Enter the Draw It Co-Creator Contest.

Artur lead the way in showing us all how anyone can co-design for 3D printing. As a designer you can use that idea to work together with someone in order to create something unique with them. We know that there is much more creativity to explore in this area, that's why we're doing the Draw it contest. Who can come up with the most interactive, fun and expressive co-creator that has a hand drawn drawing as its input? Who can design the best combination of drawing and 3D printing?  

• 1ste prize is $100 coupon for 3D printing
  
• the top 3 models will be featured on the Shapeways homepage for one week
• The top 5 winning models will get their model printed for free
• You can enter until the 30th of May.

For some of our community the fact that all our prices are Dollars was one of life's minor annoyances. They wanted to see Euro prices on all the models. We have just implemented it for you. From now on you can see the prices of all the models in both Euros and Dollars. 

Photograph is Creative Commons Attribution and by Andrea Guerra.

Vijay then turned these designs into 3D models. We hope to see the results soon!

Vijay is not the only ones letting children in on the 3D printing game. Ivo Beckers (Ibec)has let his kids design a number of things.

Meike, who is 7, had her signature drawing turned into a great pendants that were 3D printed in plastic, color and metal. You can check out her Head Heart model here. 

Another daughter Esmee, 10, used a neocube magnetic puzzle to design a ring. Her dad then 3D modeled that design to make a metal 3D print.

The kids also used paper cut outs to design these wonderful flowersticks.

Opening up alternative ways for people to design really lowers the barriers to entry to 3D printing. We really want "everyone" to be able to 3D print. Vijay and Ivo's innovative approaches illustrate the path to the future. Design by proxy, design by explanation and design using existing tools are three key ways in which design and with it production can be democratized. Over the coming weeks we will show you some of our own work in allowing more people to get into the design game. 

A few weeks ago we introduced glass 3D printing. Today we're shipping the first glass 3D printed models. The results so far are encouraging but we do have to mention once again that this is a very new and very experimental process. Below are some pictures of some of the newest test models We hope that you guys share your glass creations with the world once they get to you!

The Splash Ashtray/tealight holder by Dimmulain.

Another tealight holder, this time a customizable one.

Tony Bignell: To talk about the stereo macroscope, I really must talk about the whole 3-D twin-rig camera system, most of which uses parts printed by Shapeways.  It starts with the camera base.  This allows me to trigger both cameras simultaneously, using the USB socket (and an ingenious camera software hack called Stereo Data Maker), and a set of batteries-and- switch contained within the printed baseplate.  I use this setup for taking 3-D photos, but there's a limitation: I must be a minimum of 2 meters from the nearest part of the scene or there will be too much stereo differential.   

The Stereo Macroscope works like a pair of sideways periscopes, and reduces the minmum distance to about 600 millimeters; this, plus a little bit of zoom-in on the cameras' lenses, allows me to take some of the macro 3-D photos I love taking.  Here's a sample of one of the photographs.   

In addition to this, I love wide-angle lenses for scenery photography, and here they are on Shapeways.

This also uses a couple of other Shapeways-printed parts. The Twin Wide Angle Lens Cap and the twin rear lens cover. 

I have also made a 3-D camera for my wife Robin. The reason for setting up camera upside-down is to get the lenses closer together than on my own rig, because Robin take more social photos, and getting a bit closer is desirable, and possible thanks to the closer lens spacing. 

A few of her photos are posted on her page, scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the 3-D photo sets.

Tony, thank you so much for sharing your great project with us!

You can 3D printed in glass on Shapeways. This is the first time ever that you can get a design of yours 3D printed in glass. The Milky White Matte Glass costs $5.99 per cm3, with a start-up cost of $15 per model. This price is an introductory price valid until the end of June. We think this is a huge step forward in 3D printing and the democratization of design and manufacturing.

This process is coming straight from the lab to your house. Therefore we must include a bit of expectation management. The material is not smooth as regular glass is. It is porous and a much much rougher surface. The material is also brittle and of course fragile. It is also not see through.

The model below is Emmanuel Lattes' Double Möbius. It costs: $80 3D printed in glass.

Not all of your models will work in glass. All walls have to be 3mm for example. The dimensional stability of the material is also not as good as the other 3D printing materials we have on Shapeways. There are several other considerations too and you can find them here on the 3D printed glass design rules page. Because this process is so new we are only accepting newly uploaded models for the 3D printed glass. We're sorry about that but we want to ensure as much as we can that the models we try to print are designed for glass. We thought that this would be the most democratic way in doing it. So please first check out the design rules and then upload your model before ordering it.

The model below is Dmitrios Fotiou's Glass Sculpture 2. It would cost $259 in glass.

How does it work?

The printing process 3D prints recycled glass powder. The glass powder is spread out on a bed and then 3D printed using a binding material. The parts that will become your model are hardened by the binder and the rest remains as glass powder. A new layer of glass is added and the process repeats itself. The fragile model is then gingerly lifted out of the powder and fired in a kiln. The binder evaporates and the model fuses. You can watch the glass video below.

Recycling

One of the most exciting things about this process is that the 3D printing medium is recycled glass powder. The powder is made from recycled glass bottles and plate glass from windows. The glass used is the same regular soda-lime glass that surrounds you. The "support material" that remains behind to support your model can also be recycled completely until it is all used up. Your designs can be recycled completely also. If you're bored with your design just toss it in a glass recycling bin. This is a huge step forward in making 3D printing even more environmentally advantageous.

Technical information

• The maximum build volume is currently 7.5 CM cube
• The minimum wall thickness is 3mm
• The density of the material is 2.35 g/cc
• The melting temperature of the material is 730 C
• Your models will take 21 working days to arrive
• Please tell the world that you can now 3D print in glass.