Police officers in Manchester conducted a raid recently on what they call the first 3-D printed gun factory. During the raid, officers discovered a 3-D printer they believe criminals were using to try and make a 3-D printed gun. The raid was conducted Thursday and the officers seized the printer and other components they believe […]
If you’re a fan of 3-D printing, one of the most accessible 3-D printers on the market comes from MakerBot. The company also runs a 3-D printing design community called Thingiverse. The design community houses a huge number of 3-D printing projects with lots of pictures and other content. The Thingiverse community now has a […]
Back in March, MakerBot unwrapped their latest product, but it wasn’t another 3D printer this time around. Instead, it’s a 3D scanner called the Digitizer, which allows users to take an object and duplicate it by scanning it, uploading it to the 3D printer, and printing it out. The company has announced that the Digitizer […]
After seeing the Liberator 3D-printed handgun undergo some test firings a while back, one enthusiast thought it was time to up the ante and 3D-print his own rifle. While the Liberator was only able to fire off a couple of shots before it inevitably broke, the rifle was able to fire off 14 shots before […]
3D printing is becoming all the rage now, but so was smoking back in the roaring 20s, both of which are harmful to you, according to a new study by the Illinois Institute of Technology. Researchers have discovered that 3D printers can emit harmful ultrafine particles into the air, and they compare that to the harm of smoking a cigarette indoors.
If you’re wanting to get technical about it, the researchers revealed that emission rates of these particles were “high,” and they ranged from 20 billion particles per minute for a 3D printer utilizing a lower temperature for melting the plastic, to around 200 billion particles per minute utilizing a higher temperature. The researchers say this is comparable to cooking on a gas or electric stove, burning scented candles, operating laser printers, and even lighting a cigarette.
Of course, there’s also the factor of the toxicity of the materials used in 3D printing, such as the ABS plastic that most commercially-available 3D printers use. Obviously, it’s not something that humans can digest, and we would be surprised if there wasn’t harmful chemicals in the plastic.
Many of you may be asking how harmful is this on your body exactly, and the researchers say that the worst case scenario is obviously death, but asthma-like symptoms could form, with the potential for cardiac arrest and even a stroke, since the particles can get lodged in your lungs and brain, with the power to attract other harmful chemicals over time.
Of course, 3D printers are used all the time in factories and such, but they most-likely have good ventilation systems and the workers are probably wearing protective equipment. With 3D printers available for the home, there are most likely tons of users who aren’t aware of the emissions and may be setting themselves up for long-term trouble.
VIA: Phys.Org
3D printers shown to expel harmful particles, not healthy for home use is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
What once was just a simple website for hosting online auctions is now a company that does so much more. eBay just launched a new service called Exact, which is essentially an online store dedicated entirely to 3D-printed products that shoppers can choose from and even customize, including phone cases, accessories, and jewelry.
The service comes in mobile app form only available on iOS at this point, and the experience will remind you a lot of Etsy, the online store where you can buy handcrafted products. eBay Exact does the same thing, except its for 3D-printed products only, and there are items from a handful of companies so far, including MakerBot.
Prices on items vary greatly. You can get a custom iPhone case for as low as $25, but products that are a bit more complex will cost more, including a 3D-printed ring that can cost as much as $350. Buying items through the app is very similar to paying for an item after winning an eBay auction. All payments are done through PayPal and orders are usually sent out 7-14 business days after payment was made.
Some products also have more customization options than others. A figurine may only have two options to choose from, but other items, like an iPhone case, may have an assortment of colors that you can pick from, choosing your favorite one.
While the 3D-printing craze has been around for awhile now, eBay’s entrance into the industry is still an early move for them, seeing as how 3D printing is fully mainstream yet. Plus, the company has plans to expand Exact with more items and more companies to offer their 3D-printed products. We reckon this is only the beginning for eBay’s adventure into 3D printing.
eBay Exact arrives for customizable, 3D-printed products is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
In the latest of 3D-printed hardware, NASA has completed a series of test firings of the agency’s first rocket engine part made entirely from 3D printing. The component in question is the rocket engine’s injector, and it went through several hot-fire tests using a mix of liquid-oxygen and gaseous hydrogen.
However, NASA didn’t use ABS plastic that most 3D-printers use. Instead, the agency used custom 3D printers to spray layers of metallic powder using lasers. The lasers spray the powder in a specific pattern in order to come up with the desired shape for an object. In this case: a rocket engine injector.
The testing was done at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and the project is in partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne. The company designed the injector and used 3D printing to make the component a reality. If they were to make the injector using traditional manufacturing processes, it would take over a year to make.
With 3D printing now an option, NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne are able to make the same component in just a matter of four months or less. Costs are a huge factor too, and the 3D-printed reduces costsby up to 70% compared to traditional methods and materials. This could lead to more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing of rocket engines.
NASA didn’t say what was next for the 3D-printed injector as far as testing goes, nor do they have a timeline for when they expect to officially implement the new technology in future rocket engines. We can only expect them to implement it sooner rather than later, but it could take several more years until it can be fully operational and on its way into space.
SOURCE: NASA
NASA 3D-printed rocket injector undergoes first test firing is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
So maybe we won’t actually see a real-life Terminator come to fruition anytime soon, but flexible electronics could be in our future thanks to a new method of 3D printing that uses liquid metal instead of the traditional ABS plastic that we see being used in most 3D printers nowadays.
A team of researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a method to create electronics using a 3D printer. The researchers discovered a mixture of gallium and indium that is liquid at room temperature, but forms a thin skin of gallium oxide on the outside when exposed to air. This is strong enough to hold the metals’ shape.
During their testing, the researchers were able to squeeze out drops of the metal mixture through a syringe and create a structure that held together, thanks to that rigid outer skin that holds it all together. They’re essentially like tiny water balloons, but since they’re made of metal, they can conduct electricity and be used in electronics.
The researchers are currently looking for ways to integrate the metal mixture to make it work in normal 3D printers, where users could use both plastic and metal in the same nozzle, but we reckon it’ll take a bit more time for that happen. However, this would mean that 3D-printing fans could create electronics in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see how practical it is.
Another caveat at this point, is that the metal mixture used by the researchers is insanely expensive, so it may be a while before we see something like this hit the mainstream. Hopefully, though, researchers can find a way to cut down on the costs of the materials, either by changing the mixture a bit or finding other cheaper metals to use.
VIA: Engadget
SOURCE: NCSU
3D-printed liquid metal could see a Terminator-like future is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We see a lot of cool things in the 3D printing world, but this is definitely a first. A software engineer 3D-printed a duck foot that allowed one disabled duck to begin walking properly after the little creature suffered from a backward foot that made getting around painful and difficult. The duck was born with
We have talked about the 3-D printed gun making company called Defense Distributed. These guys have designed components for weapons in the past that are made using standard 3-D printers. In the past, the company has worked on making individual components for existing weapons, recently it test fired its first fully 3-D printed gun. Things didn’t end too well for that prototype weapon.
Forbes reports that the weapon survived its initial test, which was handled by a budget remote system consisting of a long piece of string. That initial test saw the weapon fire a standard.380 handgun cartridge with no visible damage. The weapon was fired by simply pulling a string from a distance of about 20 feet reports Forbes.
The odd weapon used a number of 3-D printed springs, a trigger mechanism made using the 3-D printer, and other components. The only parts of the weapon that weren’t made using a 3-D printer were the actual.380 round and a nail used as a firing pin. Forbes reports that a second test using a.380 round, prior to the rifle cartridge explosion, resulted in a misfire.
Another test firing was also conducted that day with the same weapon using a more powerful rifle cartridge. The particular cartridge in this case was a 5.7 x 28 rifle cartridge. The gun was again fired using the long string remote method. The weapon didn’t fare so well this time and reportedly exploded into a cloud of 3-D printed shards when the string was pulled.
[via Forbes]
Liberator 3-D printed gun gets test fired is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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