Fossils are three-dimensional objects, but you aren’t really supposed to touch them, and you can’t see their depth and detail very easily over the internet. But a new database of fossils from the British Geological Survey actually has the necessary files for you to 3D print fossils yourself.
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If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a Van Gogh but don’t quite have tens of millions of dollars to spend on your obsession, Fujifilm has a more affordable alternative—kind of. Working with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the company has developed a 3D scanning and printing process that accurately reproduces the artist’s most famous pieces. Including the frames, the canvases, and right down to the individual brush strokes. All for a slightly cheaper $34,000 price tag.
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Meet the descendant of the all-in-one scanner, copier, printer and fax machine. The FABtotum Personal Fabricator lets you print, scan and mill objects in just one compact device. Think of it as the Dremel tool for the 21st century. It’s what makers want for Christmas.
The FABtotum prints 3D objects on an 8.3″ x 9.5″ x 9.5″ build area. Like many 3D printers, it uses PLA and ABS filament to print. Don’t have anything to print? Use its laser scanner or its digitizing probe. You can go from concept to prototype with just those two functions, but what takes the FABtotum to the next level is that it’s also a milling machine. It’s dual head spindle motor lets you carve, cut, drill, shape and more. Finally, the FABtotum is customizable. You can add another 3D printing or machining head to it and its software and schematics will also be open source.
Fabricate a browser and head to Indiegogo to support the FABtotum. Pledge at least $999 (USD) to get a ready to assemble FABtotum kit; pony up at least $1,099 and you get a fully assembled FABtotum as a reward.
If the Makerbot 3D scanner weren’t enough to get you excited about the longevity of 3D printing this week, the Microsoft Windows 8.1 exploration of 3D printing standards might. What the team at Microsoft is doing this week is going through how users of the next-generation update of Windows 8 will be able to work […]
The software package that comes with the Form 1 3D printer, which I reviewed a few months ago, has gotten a much-needed update. First, the new software, called PreForm is now compatible with OS X, which means more users can use the system natively on their machines.
The new software also supports automatic mesh repair using software from NetFabb. Writes Sam Jacoby of Form Labs: “PreForm’s mesh repair tool integrates software from Netfabb to examine the triangle meshes that make up your digital design. It will automatically clean up artifacts, close triangles, and join vertices, so that your models will print reliably on the Form 1.” This means prints will be far smoother than they were in earlier versions of the software.
I’ve used the OS X version of PreForm and found it to work flawlessly on Macs. PreForm creates a lattice structure that allows you to print objects using the Form 1′s unique technology and then slices the object up for proper printing. While it’s not a formal editor, it does allow you to scale and modify some models before printing. On August 6 Form Labs released an update that allowed users to estimate print time.
MakerBot is best known for its 3D printers, turning virtual products into real ones, but the company’s latest hardware to go on sale, the MakerBot Digitizer, takes things in the opposite direction. Announced back in March, and on sale from today for $1,400, the Digitizer takes a real-world object and, by spinning it on a […]
Today MakerBot introduced what’s basically a Xerox machine for physical items: the Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner. It’ll make 3D-printing at home a lot easier, but that doesn’t mean it’ll make it cheaper.
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MakerBot tipped off some of its loyal fans last week by way of newsletter, but now the Digitzer’s arrival is officially officially. The next piece of the Brooklyn company’s ever-expanding 3D printing ecosystem has been revealed piece by piece since debuting back at SXSW, and now it’s finally ready to make its way to maker hands. Well, in a few months, at least. Pre-orders for the spinning 3D scanner are open now — plunk down $1,400 (plus $150 for the MakerCare support program, if you’re so inclined), and one of these bad boys can be yours in mid-October. The device captures 3D images from objects up to eight-inches tall with help from two lasers and a camera, a system the company has, naturally, optimized for its own Replicator printers and Thingiverse 3D object catalog. There’s a press release below for those seeking more info.
Filed under: Peripherals
Source: MakerBot
The folks at MakerBot have been teasing their Digitizer desktop 3D scanner since this past March, but now they’re just about ready push it out the door. For $1,400, you too can scan all the little knick-knacks in your life and turn them into 3D schematics to print or share with others.
In case you haven’t been keeping tabs on the Digitizer, here’s how the thing works: you place an object on its central turntable and fire up the device, at which point a pair of lasers (for greater accuracy, naturally) will scan the object’s surface geometry and turn that cloud of data points into a 3D model. MakerBot says the whole process takes about 12 minutes, after which you’re able to push the file to a 3D printer of your choosing and have a grand ol’ time.
There are, of course, some limitations to be aware of. The turntable can only support objects that are 3kg (or about 6.5lbs) or lighter, and you should ideally use the thing a very well-lit room. And while the Digitizer promises to be fast and easy, at $1,400 it’s not exactly impulse buy material.
When we visited MakerBot’s new 50,000 square foot factory in Brooklyn, CEO Bre Pettis referred to the Digitizer as a “game changer” for the 3D printing movement and it’s not hard to see why. For the past two years now, MakerBot’s efforts have largely been about making the process of 3D printing as accessible as possible. With a little bit of tinkering (and some patience for the occasional screw-up), 3D printing novices can get a feel for turning the contents of pre-produced files into actual physical objects.
It’s the other half of that equation that’s so tricky — if you wanted things to print you either had to trawl Thingiverse in hopes that someone had already modeled the thing, or figure out a way to model it on your own. To put it mildly, that’s a fair bit of work. With the advent of scanners like the Digitizer though, the barrier to creating those 3D blueprints and disseminating them to the world is almost nil… as long as you can afford it.
Of course, MakerBot isn’t the only company making it easier to turn physical objects into printable data — hackers and startups have harnessed Microsoft’s venerable Kinect to do just that, there’s a sea of crowdfunded hardware projects that aim to put their own spin on the experience. Still, MakerBot is easily one of the best known proponents of the 3D printing movement, and a device like Digitizer may just be what the movement needs to make 3D printing a fixture of the mainstream.
As new models are announced every week, 3D printers are slowly but steadily becoming as common as iPhone cases. But thankfully there are a few standouts that boast features other than a cheaper price tag, like the Zeus from AIO Robotics that’s set to premiere on Kickstarter in just a few weeks. It’s a 3D printer that doubles as a 3D scanner, allowing you to print, copy, and thanks to a built-in network connection, even fax 3D objects to another machine.
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