FINALLY a podcast of 3D CAD fueled edutainment for the tweet attention span generation...

According to the bio:

Engineer Vs Designer is the dankest product design podcast on the block all thanks to JOSH MINGS of SolidSmack.com, and ADAM O’HERN of cadjunkie.com. Each week we’ll bring you the latest digital design news, tips & tricks, Q&A, and an industry special guest.

Engineer Vs Designer is an entertaining and informative twenty minute podcast on all things 3D CAD and product design related, delivered at Red Bull speeds.  Subscribe to the podcast to get your weekly fill and listen to the likes of our very own Jeff Bare discuss the division of the brain when designing, being part engineer, part designer, and (ahem) Shapeways..

Image: iPad 2 Wrap: Hexstar by Jeff Bare

Note: I cant believe my spell check let edutainment slide..

Wow, we had so many really great entries in the Shapeways Photo Contest I am continuously in awe of the creativity and imagination of the Shapeways community.. Of course we see it every day in the models you upload to Shapeways to be 3D printed but it has been really fun to see how you have taken Baroba's Bowie the Bunny and put him into some 'interesting' situations. Take a look at all of the entries on Flickr..

So, I guess it is time to reveal the winner of $500 worth of Shapeways 3D printing....

 

Sweet...

via Fastco

3D Printing just got a whole lot easier with Tinkercad browser based solid 3D modeling and direct upload to Shapeways.

Tinkercad is a very fast and simple way to start 3D modeling, lowering the barrier to entry with it's intuitive austerity.  The refined interface has no clutter with (currently) only four basic tools: Add, Sub, Workplane and Measure on the left side with basic navigation on the right.

With the limited tool-set you are not about to start modeling complex organic forms but if you wanted to teach somebody the fundamentals of solid 3D modeling you would be hard pressed to find a simpler starting point: Extrude a form, Subtract from form, repeat process, 3D print (with Shapeways .

Tinkercad uses WebGL and is currently supported in Firefox and Chrome but apart from that is operating system agnostic, requires no downloads, all you need to do is register and you are ready to start 3D modeling.

To promote Shapeways we are increasingly taking the 3D printed show on the road to trade shows, design events, Maker Faire and the best way for us to promote Shapeways is with your designs, after all it is your creativity, skill and passion that makes Shapeways such an amazing place.  Giving people an opportunity to see, touch and play with your designs is a great way to make a sale so we have created event landing pages such as our SIGGRAPH11 page so that people who come to the event can easily find and buy the cool designs they see.

The models we show at the events are used until they are damaged, at which point they are destroyed and we never sell your designs without giving you your specified mark-up. When we would like to use your designs for promotion we will contact you to ask your permission, we will only request permission for items that are on public display on the Shapeways site.  We hope that you are excited to have us promote your designs as we do see an increase in sales with promotion of items both online, and in the flesh.

If you would like us to consider your models for use at shows please email me duann (at) Shapeways.com with the subject 'Use Me' and I will send you a permission document and add you to our database.

Check out the amazing level of detail in these Frosted Ultra Detail 3D prints at 1:1200.

  

 We have introduced the Materials Production Status page to keep you informed of the current status of our production facilities. We will use this to let you know current lead times for delivery, the length of any backlog, or if a material is temporarily put on hold until our production is back up to speed.  For even greater transparency we will also use this to keep you informed of the reasons behind any delays.  Think of it as a little window into the machine that makes your 3D printing happen.  Let us know what you think, does this help to manage expectation, is there anything else we can do to help you understand the status of your 3D prints.

A recent interview by Johnny Ryan with Vyomesh Joshi, Executive Vice President of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, focused on questions of HP's foray into 3D printing

. Vyomesh answered all of Johnny's questions with a fair degree of abstraction that basically said they think 3D printing is important, but not sure how important or when it would become important.  They see it as an extension of their professional, industrial, large format, plotter market but did not see the consumer market being a focus in the near future. The interview did however reiterate multiple times that HP has 25 years of experience in the 'printing industry' but it is very rare for the old guard to be the new guard after a revolution such as that promised by 3D printing.

 

It’s easy to imagine that in the future, 3D printing will enable people to be creative and express themselves in entirely new ways. Just as color inkjet printing opened the door for consumers to use photos and images in creative new applications, I could envision people using 3D printing to design unique, personalized items such as jewelry, eyeglasses or other accessories.   Vyomesh Joshi

We don't really need to imagine this in the future as it is already happening now on Shapeways.

Read the entire interview on Johnny's blog.

Would you like to have a glimpse behind the scenes at Shapeways to see how the 3D printed goodness makes it's way to your door? You're welcome to take a peek in our Eindhoven facility Friday, September 30, 2011, 3:00 PM.

You will get to see some of our 3D printers in action, check out the cleaning and distribution process and meet the people who make it all happen...

We will be running these tours every couple of months but if you would like to attend, be sure to RSVP via our Meetup page as spaces are limited.

We are looking forward to seeing you there. Now, time to 3D print a megaphone.

Photo: Mickey Mouse Tour Guide by Veeyawn

Ok Adelaide, it is time to talk 3D printing.....

If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Adelaide, South Australia on the 3rd of September head on up to the Bradley Forum, Level 5 of the Hawke Building, University of South Australia, City West Campus (enter via North Terrace) for a discussion between innovative young designers, architects, academics and yours truly about the use of 'rapid prototyping' in design.  Arrive around 1:30 to ensure you get a seat and continue the discussion afterwards at the Jam Factory whilst checking out the Prototyping: Making Ideas exhibition...

I am looking forwards to seeing you there...