It is the final days of the the 2010 Shapeways & Despoke: 100% Design Contest so it is your last chance to submit your design(s).

We have already received many fantastic entries but the contest is still open until Wednesday the 1st of September 12:00 CET, finalists will have there model 3D printed by Shapeways, promoted on the Despoke & 100% Design websites while the winner will also receive a $100 Shapeways 3D printing coupon.

Shapeways will also be running a stall at the 100% Design fair in London so if you are in London come and see us at stall D27.  100% Design is the UK's leading design & architecture event.  Held September 23rd to 26th in Earls Court, London, 100% Design London features world-class interiors show 100% Design, architectural and interior materials exhibition 100% Materials and emerging talent showcase 100% Futures.

Realbot robot by MrAckoy looking very impressive for his very first 3D print with a photo so clean I would have thought it was a render.

Eve by Virtox is elegantly showing of the new Bronze Glossy material is available here: I want Eve!

Charging Dock for the iPhone 4 by Dizingof being a perfect example of combining two 3D printed materials to make a really aesthetically impressive design.

We have started to see some real spikes of heavy traffic on Shapeways Shops based around a handful of really successful designs.  The products do not have much in common in themselves other than being clean, simple designs, but the presentation of each is impeccable with great images and descriptions that are easily shared in articles and blogs.

Whenever we ask the Shapeways community what materials and processes they are interested in being made available we always get many requests for 3D printed silver.  In response to these requests Shapeways has been experimenting with a few silver processes, testing for quality, reliability, best pricing.  3D printing silver is quite difficult to perfect, so it has taken us some time to get the quality we would like for the Shapeways community and we are now very excited to share with you our first silver samples... 

Take a look at the images below and let us know what you think? 

The backers get a little something from Improbablecog, depending on their level of investment from a sticker to a custom designed piece of jewelry. 

Noah gets an influx of cash, gets his name out there for an innovative approach to the business of design and is freed up to produce more cool designs. 

Three of his most popular designs are set free, for everyone to modify, mash up, resell, print by the one or by the dozen, or insert into their game, movie, or art.

Shapeways can now 3D print three of  Improbablecog's designs for the cost of material only....

Of course you can still invest to support the cause and set the designs free(er)

"Digital fabrication services have the potential to transform craft practice, both technically and commercially. But having used them, I am also struck by how this networked production changes the maker´s experience.....mail-order making certainly feels different to a more hands-on process."

Another week of fantastic finds in the It Arrived! forum made all the more harder to collate due to the number of high quality designs posted and the Show Your Collection thread started by Jettuh.

Road Trooper by Rbot, beautiful in it's raw, 3D printed state prior to hand finishing.

Starfish Pendant by Michaellla

Gumball's collection of Dice and rings purchased from Shapeways.

Ok Zbrush users, organic algorithm artists and character modelers, Shapeways have developed a workaround so that your models can now exceed the 500,000 polygon limit currently in place. 

It is not elegant, and takes some negotiating, but if we get enough demand we will try and automate the process to make it easier for everyone.  Let us know what you think, is this something you would like to see as standard? 

Check out this first of a 6 part tutorial on the ZBrush YouTube page by character artist Jeff Feligno takes you through the steps needed for creating a model in ZBrush and preparing it for 3D printing.

Any ZBrush users please let us know if this tutorial is helpful to you? 

Big thanks to Jeff Feligno for putting these online and to @wusashi for pointing this out on twitter.

So many amazing designs coming in every week to the 'It Arrived!' forum and following are a few of the impressively diverse objects of such thoroughly considered, and excellently realized designs. 

Nervous System's and the reaction lamp 7" diameter pendant lamp.

Hopefully you will be able to see it in the flesh at their stand at 100% Design in London.

A 3D printed spatial object by Drzach & Suchy, based on shadow clouds.

And the winner is............................................

With the Draw Your Own Earrings Sweepstakes EVERYONE is a winner, but some people won a little more than others.

Especially Neda Hajnomeni who will get their design 3D printed in Silver, along with a $100 Shapeways making voucher.

Congratulations Neda who was picked at random with a really lovely, simple asymmetrical design..

Of course anyone can now purchase the earrings in their choice of materials from the Shapeways Earring Gallery for as little as $7.50. And you can still Draw your own earrings at any time.

All runners up will now be notified via email to claim their prize, be it Gold Plated, Dyed Strong and Flexible, Alumide or a 20% discount on purchasing their own earring design.

We also just launched the Draw your own ring available from just $6.00. So if you, your friends or family are interested in designing your own jewelry but do not know how to use 3D software, this is the perfect way to start.

The winners of the Gold Plated earrings are:

Heap GoodsDoiDoi

Cryptonomic System

Shell

New Simplicity showcased the work of both established and emerging international product designers, presenting classic simple design, with many of the new objects produced using Rapid Manufacturing technologies. New Simplicity ran in London until 8 August. Lets hope it tours....

Pictured above is the Key set by Oscar Diaz (check out his version of the lightpoem), The design allows keys to be clipped together (kinda like the Split Ring Key), stored with existing keys on a key ring or attached directly to accessories such as wristbands when performing activities.

Crocodile Clip by Noodles

Great use of Summer Colors, playful tweak of an existing design, perfect photographs.

Awaiting the 3D Printing & DIY Musical Instrument Crossover?

We are starting to see some cool Arduino casings from the likes of I Heart Engineering and potentiometer knobs from Jarno but when will we start to see DIY musical instruments start to creep into the Shapeways shops to create Music from Outer Space?