T-Splines, Inc.'s Model your organic designs in CAD Contest is designed to promote the creation of new and innovative 3D content using T-Splines, or using T-Splines in combination with other software.

Prizes valued at over $2600 include 3 iPads, software and 3D printing from Shapeways.

You can now embed Youtube links into the pages of your Shapeways shop so you can show a video of your product in use, an animation, assembly instructions or a simple rotation of the product to help communicate your designs.  Put a link on your Youtube page back to your shop to drive sales. Easy.

As Shapeways is about to integrate YouTube links into the Shapeways site, now is a nice time to check out some of the amazing videos uploaded by the Shapeways community on to YouTube.  Following are a few that I have found doing a simple YouTube search and this is the value of YouTube as it is currently (circa 2010) the second biggest search engine on the internet. So take a look at what some of the Shapeways community has posted, subscribe to the Shapeways Channel on YouTube, and start thinking about what you might want to post and link to your shop on Shapeways.

 

Gyro the Cube by Virtox 

More Madness from Oskar Puzzles

Chainmail Dice Bag by WelshDesigns

Dizingof's keychain AC charger for iphone/ipod

As inspiration for the current Draw Your Own Earrings promotion I thought it would be timely to showcase 20 of the earrings currently on shown in the Shapeways Earring Gallery.

Due to the positive feedback and fantastic models, Shapeways has decided to reintroduce Gold Plated Stainless Steel as a permanent materials option for the Shapeways community. 

With this reintroduction there is a change to the pricing from a flat rate with start up, to a stepped, non-linear pricing plan whereby the larger the volume the better the rate. Larger models are comparatively cheaper for us to produce so we would like to pass on that saving and encourage users create models of greater volume.

During the initial introductory period Shapeways did not cover its costs on the Gold Plated 3D printing and processing, especially with the smaller parts, so for Shapeways to remain viable we have introduced a new pricing structure for Gold Plated Stainless Steel.

So here is how it works:

0cm³ < to ≤1cm³    = Min. price $20
1cm³ < to ≤  5cm³  = $11/cm³
5cm³ < to ≤ 10cm³ = $10/cm³
                > 10cm³ = $9/cm³

With no initial start up cost.

More information on the Gold Plated Stainless Steel Material Page.

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) conference asks DIY Design: Will DIY Save Design/ Exploitation or Freedom of Expression/ Threat or Opportunity/ Crappy or Crafty?

It looks like the IDSA is not dealing with DIY design so well as they don't seem to know exactly what question to ask for the theme of the IDSA 2010 Conference but at least they realize they need to ask something, perhaps anything....

The Conference is broken down into six major topics, many of which fall square into the activities of the Shapeways community, including:

ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES

The rise and spread of technologies that enable individuals to design and create with a scale and sophistication once available only to corporations.

DIY AS AN INNOVATION ENGINE

Using the Do It Yourself ethic to foster innovation, even within larger organizations.

SLOW CRAFT

Consumers in many nations and markets are becoming increasingly aware of craft, scale and provenance. How does this impact design?

CONSUMER CUSTOMIZATION

Information and manufacturing technologies have enabled large scale manufacturers to make customized offerings as never before. Does this constitute a type of DIY, or is it completely different?

CROWDSOURCING

Many examples of crowdsourced design have reached public consciousness recently, with mixed reaction. Is everything crowdsource-able? What are the advantages, challenges and pitfalls to spreading the design task to the masses?

INDEPENDENT DESIGN & CREATION

Better tools and better markets for small scale creation are making it a viable option for more people. Is DIY a way out for frustrated designers who want more control? Is it necessary to be small in order to be independent?

Shapeways received a number of fantastic entries in the Siggraph 2010 Competition where we asked the Shapeways community to submit a design that could be used as the centerpiece for our stand at Siggraph 2010 to be held in Los Angeles from the 25 to the 29th of July.  

Congratulations go to Dizingof with his A/V Stand for iPod Touch which has won him a $250 Shapeways coupon (along with the prestige and envious admiration of his peers).

Draw your own earrings to go in the running to win your design 3D Printed in Silver along with a $100 Shapeways coupon, runners-up will receive other great prizes including their own earrings 3d printed in Gold Plated Stainless Steel or a discount on their next Shapeways order:

To enter you need to draw your own earring design using the draw-it template, scan, then email us your design for your chance to win.

• 1st prize: Your own earrings in Silver & $100 Shapeways voucher
• 4 runners-up: Your own earrings in Gold Plated Stainless Steel
• 20 runners-up: Two pairs of your earrings 3D Printed in Dyed Strong & Flexible and Alumide for you and a friend
• The next 475 people: 20% off your own earrings
• The next 500 entries: 10% off your next order
  

Winners will be picked at random and notified via email on the 16th of August 2010.