The Shapeways Blog: 3D Printing News & Innovation
Entries from June 2012
Friday, June 22. 2012
Pushing the Limits of the 3D Printer: Phamora Ceramics by Virtox
Every day we see amazing designs emerge from the 3D Printers but occasionally we have to look at a 3D Print from every angle to figure out what is going on. Phamora Ceramics by Virtox is one of those cases...
Thursday, June 21. 2012
How to Make a stamp using Shapeways 3D Printing and Sugru
Following is a quick tutorial by our good friend Pookas aka Michael Mueller on how to make a stamp with Suguru and Shapeways 3D Printing...
What you need:
1. A negative mold (the stampmaker), made via Shapeways 3D printing service.
2. Some Sugru.
3. A handle which should fit to the size of the stamp. E.g. a piece of wood or you can make the handle via Shapeways, too.
4. Liquid soap.
5. A knife.
You probably know sugru already. If not, it's an air-curing rubber that can be formed by hand. It bonds to most materials and turns into a strong, flexible silicone rubber overnight.
Put a thin layer (2 mm) of Sugru on a handle which should have more or less the same size as the stamp.
Make sure the Sugru on the handle is smooth and plane.
Put some liquid soap on the stampmaker. This will help to detach the sugru from the mold.
Press the stampmaker against the Sugru and remove it without destroying the imprint you made.
Grease some liquid soap on a plane surface and scrub the Sugru-Stamp against it. Don't use too much pressure! This will help to make the stamp perfect smooth and plane.
Use a knife to cut away all unused Sugru on the border of the stamp.
Don't forget to clean the stampmaker. This way, you can make as much stamps as you like. Almost done!
Let it dry overnight and have fun with your new, handmade stamp! You'll need an ink pad with stamping ink for printing!
Wednesday, June 20. 2012
Designer Spotlight: Alia Hasan
This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Alia Hasan, of Archetype Z Studio, an architect with a flair for jewelry design.
What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
I came across a website for another company that did 3D printing and was impressed at how far the technology had come along since I had used it briefly in grad school. The site was difficult to use and 3D printing was expensive so I searched for other companies until I finally came across Shapeways.
How did you learn how to design in 3D?
I did my undergraduate degree at Berkeley in Architecture and took a FormZ class to learn 3D modeling (at the time we didn't use computers in the architecture studio courses so you had to take a separate course in it). After graduating I did a little bit of 3D modeling of architectural projects but it wasn't until grad school at UCLA that I started using 3D software programs on a daily basis and really felt comfortable with it.
How would you describe your creative process?
I usually start with some concept or form I get fixated on and I sketch it out until I have a clear direction on what I want to model. Sometimes the modeling is just translating those sketches and sometimes the sketches are a jumping-off point and the design becomes something else. I'm not usually satisfied until I feel I've created something I feel is unique. And though I didn't intend for it to be this way, my designs are inspired a lot by architecture.
How do you promote your work?
To be honest I'm not very good at this... I try to use my facebook business page and have started using twitter. To really promote your work you have to do it consistently every day and I would much rather be designing!
Who are your favorite designers or artists?
Most of my favorite designers are architects - Shigeru Ban, Zaha Hadid, Foreign Office Architects, Herzog de Meuron... I could go on for a while but I'll stop there.
Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?
I often find myself wasting hours on the Shapeways site because of checking out all the amazing things people come up with. A couple of my favorites are the Animarus creations by Theo Jansen and any of the product designs by Michiel Cornelissen.
What's your favorite material?
Concrete. Before architecture school I thought it was a horrible, ugly material. But after seeing so many amazing examples of concrete in architecture and seeing how it was this great fluid material that has a very pure quality in design, I learned to love it. It would be so cool to 3d print concrete but I guess the Polished Alumide will have to do for now.
If you weren't limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
I would love to design furniture that is made of one continuous form (no bolts or screws, or any adhesives to connect parts). I'd also love to design elaborate 3d printed food... I think I read recently that 3d printed food is already being done somewhere in a lab!
Check out her architectural designs at her Shapeways Shop Archetype Z Studio or her website www.aliahasan.com
Shapeways 3D Printing Community Meetup at Quirky HQ, June 27
This month, Shapeways is teaming up with Quirky to host a 3D Printing community meetup at their super amazing offices in Chelsea, NYC.
Come and hear two Shapeways designers, Saad from Saga Design and Brandt and Carrie from thefuturefuture, speak about their 3D Printed products and join us for a short discussion about product design.
Afterwards, grab a beer and stay to mingle with the creative team of Quirky, a social product development company that makes invention accessible.
Join us at Quirky's offices in Chelsea on Wednesday the 27th of June from 6-8pm, bring your 3D printed creations and meet other Shapies in the NY area. We'll bring some awesome new models and materials to share too.
Tuesday, June 19. 2012
Sell Your 3D Printed Designs From Behance Network
Behance Network is the leading online platform to showcase and discover creative work and now you can add links to sell your 3D printed designs from your Behance Portfolio using Shapeways (NOTE: You will need to be logged onto Behance Network to see how to)..
It is really easy to add the Buy This link to your project as Noah Beasley has above with hisTribot Cufflinks so if you have a Behance Network portfolio you can use it to drive traffic and sales to your Shapeways Shop.
Read More »
Funding the Rise of Creative Commerce
How do we enable you to make whatever you can imagine? Everyday at Shapeways, we wake up to the challenge of answering this question to the best of our abilities.
On a daily basis, we make thousands of unique products and deliver them to people all over the world. We create an online experience that ignites creativity and increases access to the best of 3D printing, at the lowest cost. We work hard to open manufacturing such that everyone -- regardless of technical background or expertise -- can create the products that populate their lives.
As you can imagine, this is no easy task. To help us realize our vision and support our community, we're growing an awesome team, building out the "factory of the future" in NYC, and expanding US distribution.
We're excited to announce that we have a new partner on board to help us fuel our growth and the rise of creative commerce: Lux Capital. Lux led a $6.2M financing, joining existing investors Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures.
Read More »
Shapeways is like having a 3D Printer in your Mailbox
Parents, teachers and students are often among the most excited at events where we present Shapeways 3D Printing such as the recent Northside Festival, Makerfaire and the regular Shapeways MeetUps.
With all of the new DIY 3D Printers hitting the market many parents are keen to get their children started 3D printing but are reticent to invest (and assemble) a 3D Printer themselves. When we explain the Shapeways process to parents they quickly see that Shapeways is like having a 3D Printer in your mailbox.
We are seeing an increasing number of students use Shapeways to 3D print their assignments, be they art, science, architecture and jewelry, either ordering independently to impress their teacher with high resolution 3D prints or as part of a class assignment, with the whole class receiving their 3D prints in a giant batch sent directly to their school. The benefit of the large order is that the shipping cost is shared among all students making it cheaper for all, especially for those in Australia, Asia, etc.
We are looking for ways to make it easier for teachers, lecturers, students, parents to use Shapeways 3D Printing, if you have any requests please let me know duann at shapeways dot com.
In the meantime, check out a few tiny mailboxes available on Shapeways.
Image mailboxes by Rick Payette on Flickr
Monday, June 18. 2012
Build a Custom Bike Frame with 3D Printing
If you do a lot of cycling, a custom bike frame is highly desirable in order to have the right fit for your body size and posture. However, commissioning a professional framebuilder can be very expensive, and making it yourself requires an upfront investment in welding tools and rigging that you'll likely use only once.
Andrew Leinonen set himself the challenge to make a bike frame without the upfront investment by involving 3D Printing in the process. As Andrew explains: "The process that I came up with takes advantage of the growing availability and affordability of CAD and 3D printing to allow people to build themselves a unique custom bicycle with unparalleled design flexibility".
Another benefit is a lower material cost as off-the-shelf aluminium or carbon fibre tubes can be used for most of the frame structure. Andrew's goal was "to shift away from being restricted by the materials required by the tools, and instead enable you to realize your personal creative vision for what you want your bike to be".
Using his personal 3D Printer, Andrew created lugs that hold the frame together at precisely the angles required. This proved rigid enough that a jig wasn't required for the next stages of the process when epoxy and carbon fibre are applied to solidify and strengthen the frame. 3D Printed molds were also used to compact the carbon fibre as it sets to achieve a really smooth finish.
The complete project requires a considerable amount of work, but it's great to see how 3D Printing has simplified the process and hopefully made it accessible to more people. If this looks like the summer project for you, check out the complete step by step guide on Instructables.
(via 3Ders - photos by Andrew Leinonen)
Friday, June 15. 2012
Friday Finds: 3D Printed Designs From the Shapeways Community
This Friday, it only took a few minutes in the forums to stumble upon brilliant 3D printed designs from the community in a host of materials. I would preface the following with more accolades, but these gems speak for themselves. Have a great weekend all!
A two part Kaleidoscope Clock by Made by Wombat. Requires a bit of worthwhile DIY hackery to assemble.
Transforming Dragon Die by Reaper Media. Breath some fire into your roll...
... and in action.
Read More »
Wednesday, June 13. 2012
Shapeways Representing 3D Printed Entrepreneurship at Northside Festival in Brooklyn Starting June 14
The Northside Festival is happening in Brooklyn over the next eight days with the best of NYC music, art, film and entrepreneurship.
Shapeways will be present over Thursday and Friday with 3D Printing inspiration in the Media Makers Collective alongside Pond5, Manhattan Edit, Squarespace, AutoDesk, Videoart.Net and Bosco. If you are in NYC you may be able to grab a free badge to the Northside Festival Entrepreneurship from NYCEDC...
Shapeways will be presenting in the Media Makers Space at 3pm on Friday as well as part of a panel discussion Make Things Not War at 9:45am - 10:30am @ Northside Warehouse (Innovation Stage) (149 Kent Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211) with Anand Giridharadas of the New York Times, Ayah Bdeir of Littlebits, Nora Abousteit of Kllabora and a mystery representative from MakeBot....
The rise of America, and of the West, was inextricably bound to the rise of making -- of lightbulbs, trains, cars, planes, even blue jeans. Then, somewhere down the line, the West stopped making. Now a wave of entrepreneurs is trying to bring making back -- not in a hundred factories, but in a million garages. They believe that DIY making can save our economies and our souls, and that it can make us smarter and happier and more connected to our fellow beings.
Look forward to seeing you there.
Monday, June 11. 2012
Shapeways Labs Gives You Some Easy Tools to Customize Your Shop and Share Your Designs
As we are working to improve the Shapeways shops there are some features we would like to test before we integrate them fully into the site. We have updated the Shapeways Labs page to share some of these experimental tools we have been working on but not yet integrated. Many of these tools have been requested by community members and Shapeways Shop owners while others are handy tools to help you share your designs online.
In the Shapeways Shop Mods section we have the Products Sets Mod that generates code you can paste into your product description to make it easier for people to purchase multiple items from your shop in one click. If you wanted to buy Bathsheba's Geared Widget that requires 5 parts you can make it easy to add them all to a shoppers cart in one click. This works in your Shapeways Shop, Product Page AND anywhere else you would like to share it like your blog, YouTube or Flickr description.... Please note that this only adds multiple items to a cart, it does not change the way the models are processed, batched, printed or shipped but we wanted to give you a chance to try it out.
Want to get a set?
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Another really common request is to have Product Variants such as the ability to have multiple sizes available to shoppers in one place. This is a great option for jewelry sizes as you can enter the embed code into your product description page for people to choose their size. All of the items can be private and they will still be added to the shopping cart (a great way to tidy up your Shapeways Shop. Please note this is still an experimental stage and does not address all Product Variants scenarios but is a chance to see what works.
SmallThe Shapeways Product Embeds section is all about making it easier to embed A Single Product, The 3D Viewer, or Combination of Products For Sale on any page, when someone clicks Buy on Shapeways it is added to their shopping cart. The product will be displayed with your default image and default material choice, again, the items can be private and they will still be added to the shopping cart.
Try them out for yourself and please send us links so we can see them in the wild.... Please note that these are experimental tools that do not yet address all use case scenarios for product sets and variants but should be seen as a way to test them out before we offer holistic solutions.
Pushing the Boundaries of Personal 3D Printing in Ceramics
Since forming in 2002, Belgian Design Studio Unfold has shown a real passion for creative uses of ceramics in design. More recently they have been busy pushing the boundaries of personal 3D Printing using ceramics and sharing their progress on the Unfold ~fab blog.
Stratigraphic Porcelain series - Exhibited at Triennial di Milano in April (Photo: Dries Verbruggen)
Amazingly, the carafe & cups pictured above were printed on RepRap style Bits From Bytes 3D Printers. This required development of a very specialized print head and custom software for translating the designs into printer instructions. In an earlier post, Dries explains the difficulties printing with clay paste and how his custom print head uses a air pressure to achieve a (mostly) consistent flow rate.
With this set up Unfold were able to create and test a range of generative designs to be printed in porcelain. There were a lot of models that failed to print, which is to be expected and helps to define what is possible.
Example of a unique infill pattern made possible by custom software (Photo: Dries Verbruggen)
Dries explains: "The goal is to create objects that are more structural and in which there is an interplay between an inside complex structure and a shell like you see in many organic things like plant cut throughs, seeds, diatoms etc. We also looked at origami and folding, medieval ornaments, double walled structures and much more."
Experimentation with wall structures and textures (Photo: Kristof Vrancken)
Via: Unfold ~fab
Saturday, June 9. 2012
Vice-President Biden 3D Printing the Future
The future is NOW at Shapeways, but at least Vice-President Biden recognizes the importance of 3D Printing.
In an address to Cypress Bay High School Vice-President Biden mentioned 3D Printing as part of his utopian vision of the future.
"Imagine a day, when in your, doctors are able to regenerate entire body parts and limbs that have been damaged and lost, not only saving tens of thousands of lives, but restoring the thousands of our Iraq and Afghan veterans coming back in need of prostheses, so they will be able to live a full and ambulatory life. As an aside, in the future, just one example, using 3D printers, we're going to be able to restore tissue after traumatic injury or burn, restore it back to it's original state. It's literally around the corner. Imagine a world in which hunger is vanquished by crops that don't depend on the soil, water or fertilizer, or pesticides to thrive, they're just around the corner"
via 3DPrinter.net
Friday, June 8. 2012
ThinkGeek and GeekDad with a Geektastic Giveaway (including a 3D Printer)
Head on over to GeekDad & ThinkGeek's latest giveaway where you have a chance to win a desktop 3D Printer, a $1,000 Geeky shopping spree and more.
Enter the contest by 12 noon ET on June 14, 2012, and they will contact the randomly chosen winner on June 15 so you'll the good news for Father's Day, June 17.
It's random, so everyone who enters is in with a chance.....
