Using an aerosol jet technology, Optomec are able to 3D print electronics onto complex 3D printed structures with conductive nano particles. The potential to add 3D printed conductive components to your designs will be a massive step forward in 3D printing when you can add another level of complexity to the products you design.  

It will be interesting to see how 3D CAD software will approach this technology, because without the proliferation of software to design these electronic components, the adoption of the technology will be relatively limited.  Similar to the ability to 3D print mulit-materials with the Objet Connex machines, it is the software and file handling that is still retarding the adoption of the process at Shapeways.

The demand for novel consumer and military electronic devices that pack more functionality into less space is driving the need for advanced manufacturing methods that tightly integrate electronic circuitry with physical packaging.  3D Printed UAV Wing The unique ability to print electronics directly onto 3D surfaces, for example on a cell phone case or an aircraft wing, makes Aerosol Jet an ideal solution for reducing device size and weight. Common electronic materials including conductor, dielectric, resistor, and semiconductor inks can be processed by the Aerosol Jet system to print conformal sensors, antennae, shielding and other active and passive components. Printing these electronic components directly on or inside the physical device eliminates the need for separate printed circuit boards, cabling and wiring thereby reducing weight and size while also simplifying the assembly process. Device performance can also be improved by eliminating protruding components such as antenna thereby reducing aerodynamic drag. 

When you can 3D print electronics, what will you design? How much is the ability worth to you? Do you think this will be another game changer?

To help you make the most of the current discount on Stainless Steel we wanted to share some of the all time most popular products 3D printed in Stainless Steel.  Of course if there is nothing that tickles your fancy you can also (quickly) design your own as long as you get your order in before the December 31st at 04:59 GMT. Enter code jv9dv at checkout where it says "Promo Code" (not "Apply Credit").

A favorite in the Shapeways office, especially on Friday afternoon, the Klein Bottle Opener.

One of the most popular items of all time on Shapeways, the Thorn Dice Set with Decader.

We see waves and waves of the Explorers Ring - U3 Version rolling out of the Shapeways 3D printers.

With MILLIONS of views on YouTube, we had to include the Twin Rail Mobius can-take-a-ball - Pendant

3D Printing is not always about the new, sometimes it is about repair the old, like a (very) personal favorite of mine, Repair Part for a Bugaboo.

If you are designing something new to be 3D printed in Stainless Steel, be sure to pay close attention to the design guidelines for stainless steel. A few of the most important things to keep in mind: 

• Your design must have a minimum thickness of 3mm.
• The entire part must be bigger than 3x3x3mm and smaller than 750x381x381mm.
• No interlocking or moving parts.

We are starting to see the new, smooth colors make there way out of our 3D Printers and into the hands of people around the world.  The new colors are looking amazing and feel fantastic.  Take a look at the Sweater Case, the winner of our iPhone 5 design contest.

Have your new colored 3D prints arrived yet? We would love to see them in the wild.

With the launch of our new, smooth 3D printed colors last week at Shapeways we are also offering a 10% discount on our new colors until October 31st.

We are really excited about the increase in quality of surface finish with our new colors and we want you to get your smooth, bright 3D prints into your hands as soon as possible.

Please be sure to enable your models in the new colors if you have not already done so and we LOVE to see photos of the new colors in your product pages of your shops.

Being smooth, colored 3D prints they are so much easier to photograph than white nylon (WSF) 3D prints.  Check out the photography tutorial if you need any pointers. 

We first launched our Material Sample Kit over two years ago and much has changed since then. We have more metals, more colors, more finishes with MUCH more to come.  To make room for all of these new materials we are introducing a whole new range of 3D Printing Material Sample Kits to Shapeways.

The Basic Kit for $29.99 will replace the current kit and contain:

• White Strong Flexible (nylon)
• Alumide 
• Stainless Steel
• Full Color Sandstone
• Black Detail (Acrylic)
• Frosted Ultra Detail (Acrylic)

You will also receive $25 3D Printing Coupon to get you started with the new materials.

The Colors & Finishes Kit priced at $19.99 is for you to get your hands on the latest colors and finishes (hence the name) including:

• White Detail (Acrylic)
• Polished White Strong Flexible (Nylon)
• Polished Alumide
• Black Strong Flexible (Nylon)

• Coral Red
• Royal Blue
• Hot Pink
• Violet Purple 

The Metals Kit for $79.99 includes a range of our metal finishes including:

• Polished Bronze Stainless Steel
• Sterling Silver
• Polished Gold Plated Stainless Steel 

For each material in each pack you will also receive a material detail card with specifications, limitations and recommendations. This, along with the samples will help you to design for each specific material. 

As we roll out with new materials and colors over the coming months we will include them to the relevant sample pack and you will be able to order each sample individually to add them to your sample kit. 

You can take a look at our 3D Printing Materials Page now to see each of the materials, their prices and properties then order your own 3D Printing Material Sample Kits to see, feel and smell the materials for yourself. 

We introduced Polished White Strong & Flexible Nylon 3D Printing back in May 2011 and have seen your prints coming out looking much more smooth and professional feeling.  Those making twisty puzzles now assemble their designs without the need for sanding prior to assembly and those painting their 3D Prints can do so with less preparation time and effort.

One downside is the size of 3D Print that can currently be polished is limited to 150x150x150mm so not all Nylon 3D Prints can be post-processed in this way. To polish your 3D Prints we place them in a giant vibratory tumbler with an abrasive medium that smooths the surface.  The tumbling process can be a little rough on really fine 3D Printed wires so the minimum thickness for these kind of features in your design must be at least 0.9mm, over 1mm is preferred.

We do not currently offer smooth color 3D Printing but it is something we may offer in the near future.  The current dying process does not react well to polishing but if we were to introduce polished colors we may need to limit the size from the current 230x180x130mm to 150x150x150mm.  The result is there may be a few models that cannot be printed in color, but all color models would be nice and smooth, less stepping, less rough edges. 

Let us know what you think? would you like ALL of your 3D prints to one day arrive at your doorstep silky smooth, is there any other post processing you would like to see? Let us know your thoughts... 

Disney has been doing some really interesting research into using 3D Printing to experiment with optics, interfaces and electronics. The team of Karl D.D. Willis, Eric Brockmeyer, Scott E. Hudson and Ivan Poupyrev in Pittsburgh are doing some of the most sophisticated work I have seen to date using light and 3D Printing. 

It is a perfect use of Objet's multiple material 3D Printing to make light travel through complex paths and using the clear for multitouch interfaces.  Check out at the 3 minute mark where they seem to pause the 3D Printer, insert the electronics and continue to 3D print to embed the product... very cool. If you would like to read more you can download their paper on the subject.

Printed Optics is a new approach to creating custom optical elements for interactive devices using 3D printing. Printed Optics enable sensing, display, and illumination elements to be directly embedded in the body of an interactive device. Using these elements, unique display surfaces, novel illumination techniques, custom optical sensors, and robust embedded components can be digitally fabricated for rapid, high fidelity, customized interactive devices.

Printed Optics is part of our long term vision for the production of interactive devices that are 3D printed in their entirety. Future devices will be fabricated on demand with user-specific form and functionality. Printed Optics explores the possibilities for this vision afforded by today's 3D Printing technology.

As Ikea starts to use more 3d renders of products in it's catalogues Kickstarter has changed it's guidelines on new product and hardware projects stating the product renderings are prohibited and that product images must be photos of the prototype as it currently exists.

This is interesting from a number of angles:

1. Ikea is using 3D Renders as it is faster and cheaper than photographing an object in different settings, it also means they can prepare the catalogue artwork before the product is in production.  Ikea as a brand is reliable enough that we understand the basic quality of product we will receive if we purchase from the catalogue.
2. Kickstarter is moving away from 3D renders so backers can better understand the quality of the product they will receive. The projects on Kickstarter are not (often) from a reliable brand, so people are taking a risk that they can actually deliver the product they promise, to an acceptable quality, in a timely manner.
3. 3D Printing your Kickstarter project with Shapeways, either as a prototype like the Glif, or as the final product as Joshua Harker has done gives you the opportunity to show that you have a better chance of delivering a viable product.
4. Shapeways renders your 3D model as soon as you upload it so you can preview your design before you 3D Print it for yourself.  We recommend that you do 3D Print and photograph any product you would like to sell so that your customers can see exactly what they will get.  Like Ikea, uploading photorealistic renders is often faster and cheaper than taking photographs but like Kickstarter potential buyers of your designs are relying on these images to determine the look, feel and scale of the design as proof that your design will work. This is the reason we only promote products that have photographs, not renders to ensure that your customers have a better understanding of what they will receive.

We would love to get your thoughts, are there any scenarios where you think a render is suitable?

via Solidsmack Image Cunicode