(Iso)Communication, tensional integrities and intensive connections through a peripheral park of Bologna is the fifth year's thesis of Vincenzo Reale from Bologna University, in which themes such as tensegrity, form-finding, material and structural properties of complex systems, parameterization of physical behaviors, interaction of surfaces and components with external force fields, rapid prototyping techniques were discussed, in the search of elegance through a perpetual dialectics of complexity and refinement.

Check out his thesis abstract and some beautiful images...

meshmixer is a free experimental 3D modeling tool for Windows designed to make it easy to compose a new 3D models from existing meshes. So if you don't have any CAD skills but would like to try tweaking an existing model downloaded from Shapeways, 3D Warehouse or Thingiverse, simply download meshmixer and start tweaking.  Of course you could also make a mash-up of a few of your own designs and see what kind of wild amalgamations you can come up with to 3D print.

Download meshmixer now and start mashing up your models....

I made the gallery above by adding a few of the recent models to my favorites and making a 3x4 widget with the code fav=USERNAME.  As far as rows go use this to adjust the frame size

cols/rows    width    height    if cols=1
1                168      176        height +12
2                320      320
3                474      464
4                628      608

Read on to see more examples of some of the Shapeways communities shops in widgetized...

If you want to sell your designs you must watch this presentation from the 2010 Blender Conference in Amsterdam by Andrew Price AKA Blender Guru.  It may be about being a digital artist, but the same rules apply to all independent designers whether it is CG, Jewelry, Product, Furniture, Graphics, or Needlecraft.

If 35 minutes is too much of your time (I listened while doing other menial tasks (not work related)) you can always read the article on his blog..

If you do not have time to watch or read, here at least is a summary of what you need to do to succeed. Step 2 could be replaced by having an exhibition, market stall, trade fair, Shapeways shop, PDF portfolio, press pack etc etc...

Thanks to Bart for the heads up.

Looking for the perfect gift for the Apple obsessed in the gifting season?  Check out some of the products for the iPad & iPhone along with a few beautiful oddities designed by the Shapeways community that may just hit the mark..

iPad.

Stabilize, cover & protecting the Apple iPad the Shapeways community with some of the coolest designs online.

Kitchen stand for iPad from $29.83

PadFoot - stand for iPad from $25

Canvas Wrap - Pixel from $50

Do you think we need to start organizing ourselves to protect our rights to have access to enabling technologies like 3D printing?  Or will more open systems prevail and we can get down to the business of creating innovative designs?

Let us know your thoughts? 

Just saw this great tweet roll in and wanted to share it:

@jasondevitt 1:22pm via Web
Made by my wife @shapeways sold on @Etsy tweeted by me: http://bit.ly/9MutUm It's @fredwilson 's world, we just live in it.

This perfectly speaks of what it means to be create, monetize and market online in 2010. We use online digital processes to make physical objects, we sell them via e-commerce directly to peers, then we, our friends and family promote them online using social media.

Especially interesting that one Venture Capital firm is behind each and every step.  Looks like they know something we know.

End your weekend with a few of the cool items that were shared by he Shapeways community in the past week.

Perfect gift for CHRISTMAS, the customizable building block by jabre design.

Snake an Invertebrate by Virtox, perhaps a perfect CHRISTMAS wreath?

Mt. St. Helens in full color by Chronopsis2, possibly not suitable for a christmas gift?

Interactive Fabrication showcases projects exploring Interactive Fabrication: interfaces and devices that take real-time input to fabricate physical form.  They are Karl D.D. Willis, Cheng Xu & Kuan-Ju Wu collaborating with: Golan Levin, Mark D Gross, Juncong Lin, Jun Mitani & Takeo Igarashi.

This year I had the opportunity to help out Shapeways at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.
One of the biggest Design events in the Netherlands! I was really excited about it, as I had the chance to show a lot of my work in the real world
Wow! it was a truly awesome experience!
The Shapeways Stand was very, very popular, and it has been a mad nine days!
As I’m currently still recovering from it all, it seems like a good time to write down my learning experiences for others.

We have been looking for ways to help the Shapeways community get their designs out into the wild and have got a few exciting projects on the boil.  One that we need you to help us test is the Shapeways Widget that allows you to embed your Shapeways shop into other sites using a HTML snippet.

This widget is still in the testing stage and we would really like to get your feedback on how it works, if you run into any problems and if you would like to see any more details or options. Also feel free to send us links of where you use the widget so we can get an idea of the context in which you use the widget.

As I trawl the web for what is new and innovative in the world of 3D printing, on demand manufacture, mass customization, contemporary design, jewelry, DIY, hacking, maker movement, art, furniture, computer graphics, software, intellectual property, CAD and etc. (phew), I quite often come across the Shapeways community in a broad range of places.  I have spotted your products in the smallest to some of the most widely read blogs on the internet, in forums on twisty puzzles and trains, miniatures and anime, robotics and RC, CG and animation.  I have seen many Shapeways products tweeted about as well as shown on YouTube, Facebook and Flickr.

So rather than simply stumbling across where you show your wares I thought it might be handy if you let us know where you promote your products.  It does not have to be to sell or make a sale, but to share with the Shapeways community where you share your shapeways products.

This may inspire others to join in the conversation and share their designs in the same, or similar places.  And at the same time give the Shapeways staff a chance to see the reaction of your designs in your peer communities.

Image above is Social network between the participants of "Learning environments and learning networks" course in Tallinn University. This was used as an icebreaking activity to get to know each other. by hanspoldoja.

I am always surprised by how much I learn whenever I catch even a snippet of a 3D modeling tutorial and cadjunkie's video's are easy to follow and understand for the beginner, with enough new information to be worthwhile even if you have thousands of hours experience with a CAD package. If you would like to delve deeper into the theory behind CAD modeling you can drown your self in some serious CAD geekery on Adam's site.

Thanks to SolidSmack for cadjunkie hit..