta a través de las redes sociales,Catalunya, expansion Todas las empresas quieren estar presentes en las redes sociales, pero son pocas las que ya han empezado a intentar sacar rendimiento económico a su presencia en portales como Facebook, Twitter o YouTube. Estas plataformas, que hasta ahora servían para difundir información, comunicarse con el cliente o potenciar la marca de la empresa, empiezan a desvelarse ahora como un canal más de ventas. Las compañías quieren sacar partido a la inversión que están haciendo en Internet. El director del departamento de márketing del IESE, Julián Villanueva, insiste en que las redes sociales no pueden ser consideradas como un nuevo canal de venta: su verdadera función es “monitorizar qué se dice de tu empresa y mejorar tu reputación entre los consumidores”. En cambio, el director de márketing de Vueling, Lluís Pons, defiende que “nuestros clientes pasan cada vez más rato en las redes sociales; tenemos que monetizar nuestra inversión en estas plataformas”.
Why 3-D Printing Will Go the Way of Virtual Reality Update: Tim Maly has published an excellent counterpoint to this post over at the Tech Review Guest blog. There is a species of magical thinking practiced by geeks whose experience is computers and electronics—realms of infinite possibility that are purposely constrained from the messiness of the physical world—that is typical of Singularitarianism, mid-90s missives about the promise of virtual reality, and now, 3-D printing. As 3-D printers come within reach of the hobbyist—$1,100 for MakerBot’s Thing-O-Matic—and The Pirate Bay declares “physibles” the next frontier of piracy, I’m seeing usually level-headed thinkers like Clive Thompson and Tim Maly declare that the end of shipping is here and we should all start boning up on Cory Doctorow’s science fiction fantasies of a world in which any object can be rapidly synthesized with a little bit of energy and raw materials. Let’s start with the mechanism. Most 3-D printers lay down thin layers of extruded plastic.
Inveready entra en el accionariado del portal Yunait,Catalunya, expansion El grupo de capital riesgo Inveready se ha convertido en socio de Yunait.com, el portal que agrupa las ofertas de compras colectivas y de outlets privados, junto con varios business angels a través de una ronda de financiación por dos millones de euros. Ésta es la primera ampliación de capital de Yunait, firma con sede en Madrid creada por Pablo Elosúa y Santiago Pérez en 2009. Del importe de la ronda, un millón corresponde a capital y el resto a préstamos blandos de origen público destinados a la innovación y la emprendiduría. Tras la operación (en la que también invirtió el equipo directivo de la compañía), el accionariado de Yunait se divide entre el consejero delegado Pablo Elosúa, con el 70%; su socio, Santiago Pérez, que tiene alrededor del 8%; Inveready –las sociedades Inveready Seed Capital e Inveready First Capital I– controla el 16%; mientras que el 6% restante está en manos de business angels, como el editor de Loogic.com, Javier Martín. Consolidación empresarial
Legal battles loom as home 3D printing grows | Sci-Tech | Deutsche Welle | 26.01 The controversial website The Pirate Bay announced this week that it would begin hosting digital files for visitors to download and print out on their 3D printers. The site has coined a new word - "Physibles" - for data objects capable and feasible of becoming physical. "We believe that things like three-dimensional printers, scanners and such are just the first," the group wrote on its website. "We believe that in the nearby future you will print your spare parts for your vehicles." The site has faced extensive legal battles in its home country of Sweden over potential intellectual property infringement of digital content. Last year, a UK team built a 3D-printed model plane 3D printing, which has long existed in the industrial world, has meanwhile gained traction in hobbyist community. An unclear judicial landscape Last year, Dutch designer Ulrich Schwanitz developed a 3D object, called "impossible triangle," which he sold through the 3D design company Shapeways.
Inveready entra en el capital de Adman,Catalunya, expansion El negocio de las redes sociales cada día cuenta con más adeptos. El último en incorporarse ha sido la sociedad de capital riesgo, Inveready First Capital I, que ha inyectado más de un millón de euros en Adman Media. Esta compañía, con sede en Barcelona, ha desarrollado un servicio en Internet que ayuda a los anunciantes a comunicarse con sus clientes en las redes sociales, gracias a la recomendación de los propios seguidores o usuarios de las distintas plataformas. Éstos, a su vez, se ven recompensados en el momento en el que sus recomendaciones resultan efectivas. Inveready First Capital I ha liderado la primera ronda de inversión de la startup catalana y su aportación le otorga una posición minoritaria en el capital de la compañía. Redes sociales El objetivo de Adman Media es convertir a los usuarios en prescriptores de sus clientes.