Today we have launched the first stage of the Shapeways Educational Program with an awesome 10% discount on 3D printing for all students and educators with a Shapeways account registered with an .edu email address.

This is our first step at helping students and educators have better access to high quality 3D printing through Shapeways.  We will be rolling out more features as part of the Shapeways Education Program so that everyone from elementary to post graduate students can use 3D printing to help them learn, understand and communicate their ideas whether they be technical, artistic or conceptual.

3D Printing isn't just about photorealistic bulldogs, beautiful jewelry and iPhone cases, it is also a way to design, prototype and produce more complex products by integrating other components.  Check out this working stepper motor constructed around a Shapeways 3D printed frame along with some nails, magnet wire, neodymium magnets and a digispark microcontroller.

If a simple motor can be constructed, what is the next step? (pun intended)

Every now and then we see an object that is hard to believe it is 3D printed, in this case it is the Bulldog 3D printed in Full Color Sandstone byMISS3. This is by far the most realistic 3D printed object we have seen so far and now the challenge is on...

Can you design something so realistic we will not know that it is a 3D print? 

On Friday, April 12th Ronnie Parsons from Mode Collective will host a full day of hands-on workshop as part of The Facades+ PERFORMANCE. A series of workshops designed to provide professionals and academics with the skills and knowledge to work with cutting edge technologies in a fast-paced and intensive environment. AIA/CES  LU credits approved.    

INTRODUCTION TO PARAMETRIC DESIGN, a workshop geared towards professional workflow for beginners. 

This workshop will focus on the fundamental concepts and workflows for creating performance-based design models with the parametric design tool, Grasshopper for Rhino3D. Combining the intuition of visual programming with the robustness of parametric design, Grasshopper offers unprecedented fluidity throughout the development of a project. Using Grasshopper, participants will be guided through a series of exercises designed to emphasize the relevant applications of parametric design for professional practice.

Father and Son team up to design and 3D print kite photography rigs for a range of smart phones then document the world around them, from above.

Taking the father and son project to new heights (sorry) hobbiestoomany have designed and 3D printed a range of kite ariel photography rigs for the Samsung Infuse, Galaxy S3 and the iPhone.

Making great use of the super light yet strong 3D printed Nylon on Shapeways they have constructed cages that can safely carry a smartphone up into the sky to record with either video or photos. There are already a whole range of 3D printed GoPro camera mounts on Shapeways for a wide range of uses but this is one of the first mounts we have seen designed to take the smart phone to the skies.  Each of the kits are available in hobbiestoomany's Shapeways shop with simple instructions in the video below how to assemble the cage and send your phone into the sky in a playful mash-up of Benjamin Franklin's kite experiments and a modern surveillance drone.

Check out the video of the test, amazing images and how to assemble then the second video whale watching with a kite...

Fridays at 5 in the Factory (NYC time) is a Google Hangout to give you an opportunity to ask the Shapeways 3D printing engineers your questions about Shapeways materials, processes and how to design for success.  We had an impromptu hangout last Friday that included a brief introduction to some of the Shapeways team along with a shaky, noisy virtual tour of the factory.

Register on Google+ to Fridays at 5 in the Factory or just virtually drop in to listen, ask questions and give feedback. 

Please note this is a virtual hang out as we cannot yet host people in the factory, those events will come once we have finished building out the site and all of the machines are safe in their cages.

We are looking forward to seeing you online and talking 3D printing with you. 

Every week we are seeing more and more people looking for 3D modelers to help them 3D print everything from human busts to scale laundry baskets through to slightly more functional objects.

A recent request by baerfoot is looking for someone to help him 3D model a repair part for his wife's Senseo Coffee Machine.

The replacement part is not available from the manufacturer but he has the existing broken part that will be relatively easy to copy for someone with basic 3D modeling skills.  If you are a 3D modeler who is capable of helping baerfoot keep his wife caffeinated drop him a line in the Shapeways Forums. While you are there you may as well submit your portfolio in the 3D Modelers for Hire section too.

UPDATE: It seems like our experiment worked for one day only, Happy April Fools Day.

While looking for a way to recycle our excess Nylon powder we found a way for anyone to 3D print at home with an iPhone and a magnifying glass.

At Shapeways we recycle most of the Nylon powder from our industrial 3D printing process but sometimes the powder does not meet the standard required for use in our 3D printers.  We were looking at the testing process when we made a really exciting discovery, with a tightly focused beam of light you can solidify the Nylon powder into a solid.  

We did some experiments and discovered a way that anyone can 3D print at home using an iPhone and a magnifying glass with our Nylon powder.  Take a look at the simple video below and email freenylon@shapeways.com and we can send you (for the cost of shipping) some of our excess Nylon for you to try at home.

We are looking for a someone to help us to find and introduce new 3D printing materials and processes to Shapeways.

The Materials group at Shapeways is responsible for pushing the boundaries of what people can create. A great material can open up new product categories, drive huge growth for the company, and expand people’s minds as to what’s possible with 3D Printing.

As Product Manager focussing on 3D Printing materials you will work closely with Supply Chain and internal Production to predict demand, launch new materials, improve existing materials, and monitor the success of our materials portfolio.

If this sounds like the perfect role for you, take a look at the responsibilities and requirements. 

Come and join the Shapeways team.