Neri Oxman, Director of the Mediated Matter group discusses the 'Multiversites Creatives' exhibit at Pompidou Center until August 6th 2012. Neri's work pushes Objet technologies to the absolute limit of their possibilities to the point where she worked with Objet engineers to unlock more then is currently possible with the machines as they are.  It will be fantastic if these extensions of possibility make their way to everybody who uses Objet machine, especially the file handling of multiple materials.  This would make it easier to print the Detail Materials at Shapeways in combination within a single print.... Something many Shapeways users would love to see.. 

Analyze, Recognize, Retrieval: Copyright or Share?

Fujitsu has developed a technology for retrieving 3D CAD models with partially similar shapes from an existing database.  This has been developed to speed up design time when engineers need to create new models by drawing in parts and geometry from existing models in the database, there fore making it possible for them to copy sections or incorporate the entire geometry.  They claim that this technology they intend to comercialize will save design time up to 90% (I assume that is when the part they are designing is EXACTLY the same).

This technology works by analyzing a database, segmenting the 3D models into component parts, distinctive shapes, protrusions, relationships between surfaces, size, orientation and more. The designer then specifies a search key and 3D models that meet that criteria are displayed in a color coded spectrum to be chosen by the designer.

Above is the way in which the database is queried for geometric features.

Above we see an engineer hunched over CRT monitors in a futuristic scenario where flatscreens no longer exist.

The idea from Fujitsu has implications for design engineers working within an internal database but the implications are far wider in a social context as the very same technology may be used to inhibit or promote sharing of 3D models with associated IP issues.

• What if this were a way to register a part as being protected by copyright as an artistic work?
• What if this technology were used to register a '3D Patent' of a unique 3D printed mechanism? 
• What if these registered parts were used to block a 'consumer level desktop machine' from 3D printing copyrighted works.
• What if we used this technology to make a free public database of 3D geometry that can be accessed by Tinkercad, 3DTin, 123D, Inventor Fusion, MeshMixer to make it easy for people to make awesome works from shared models? 

What do you think the potential use will be for this technology? 

We are running a Skillshare class at Material ConneXion on how to get started 3D printing on Wednesday May 9th at 6pm. 

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 used to make your ideas real.

It is a perfect if you or anyone you know want to get started designing for 3D printing but do not know where to start.  We will have materials there for people to play with to get an idea what 3D printing is all about.  

Would you like to see how the 3D printed magic actually happens at Shapeways? You're welcome to come over and take a peek in our Eindhoven facility every other month. On top of that, you get to ask all your questions to our team IN PERSON!

The programme:

• drinks
• tour of the facilities (printers, cleaning, logistics, office)- presentation of models and new materials
• questions & answers

Please RSVP so we know how many people we should count on.

Discussion around peer production has been active during recent years yet empirical information about communities has been minimal. Some scholars have undertaken hacker interviews but statistical data is missing. The Statistical Studies of Peer Production are undertaking a survey of 3D printing communities to gather this statistical data.

The survey takes about 5 minutes and gives you the chance to contribute to a knowledge base with basic questions of how and why you use 3D printing.

Take a few minutes to complete the survey, the results will be published after May 15 2012 when the survey closes.

Image source http://owni.eu/2011/08/11/infographic-draw-me-a-hacker/

This is the first 3D printed prototype of the programmable kalimba sequencer. Pegs can be set to produce different 16-step sequences of 5 tones.

Truly awesome.... 

We're REALLY excited to officially welcome Natalia to the team as our new Community Manager!

Natalia has been an active community member for some time now, is an awesome 3D designer, rides her bike everywhere, and is the latest addition to both the Aussie and Brooklyn contingencies in the NY office. She has experience as a jewelry designer, entrepreneur, 3D modeller, and marketeer, and we know will be a great force within the Shapeways community.

And the questions...

What is you favorite 3D Printed object? Besides my own loop earrings? haha Probably the impossibly beautiful mathematical sculptures like Gyroid by Bathsheba and the amazing skill of the coding that went into the Hyphae Lamp by Nervous Systems

What does the future look like in 5 years? Pretty awesome. We all have multipurpose glass displays like in Ironman instead of iPhones that can do everything, and instead of mass production of consumer objects, there is on-demand customized 3D printing. There isn't a printer on every desk, but there is a 3D printed item in every home...

What's the most interesting project you've worked on? A collaboration with a choreographer to make giant, flexible jewelry for her dancers to interact with. I used polypropylene strips that folded into each other to make a modular set of necklaces. The piece was called "Chameleon" and was about the experience of living between cultures.

If you could host a meetup anywhere in the world, where would you choose? Hong Kong, its my favourite city in the world, and, much like New York, a melting pot of cultures, currents and ideas. But the East/West clash is more pronounced in HK and makes for a fantastic experience. Also, the noodles are better and I love noodles.

What drew you to Shapeways? What are you looking forward to the most? Finding my people! That is, designers and techies who are creating the future. I'm excited to spread the word and show people that 3D printing is not the realm of technowizards, but is accessible to anyone who has a creative idea. I'm really excited to be working with the community and look forward to meeting more people and hearing their ideas!

If you could be a superhero, who would it be? Bananaman. When Eric eats a banana, he gains superhuman strength and can fly. I feel similarly when I eat a banana when riding my bike. NEEEEEOOOOOOW. (that is the sound effect of rapid acceleration)

The New York Arts, Culture and Technology Meetup group is hosting an event at EYEBEAM to discuss Disruptive Tech in the Arts this Wednesday the 2nd of May.

Speakers at the event will include Carter Cleveland of Art.sy, Khoi Vinh of Mixel, Dr. Jonah Brucker-Cohen who has a Ph.D. from the Disruptive Design Team among other impressive academic accolades. I will be representing Shapeways at the event to speak about 3D printing in context of design, art and cultural institutions.

Just about every major industry has seen its standard way of doing things disrupted by technology, challenging their assumptions and taking them far and beyond their comfort zone. This month we will hear from a few individuals behind companies that are striving to radically reinvent some aspect of the art world. Be it the means of creation and production, ideas around collecting and patronage, or the very concept of who and what is an artist. How do they design for disruption? And what are the areas where we still need to shake things up?

The event is already completely sold out but you can check the Livestream of the event to experience it remotely.  

The 3D4D Challenge is looking for people to use 3D printing to deliver social benefits to the developing world.  Teams compete for $100,000 in funding to make their ideas for real.

The challenge is being run by techfortrade / Trade4all Limited, a UK charity, launched with privately raised seed funding in early 2011 with a mission to alleviate poverty through technology enabled trade. Their aim is to act as a catalyst for new ideas, working with innovative projects that have the potential to scale and replicate.

This week the Shapeways community turned up the 3D printed awesome another notch... Check out this cool desktop gift.

I respect one of the most experienced software engineers on our project. He is very humble, attempting to divert recognition and point out the accomplishments of others. Despite his protestations, I believe he has saved our company a fair amount of money over the course of this project (I think he's been on this project for 5+ years now). So, I wanted to honor him with a desk sculpture. The whole team chipped in for the cost of the print. I am going to attempt to get this painted by Monday, since we're doing an important test event this week.

This piece is intended to be in the "steampunk" style - a sort of retro future where things are powered by steam and mechanical means, and the style is roughly Victorian / Industrial Revolution. The little plaque on the front says <his name> and "Chief Engineer". The strange machine one which he leans is meant to be an imitation of the sort of product my company produces, since I can't represent software itself tangibly.

Eddie Adolf was the winner of the 'inspiring design' category of our recent Siri Contest and Eddie has now shared his images of the 3D print.

She's listening....

Following is a blog post taken from Shapeways CTO Robert Schouwenburg's personal blog on 3D printing, , Online Creation & Personal Fabrication.

FRED WILSON VC,  Union Square Ventures, often recites his rule of thumb of social internet services. It is the 100-10-1 rule. He sees with social internet services that on average 100% of users consume, 10% of users interact and 1% of users actually create.

So how does this apply to Personal Fabrication? As a social service, there are many options for Personal Fabrication. I am thinking of:

• sharing of designs between designers
• making designs available for fabrication to others
• cooperative design of products between designers and users
• product configurators made by designers for users
• online creation tools for users which interact with all the above

All these options can make personal fabrication a social activity. When you apply the 100-10-1 rule of thumb, the opportunities for scaling such a service become immediately clear. As far as I know there are no exact figures available on how many 3D modelers / product designers there are in the world. But let's assume there are 5 million of them. That would turn social fabrication into a 500M users opportunity. That is Facebook and Google territory. Just imagine 50M users interacting on personal fabrication and the effects it can have on product design and how we design products. This is a very significant opportunity. Of course, the big caveat is that not all 3D modelers / product designers are interested in social fabrication. Maybe only 10% or less. That still leaves a 50M opportunity.

I do wonder what will happen to this ratio. I think it will change over time. I have no data available how this ratio looks like per demographic, but I can imagine that young people are much more engaged to create and interact than older generations. Now when they get older, start their careers and families, I can imagine that some of them drop off. But in general I expect that the creators and interactors groups will become a larger portion of the total users.

The first entrants are starting to appear in the Shapeways 3D Print Flex-Contest and we are really excited to see what you make with the squishy, flexible material.

What will you design?

What is the wildest idea you can think of? 

Which design will have the most squish?

Want to learn how to make your own designs for real with 3D printing? The Shapeways Skillshare School is now ready to help.  We have started to assemble some highly knowledgable and talented 3D designers to help people learn how to design for 3D printing.

We are in the process of populating the school with classes by Aaron Trocola, Natalia Krasnodebska, Kevin Wei and Duann Scott ranging from beginner to more advanced tutorials.  You can subscribe to the school or a particular class to see when one is happening near you.

If you are interested in teaching a class in 3D printing please get in touch and let us know what you have in mind, it may work as part of the Shapeways Skillshare School.