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)

Using a 3D Printed Hang Glider Bracket and The X Bracket Universal Smartphone Holder Tom Rust shot a HD video of a flight over Fort Funston, San Francisco CA. With a view of the North Pacific coastline including Daly City, Northern Peninsula, San Francisco out to Point Reyes and as far east as Mount Diablo, Sutro Tower and Golden Gate Bridge as well as peaks of downtown San Fransisco.

This is a perfect use of a super lightweight material like 3D printed Nylon (WSF) to make a custom mount for a specific purpose such as a hang glider mount for around $40. Take a look at Custom Solar Power's range of 3D printed products designed to connect things to things. 

For those of you who suffer easily from vertigo, do not watch this video.

Another family 3D printing project to hit Shapeways is the Controller Pendant by stop4stuff. Not only is it a story of a father and son, working together on a creative project, but also a story entrepreneurial spirit.  If the design sells, the boy get's his pocket money without doing any additional work, but most importantly, the boy get's his pocket money without it coming out of his father's pocket.... Win, win.

Some time last year (2012) my 13 year old son, Nath, was trying to think up ways to make a bit of extra pocket money. Knowing Nath's artistic flair, I suggested a design of something he could have 3D printed. Nath drew up the design on paper, I did the 3D model work and between us we came up with the style of the pendant based on an Xbox games console controller.

Ordered on the 15th December, the pendant arrived on the 2nd January, in plenty of time for his birthday next week.

This is Nath's first design and any markups from this model all go to Nath.

So, if you want an awesome pendant for yourself or your gamer friend, go for the Controller Pendant and support teenage entrepreneurship. Happy Birthday Nath...

The iPhone 5 Design Contest is now over and we are 3D Printing some of our favorites right now (HINT: you may have seen them exposed in the feed) but Apple have just released the specs for the iPad Mini so it is time to start designing for the next range of Apple Fanboy Accessories.

You can download the specifications for the Wifi Version and Cellular Version from the apple site (yes, they are ever so slightly different but you may be able to make a design to fit both).

SO, what shall we do to get you all designing some cool new accessories for the iPad Mini?  

What applications do you see for this device that the iPad is too big for and the iPhone too small?

What is the point of differentiation that Apple is aiming for and can you amplify that difference with your design?

Tag Your designs with Apple, Fanboy and Ipad Mini so we can find your designs and we will find a way to reward your creativity.

Thanks to Core 77 for pointing the way to the specs. 

Only a few days left to get your entry in to win $500 worth of 3D Printing at Shapeways.

We have already received some very impressive entries so the bar has been set quite high but it is always worth entering because there is always room for more awesomeness and hey, if it does not win it still might sell if you have it for sale in your Shapeways shop....

To enter the contest:

We have seen the European version, now the US Version of the Clip-it for iPhone converts your iPhone charger to a wall dock; making sure that you can easily charge your phone at every wall socket. Unfurnished rooms, hotels and conference rooms are no longer a problem.

Clip-it makes use of your existing Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable. Simply snap it in and lock it by clipping it to your charger. Clip-it is perfectly engineered to hold the latest two generations of original 30 pin Apple charging cables.

Clip-it US is designed for the iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S and the included Apple USB Power Adapter (US version). 

It Arrived!!!

The first 3D Printed iPhone 5 has landed at Shapeways and along with it an update to the design for the iPhone 5 case templates for the contest we are running at Shapeways where you can win $500 worth of 3D Printing by designing an accessory for the iPhone 5.

There are already over 30 3D Printed products already available on Shapeways to fit the iPhone 5, enter your design in the contest to win.

We have updated the downloadable files for customization now that we have been able to test the fit, especially around the corners for the iPhone 5, the case can be downloaded here, and the bumper here. 

Teenage Engineering not only make one of the sexiest synthesizers but also get the prize for being the first electronics company to offer their replacement parts as downloadable 3D Printed files.

This is the first company that I have seen so far that offer replacement parts to be 3D Printed by their consumers.  This is an incredibly smart move as it takes away the need for them to warehouse and distribute replacement parts.  It also means that their fans have an opportunity to modify and customize aspects of their synthesizers.

We work hard to make our OP-1 users happy with free OS updates and added functionality. But sometimes we fail. As some have noted, the shipping cost of the OP-1 accessories is very high. This is because we can't find a good delivery service for small items. Meanwhile, we have decided to put all CAD files of the parts in our library section for you to download. The files are provided in both STEP and STL format. Just download the files and 3D print as many as you want. Next fail is the OP-1 manual update. We are almost there...we promise it will be ready sometime next week. Thank you all for your patience, we promise to work even harder in the future to make you happy.

Teenage OP-1 "fail" Team

The parts are now available on Shapeways if you need to 3D Print replacement parts for your OP-1 synthesizer. 

Teenage Engineering, we LOVE you.... 

UPDATE: These files may not be 100% correct, I will double check ASAP...

UPDATE 2: THE CORRECT FILES ARE NOW AVAILABLE, PLEASE SEE DETAILS HERE.

We announced the contest to win $500 worth of Shapeways 3D Printing last week and have already seen a few designs for the iPhone 5 trickle in but we wanted to make it a little easier for you with a few 3D files to download that might help.

We have used the specifications provided by Apple to 3D model a dummy iPhone 5 suitable for 3D Printing in Nylon and one for Full Color 3D Printing, along with a basic case for the iPhone 5 and a basic bumper.

Please note we are waiting for the 3D Prints to come back and of course we have not yet tested them on an iPhone 5 yet..... 

You can download the STL files to modify in your 3D software of choice as long as it supports STL import, we have also uploaded the case to TinkerCad along with the bumper and the dummy iPhone 5 so you can start customizing the design even if you do not have any 3D CAD skills, yet... 

This is a 3D Printed right-hand side sun visor clip for the Porsche 911 (993) with an integrated GoPro camera mount. It replaces the OEM sun visor clip and is a direct 'bolt on'. The camera sits next to the rear-view mirror, just below the sun visor. The sun visor is still usable even with the camera attached. NOTE: You may need to file down the groove that receives the actual sun visor clip a little bit. The tolerance is intentionally close to ensure a tight fit.

Watch the video of it in action... 

So, you have the knife that does everything, cuts things, corkscrew, fish scaler, toothpick, that weird thing that you are not sure exactly what it does but they all look kinda the same, red.

3D Printing comes to the rescue once again with the Swiss Army Knife Side Scale to customize your trusty multi-tool designed by Electronic Nonsense.

Just how tough are Shapeways 3D Printed iPhone cases? Tough enough to protect an iPhone against New York City subway tracks...

Shapeways Senior UI Designer, Anthony (@loosetony) Cangelosi put his 3D Printed Vibe iPhone Case to the ultimate test when he dropped it (and his iPhone) into the subway tracks in New York City. Soon after dropping the iPhone into the dark, dirty, rat infested tracks along came the subway train, scattering the rats and Anthony squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of seeing the destroyed iPhone when the train had passed...

When the flying particulate grime had cleared, Anthony was somewhat amazed to see his iPhone and 3D Printed Case, separated but both intact down in the dark depths.  He summoned an MTA employee who told him to come back in an hour when someone would be able to retrieve the phone for him.... After another hours of trains, rats and grime, the iPhone and case was recovered from the tracks, the MTA employees put the 3D Printed iPhone case on (backwards), and Anthony's phone still worked perfectly.... Phew.

Once Anthony had taken the case off and put it back on properly, he noticed a small crack on the inside corner, either from the impact from the drop, or from the MTA employee putting the case on backwards.  Either way, the iPhone was unscathed, no chips, no cracks, no rat droppings, no problem.

If you want to get your own 3D Printed case to protect your iPhone, why not learn to design your own, customize a Vibe or choose from over 600 iPhone related designs in the Shapeways gallery....

The Clip-it - iPhone travel dock is a simple an elegant way to turn your Euro iPhone charger into a wall mounted dock.

Clip-it for iPhone converts your Euro iPhone charger to a wall dock; making sure that you can easily charge your phone at every wall socket. Unfurnished rooms, hotels and conference rooms are no longer a problem.

 

Clip-it lets you wind the usb cable easily around your charger and is also usable as a small table dock during your journeys ore while at work.

 

Clip-it makes use of your existing Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable. Simply snap it in and lock the cable at the bottom. Clip-it is perfectly engineered to hold the latest two generations of original Apple charging cables.

 

Clip-it is designed for the latest two iPhone models: the iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S and the included Apple USB Power Adapter (European version only).

 

Now everybody PLEASE ask Remi to make a US, Australian, UK and Japanese version....