We have discounted 3D Printing Ceramics at Shapeways, then extended the discount for another week, now we are continuing the ceramic love with a flat rate price of $0.18 per cm² on ALL 3D Ceramic 3D Printing at Shapeways.

So you can order your Cory Doctorow bust in Satin Black or Eggshell Blue, Gloss White or Pastel Yellow and it will cost you the same low price of only $0.18 per cm². Remember our 3D Printed Ceramics is calculated by surface area not volume, and be sure to read the Ceramics Design Guidelines before you order your model to ensure your design is 3D Printable in ceramics.

Take a look at some of the products 3D Printed in Ceramics in the Shapeways Gallery. 

3DMTP is a cloud-based software service, focused on making 3D architectural models 3D Printable. 3DMTP automatically transforms 3D designs, from BIM, 3D CAD, SketchUp software and other 3D visualization software into scalable and 3D printable model files.  

3DMTP helps overcome the complex challenges sometimes faced in making 3D scaled models printable for architects, developers and designers. The innovation is based on algorithms which study-the geometric structure of the model, identify and AUTOMATICALLY fix problems that would have prevented it from being successfully printed. Sweet.

Once you are ready to turn your design into a 3D printable model, upload your design file and set your parameters: scale, profile, and desired 3D printer. 3DMTP automatically processes the file without any additional operator interface. 3DMTP also fixes holes between polygons and facets, repairs reverse surfaces, changes the thickness of walls to minimum print tolerance for the selected printer, fixes non-volumetric geometry (making objects "watertight"), and fixes many other problems of degenerated geometry that otherwise would prevent the model from printing successfully

Check out some of their 3D Printable architectural models already in their Shapeways shop. 

La Gerbe, the first in the series of 3D Printed fashion by Dutch designer Bracelet Boutique is based on the painting La Gerby by Matisse. Take a look at some of the beautiful colors that Bracelet Boutique have dyed their designs to inspire you to try some DIY dyeing for yourself. Le Gerbe is available 3D Printed on demand by Shapeways in White Nylon or Stainless Steel.

Using 3D Printers housed in a shipping container, unmanned drones and GPS tracking system Project Blue Sky promises to freak the hell out of unsuspecting Burning Man participants. The project is run by a non-profit called ReAllocate.org, which curates teams of world class talent and pairs them with specific technical projects, humanitarian organizations (other non-profits, NGOs) and resources to solve global challenges. Right on.

Imagine that you are in Black Rock desert close to Center Camp. You step into a brightly decorated space surrounded by ancient statues. You are ushered into a shipping container that has been converted into a high-tech innovation lab. You and your fashionable friend strike a pose which is captured with 3D software and converted into a 3D model. You are given a GPS transponder and specific instructions for your mission. On the way out you catch a lecture on 'Scientific Exploration' and watch some aerial 3D footage of flying over Burning Man projected in a 3D imax dome.

 

After you leave, your image scan is 3D printed into a miniature statue and loaded into a capsule on a multi-copter. The copter navigates to your GPS location.

 

When your GPS transponder goes off, you look up as the multi-copter hovers above you. It gently lowers a padded capsule with your statue of you inside. You unwrap a 3D medallion of yourself.

 

Your only responsibility is to return the transponder and tell us your story for our documentary.

 

 File under freaky cool....

The Moonrock 2012 Nozomi Pendant is on it's way to Burning Man via Shapeways. Designed by our very own Alan Hudson and Ava Savitsky using the 3D Tools Alan has developed for Shapeways, an open source 3D toolkit called AbFab3d available via GitHub. It is another great example of someone who is not actually a '3D modeler' using what is basically a 2D approach to 3D print an object, in Sterling Silver.

With this series of 3D Printed Soldering attachments for a BIC lighter you can be like MacGyver and repair your PCB's anywhere.  Sure, it may be a little more geeky than MacGyver, and perhaps without the brown leather jacket and frosted tips, but MacGyverish all the same....

Available in 11 variations 3D Printed in Stainless Steel from the Mechnology shop on Shapeways including the the 0.8mm round tip to the 2.4mm wide tip you are sure to find an ultra-portable soldering iron tip to meet your needs, AND impress your friends...

They brought you the first 3D Printed Bikini, now Continuum Fashion have released the Strvct 3D printed shoe, lined with a patent leather inner sole and coated with a synthetic rubber to provide greater traction.

strvct refers to structure. With 3D printed nylon, delicate looking forms are actually incredibly strong while also being impossibly lightweight. We present a triangulated spin on the classic wedge pump, which brings to mind Cinderella's glass slipper in its transparency. Expanding on this idea, we created a sandal with a 3D printed base and origami tyvek butterflies.

Get a pair custom designed and 3D Printed to fit your feet for $900 in any style from a platform to a pump. 

Want to get started 3D Printing but do not know which 3D application to start with, what material to 3D Print in or exactly what 'wall thickness' really means?

If you are in New York this week come along to General Assembly where you can learn how to start. 

This introductory class will cover the basic principles behind design for 3D printing, the free tools available to get started and the materials and processes of 3D printing. The course will also step through some simple 3D modeling techniques to get you started designing for 3D printing so bring your Mac or PC laptop, charger, and an external mouse so you can follow along.

Registration via Eventbrite. 

The Gartner Hype Cycle graphic has been used since 1995 to highlight the common pattern of overenthusiasm, disillusionment and eventual realism that accompanies each new technology and innovation. The Hype Cycle Special Report is released annually to track 'emerging' technologies along this cycle and provide guidance on when organizations should adopt them for maximum impact and value.  3D Printing has been steadily climbing to the peak of 'Inflated Expectations' over the past few years and now sits on top, poised for the drop into the 'Trough of Disillusionment, or is it.

It seems in the 2012 report they clarify 3D Printing as 3D Print It at Home, not 3D Printing in general and this does change things considerably.  

In this scenario, 3D printing allows consumers to print physical objects, such as toys or housewares, at home, just as they print digital photos today. Combined with 3D scanning, it may be possible to scan certain objects with a smartphone and print a near-duplicate. Analysts predict that 3D printing will take more than five years to mature beyond the niche market.

Although we agree that 3D Printing is not yet being used by everyone around the world, the awareness and use is growing incredibly fast, and we are betting with all of our time and energy that it will reach the 'Plateau of Productivity' in WAY under the 5-10 years that Gartner predicts. Looking at the growth of Desktop 3D Printing over the past 3 years we have seen an incredible improvement in the quality of the 3D Printers, a considerable drop in price and massive variation (on a theme/patent)

There is a very good chance that we will see even greater growth out of the niche, and into the mainstream as Shapeways ramps up production in the USA (new machines being installed right now, eeeek), Obama invests in additive manufacturing, and the Shapeways continues to grow, designing AMAZING 3D Printed products that make it into the hands of people all around the world....

Where do YOU think 3D Printing is on the Hype Cycle??? 

No, it is not a giant Shapeways order, the Obama administration has announced as part of it's We Can't Wait public-private partnership that it will invest $30 Million to fund the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute matched by $40 million from a consortium in in Youngstown, Ohio, turning the Rust-Belt into the Laser Sintered Belt?

Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding region knows what happens when manufacturing production declines. But in this area once known as the 'rust belt', investments like this new pilot institute demonstrate the potential within a region to bring together the capabilities of America's companies and universities, in partnership with the federal government, to invest in the cutting-edge technologies and skills our manufacturers need to compete. With this initiative, Youngstown is poised to become the epicenter of burgeoning new industries from its leadership in additive manufacturing or 3-D printing. 

Another 3D printerview with a Shapeways team member to hit the internets courtesy of our favorite podcast EngineerVsDesigner. This time Josh Mings and Adam O'Hern had the questions coming from all directions, mostly, but not exclusively about Shapeways and 3D Printing. Listen, learn, laugh and subscribe to the hottest CAD related podcast on the block....