Hyrel Developing Tri-Color 3D Printer Extruder for Release in 2013
Posted 11/01/2012 at 2:14pm | by Chris Barylick Deep in the heart of the south, Kickstarter-funded, Atlanta-based Hyrel has begun prototyping what could be among the next generation of 3D printers - a full-color printer. The Hyrel unit, presently in development, will use a three-color extruder head to blend red, green and blue color strands together to create any color the user might need in their 3D model. In the couple of years that 3D printing has become somewhat prevalent and more consumer-oriented (companies like MakerBot have lowered prices and ramped up production to bring their units closer to mainstream customers), there's been the conventional wisdom that the item you were printing was going to be in one or two colors at the most depending on which model 3D printer you were using. The finished (and as-yet-unnamed) units are still in development and are expected for the third quarter/autumn of 2013 with final pricing and technical specifications yet to be announced.
DIY BioPrinter
We started out by messing around with an old inkjet printer that we literally saved from a sidewalk somewhere. There's already plenty of interesting things you can do with an low-end off-the-shelf inkjet printer, but they do have some limitations, which we'll get into in the next Step (or skip straight to Step 3 for how we built our own bioprinter from scratch, that you can see in the first picture above). Undressing the Printer We disassembled an abandoned HP 5150 inkjet printer for use as a bioprinter. Just rip off all the plastic covers you can find, but make sure you can still operate the reset buttons etc. on the front panel. There's a little momentary switch that senses whether the cover is open. There's also a momentary switch inside the paper handling mechanism that senses whether paper has been loaded. Once you've got your printer all undressed, and figured out how to activate the cover-closed switch - print something! Cartridges Prep Filling the Cartridges
Gigabot 3D Printing: This is Huge! by re:3D
Share this project Done Share Tweet Embed Tweet Share Email Gigabot 3D Printing: This is Huge! by re:3D Play Dream big, print big! Austin, TXHardware Share this project pledged of $40,000 goal seconds to go Funded! This project was successfully funded . Dream big, print big! re:3D Project by First created | 5 backed re3d.org See full bioContact me About this project Facebook Page | Twitter BIG thanks to Ben Malouf who has graciously allowed us to feature his stunning vases found at thingiverse.com/benitosanduchi! Stretch Goal: $200K! We will be integrating an LCD display into each and every Gigabot shipped to our Kickstarters. Our Vision At re:3D, we believe that the biggest problems in our world are solved by taking a bigger view. "Just saw this at SxSW and it is AMAZING. Our Company re:3D is one of Austin’s newest start-ups, committed to trailblazing new frontiers in 3D printing. Community Focused We love people and 3D printing! Our Product 20mm Calibration Cube available on Thingaverse.com Our Team Rewards
Guest Post: Cory Doctorow for Freedom to Read Week | Blog | Raincoast Books
← Back to Blog by Dan Guest Blogger + YA Fiction / February 24, 2013 Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To mark this year's Freedom to Read Week, which starts today, we asked author Cory Doctorow to contribute a guest post on libraries and technology. Libraries, Hackspaces and E-waste: how libraries can be the hub of a young maker revolution Every discussion of libraries in the age of austerity always includes at least one blowhard who opines, "What do we need libraries for? Facepalm. The problem is that Mr. Libraries have also served as community hubs, places where the curious, the scholarly, and the intellectually excitable could gather in the company of one another, surrounded by untold information-wealth, presided over by skilled information professionals who could lend technical assistance where needed. Cory Doctorow
The Robo Personal 3D Printer
Yes, Robo is another one of those new 3D printers that appear on crowdfunding sites, but what makes it different? For one thing you'll immediately notice that it's got a very attractive case - and that's just the start. Each new filament-based 3D printer startup focuses on a particular aspect to make them stand out. Robo's focus is cost. They aim to be the lowest priced personal 3D printer they can be. This seems to be born out on their Kickstarter page, where they offered PLA printing kits at USD$475 and fully assembled versions at a mere USD$520. And it's not a basic machine, either. While their Kickstarter campaign successfully concluded with them over-raising USD$649,663 of their USD$49,000 goal, you can still order a unit at their website. It seems that price is definitely a factor for consumers shopping for 3D printers.
Smoothing 3D prints with acetone and without patent violations
Austin Wilson and Neil Underwood from the North Carolina makerspace Fablocker invented a great, simple process for smoothing out 3D prints using evaporated nail-polish remover in a large jar. The process produces a beautiful finish and sidesteps a bunch of dumb patents for polishing 3D printing output. They're still experimenting with the details, and the fact that the first experiments turned out such great looking pieces is cause for excitement about where this will go when it's fully refined. ABS-based printed parts are placed in the jar with the acetone and heated to 90 degrees Celsius on the hot plate. Acetone has a low evaporation point, but is heavier than air so the process creates a small cloud around the model which melts the surface, slowly smoothing it to a mirror finish. Slick Trick Adds Much-Needed Shine to 3-D Printed Parts [Joseph Flaherty/Wired]
CES 2013: Cubify's New CubeX 3D Printer Wins Best Emerging Tech Award
3D Systems seemed to be the only 3D printing company out in force at CES, perhaps because it was at last years' that they debuted their Cube 3D Printer. This year they pulled the sheets off of not one, but two machines: Their updated Cube 2, a faster and more accurate update to the original, and their larger CubeX, which can print "basketball size" (10.75" x 10.75" x 9.5") in both ABS and PLA. Whereas the Cube 2 still rings in at an affordable $1,299, the base model of the CubeX will set you back $2,499. Their booth was pretty mobbed—I had to wait for a lull to sneak some shots in—and judging from the questions I overheard attendees asking, laypeople still don't seem to know much about 3D printing.
Dreambox 3D Printer Vending Machine Creates and Dispenses Designs Before Your Eyes
UC Berkeley’s new Dreambox is a vending machine like no other – it incorporates a 3D printer that makes and dispenses goodies right before your eyes! By connecting to a cloud-based computing system hosted within the machine, customers can upload their designs and set them in the cue for printing. The designers of Dreambox wanted a place for 3D printing enthusiasts to see their designs being created—a treat they don’t get to see if they place an order online or with a print shop. The renderings are processed, printed, and then (like any other vending machine) popped into a drawer for the customer to collect. Should the customer not be present, they can rest easy, knowing that their printed design is safe, as the storage drawers are locked until needed. Each customer is then given an unlock code, which frees their newly printed masterpiece. + Dreambox Via PSFK
