To be held in Minneapolis on May 24th 2011 the RAPID Conference and Tradeshow is an additive manufacturing event and is co-located with the 3D IMAGING event. This year the event includes a Contemporary Art Gallery dedicated to the creation and promotion of digital art using additive processes.

Rapid are now seeking submissions from artists to show in the gallery during the event as a number of display pedestals will be made available to artists that have works created using additive technologies.

Artists are to submit images (jpeg preferred) for review by advisors along with their credentials and process used in creation of the artwork. The art will be displayed on an open air 2' square surface or display case (for jewelry). Artwork should be durable and stable for display. Contact with the art will be prohibited though minimal security provided in the immediate area open to attendees. Artist will assume expense for shipping work to and from the hotel. Submissions close February 1st 2011. Artists will be notified of selection by March 1, 2011. Selected artists will receive complimentary admission to the tradeshow, Tuesday evening reception and daily keynote sessions.

Images above is Heather Gorham's work from the 2010 exhibition images on Sculptcad Rapid Artists Blog.

A big welcome to Derek, Dave and the rest of the team at Ponoko who have made the move into the third dimension by adding 3D printing to their 2D laser cutting service.

Realized in partnership with Cloudfab, Ponoko are offering a range of 3D printed materials from their US hub including white polyamide, UV curable acrylic resin, ZCorp, stainless steel and gold plated stainless steel. They add 3D printing to their existing service which includes laser cutting of a vast range of materials along with electronic components via Sparkfun.

It is exciting to see another voice emerge along with Shapeways to promote the huge potential of 3D printing to independent designers and 3D printed products to potential buyers.  We are sure to see much comparison between Shapeways and Ponoko on quality, price, service and shipping which will only drive everyone to work harder to provide a better experience for you the community of makers who use these services.

Let us know what are the most important factors to you? is it cost? quality? delivery time? delivery method and cost? range of materials? service? ease of use? Mesh Medic? shop presentation?

Also let us know how Ponoko's service compares to Shapeways when it comes to 3D printing? is it easy to upload, do files that upload to Shapeways get rejected by Ponoko or vice versa? is the quality of prints comparable? how is the price once shipping or membership is included? how does their customer service respond to your queries? let us know where we can improve.

It is a very exciting time for the democratization of design through digital manufacturing, be it at home or via online services.  It is VERY early days and it is great to be part of a movement that is growing so quickly that just might change the way we interact with manufactured objects forever.

Congratulations to Spinfaces with his naughty but nice Bathroom Santa! winner of the Christmas Co-creator Contest.

Showing a great sense oh humor as well as multiple levels of customization including:

• Customize images on book cover
• Customize text and font on book cover
• Customize short note on books pages
• Customize text and and text color of base

The winner Function Category of The Zoybar–Shapeways-Blender Challenge to design your own electric guitar has been chosen and it is the Zoybar TOR by Board who has won a full Zoybar Hardware kit along with the fabrication of his design by Shapeways.

 

Big congratulations to Bård S D with a very sharp design with beautiful details to the functionality and some really hot renders...  All of the parts are available now on Shapeways, so now what other musical mods can we see 3D printed...

Congratulations to Jacky Spencer with her Mama Seat is winner of the Despoke & Shapeways 100% Design Contest.

All of the finalists for the contest were 3D printed and have been on display for the last few days at 100% Design in London. After much deliberation Mark Westall from Despoke made the tough decision to choose a winner from such great entrants.

Congratulations again to Jacky and don't forget to enter the Christmas Co-Creator Contest currently being held...

You may remember the draw your own earrings contest where the winner was to receive their earrings 3D printed in silver? Well they have just arrived at Shapeways and they look stunning in silver......

 

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Are you a student and ready for an 'Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge? Or at least a T-Shirt?

Stratasys have just launched their Seventh Annual "Extreme Redesign" Contest through Dimension 3D Printing.

Nine student winners will claim either $2,500 or $1,000 scholarships in the categories of:

• High School Engineering
• College Engineering
• Art & Architecture.

 To be competitive the submission must:

• Describe the value & benefit of your Extreme Redesign in video or written format
• Have sound mechanical design / part integrity
• Be creative
• Useful (unless in art & architecture category?)
• Beauty (if in art & architecture category)

Shapeways received over 70 high quality entries in the 100% Design Contest and the difficult task was for Mark from Despoke to choose five finalists which we will 3D print, then the winner will be chosen at our stand D27 at 100% Design in London. 

In the end, with so many great designs to choose from, the task was too much for Mark so he chose seven finalists instead of five! (just like Whystler)

If you would like to see the finalists come and visit us 100% Design, September 23rd to 26th, Earls Court, London. And/or look below... Who would you choose to win?

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.

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? 

 

Shapeways is currently involved in a few contests ending soon so it may be a good time for a quick recap to remind you of the prizes, deliverables and deadlines.

The 2010 Shapeways Despoke & 100% Design Contest closes 1st of September 12:00 CET. 

Finalists will get their design 3D printed by Shapeways along with invaluable exposure on the Despoke & 100% Design London websites while the winner will also receive 3D Printing coupons to the value of $100.

To enter, upload your design to Shapeways and add the tag '100percent' to it.

The theme is Contemporary Design through 3D Printing, finalists will be chosen by the Despoke Team.

Christmas Co-Creator Contest 2010 closes 30th of September 2010.

Top five finalists receive a free 3D print of their design and be included in our Christmas promotions, Winner to also receive a Shapeways Voucher for $100.

Submit your new Co-Creator with the tag 'Xmas2010' be uploaded to Shapeways, be public and a Co-Creator on the Christmas page

Zoybar, Shapeways & Blender Magazine: Design your own Electric Guitar Contest closes September 20th, 2010.

Win a Full Zoybar Guitar or Bass Hardware kit provided by Zoybar, plus 3D print of the winning design entry in the amount of $200 (USD) provided by Shapeways. Total Value: $870 (USD).

Design original hardware features that can be incorporated with the Zoybar instruments and enter a contest to win your creation. Design in Blender.

We also recently closed the Draw Your Own Earrings Contest and notified the winners via email.  If you entered the contest but have not heard from Shapeways please email duann(@)shapeways.com and I will resend you notification.

We now have over 1000 friends on the Shapeways 3D printing community Facebook page and are having a little promotion to celebrate, this weekend only.  Become a friend to find out more and if Facebook is not your thing, follow @shapeways on twitter for similar short term promotions, news and informal discussions.

A big thanks to all who are helping the Shapeways community grow..

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