We’ve heard ideas about NASA using 3D printers to create parts on-the-fly needed to repair space craft when they’re out on missions, and not too long ago the space agency provided a grant to develop a 3D printer that produces food. Following in line with this, NASA has officially partnered with Made in Space to
Two different groups have announced their own unique kind of 3D printing material today, one of them from Materialise, the other from Shapeways. While the Materialise material is a bit more of a bendable material the company suggests could be made into such objects as purses and flexible piggy banks, Shapeways material is much more of a “squishy” sort of situation. While the difference between the two may seen slight to those who’ve not had the chance to experience either, we can’t stop our brains from pouring out the possibilities – squishy, squishy possibilities.
The Shapeways company is one that generally has users create and order models – they have you send in a model or create one with their tools, they print it, and you get it shipped to you. Creators of these objects can also sell their items through Shapeways Shops.
With the release of this Elasto Plastic material, Shapeways is working with “makers” – people who design 3D objects for 3D printing – to test in “one big, global 3D Printing R&D team.” Elasto Plastic is being shown and experimented here on purely pre-release terms, noting that they’re not at a final point for properties, this including both finish and color.
The material presents a unique new platform where creators of 3D objects can get a bit more wobbly with their experiments.
“The new, improved Elasto Plastic is a great option for Makers as it is an incredibly durable material with a lot of really interesting properties such as high impact resistance, flexibility and compression (depending on the geometry), along with a high level of static friction because of the surface texture. Though not strictly water-tight, it can hold liquids, but it does not like high temperatures or fire … and it is not so good for very small things.” – Shapeways
How about a little set of squishy toys for the ol’ Pokemon collection? Have a peek at Shapways’ video for this material and see what you make of it.
The “Rubber-Like” material from Materialise being shown this week was originally created for a dress. This dress was shown off earlier this year by Iris van Herpen while the material was, as Materialise calls it: “the first fully-functional flexible material for 3D printing.” This material is being re-shown this week because it will here, for the first time, be offered for testing by the public.
Like the Shapeways material above, this material is part of Materialise’s own 3D printing service, and wont be available for purchase outside of their setup. This material works for shock absorption, rigid-yet-bendable applications, and of course, creating a bouncy ball of sorts. The company has made it clear that this material is not as strong as rubber, but has many similar properties.
VIA: TechCrunch
SOURCE: 3D Printing Industry
3D printing gets squishy with new materials from Materialise and Shapeways is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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See that squeezable bunny up there? It was created in a material 3D printing mail-away company Shapeways calls Elasto Plastic. The substance is the latest medium offered up from the organization, currently available exclusively to makers to help test out its effectiveness. The resulting 3D printed objects can be squeezed, squished, twisted and can hold liquids. It does have some shortcomings, however, as it dislikes high temperatures, fire and isn’t so great for printing small objects. To see the material in action — and to hear a grown man utter the phrase “flexible squishy goodness,” check out the video after the break.
Filed under: Peripherals
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Shapeways
While the name “Elasto Plastic” sounds like an 80s punk band, it is, in fact, a new material from 3D printing company Shapeways. The plastic is elastic to a certain degree yet maintains its shape after stretching or squeezing. It will break when pulled too hard and is still in the experimental stage on the Shapeways website.
The material is off-white and has a “grainy finish.” It’s laser sintered and a bit jagged because of the layer-by-layer requirement to build the model. Shapeways writes that it is “not ready for broader use” but can be used for personal models and experimental projects.
We recently featured Shapeways in our TC Makers series and they’ve begin printing this material on their nylon sintering machines in their US factory. It takes about eight days to print and ship and could be an interesting hinge material for 3D-printed projects. Considering it already looks like cartilage, I’d be curious to see how makers take the material to the next level.
If you’re a regular follower of Technabob, you know I’m a big fan of 3D printing tech. As prices come down, and speed and accuracy come up, 3D printers will become ubiquitous. While most 3D printing is done by melting plastic, did you know that you sugar can be used to make 3D prints too?
Kyle and Liz von Hasseln of The Sugar Lab have developed a method for printing complex geometric forms using sugar. They intend on using their technology to create sugar sculptures for topping cakes, but many of their current examples stand on their own as works of art.
The duo previously developed a 3D printing method which used the light produced by an off-the-shelf printer, and moved by a robotic arm, to create large sculptures out of resin.
It’s unclear what method is used to print their sugar sculptures, though it involves alternating sugar layers with water and alcohol to harden the sculptures as they’re printed.
If you’re interested in incorporating 3D printed sugar sculptures into your event, you can contact them over on their website for more information.
Zortrax! Drukarko moja! Ty jesteś jak zdrowie. The Zortrax (yeah, really) M200 is a $1,899 3D printer made in Poland that will be shipped internationally by a team of crack Polish engineers and designers. It has a 7×8 inch build plate and can print objects of up to 488 cubic inches. It prints ABS and Nylon and has a specially treated plate so you don’t need to lay Kapton tape down before you build.
The best thing? As the creators note, it comes in a “slick, aluminum” case “that just works.” “It really ties your office space together,” they write. Finally: a 3D-printer company that is thinking about the Feng Shui of your crib. Best of all, this guy makes it for you:
All kidding aside, it’s interesting to see this sort of crowdfunding project coming out of Europe, let alone Poland. The company that created the Zortrax is called Gadgets3D and has headquarters in Poland and Hong Kong. They seem to have a great deal of experience in RepRap kits and the like, and this is their first foray into a fully functional 3D printer for less than $2,000. That they’re taking a chance on the world stage – and that they’re nearly funded – is a testament to the power of crowdfunding sites.
Should you consider the badassedly-named Zortrax vs. something local like Makerbot? I’m not certain. However, if you want a bit of a deal, want to support the Polish motherland, and like your 3D printers to smell like kabanos, this might be the model for you. You can check out the Kickstarter project here.
Characters don’t just drink, do it and die in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. They also play games, particularly a board game called Cyvasse. Now you can play it too, thanks to Thingiverse member A. Marston Croft and his friend Nate Stephens.
I have not read the books yet – don’t behead me! – but from what I gather, Martin has not yet laid out the rules of Cyvasse and the appearance of its pieces completely. So Croft took a few liberties here and there.
I’m sure you can forgive him if his work doesn’t live up to what you thought Cyvasse would be like, especially since Croft did all the work for you. Head to Thingiverse to download the 3D templates and the rules (pdf) for free.
[via The UberReview]
Take off your silken cloak and get your dragon eggs ready because Cyvasse, the game that characters play in George R. R. Martin’s Game Of Thrones series is now 3D-printable. Created by Arian Croft of IllGottenGames and his friend Nate Stephens, the game uses most of Martin’s rules mentioned in the books as well as interpolations taken from period-specific game rules.
He writes:
The pieces are nicely detailed but should print well on even simpler 3D printers. I’ve printed one of Arian’s previous games, Pocket-Tactics and he’s an excellent model-maker with a good eye for detail and an understanding of the limitations of the medium. Best of all, this game is free to print and play, a potential disruption that should should be giving Parker Brother’s nightmares.
You can download the game here and print it out yourself in black or white ABS. Just don’t tell those nasty Warlocks in Qarth. They’ll probably steal all your pieces.
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