Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already had a handful of 3D printing companies swing by our stage this year, but what sets Formlabs apart from the increasing competition is a focus on bringing professional level printing to the consumer. We’ll be speaking with one of the company’s founders, Maxim Lobovsky about Formalabs’ vision.

Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here!

Update: video embedded

Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Formlabs’ Maxim Lobovsky (update: video embedded)

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Formlabs, the little 3D printer company that could, sat down with us to show off their Form 1 printer, a stereolithographic system that creates surprisingly high resolution objects using lasers and and plastic resin.

The company has been in the news lately thanks to a patent lawsuit and, more important, a move to hire more players on their small team.

I sat down with Maxim Lobovsky to talk about his cool printer, how it feels to work with his best friends, and what’s next for the company.

Everybody loves a sequel, right? And what better place to launch a followup than in shiny Las Vegas? Exactly a year after launch the first generation of its consumer-friendly 3D printer, the Cube, 3D Systems is getting ready to unleash its successor on the world. The second-gen Cube offers a number of enhancements over last year’s model, including the ability to print up to 1.5 times faster and printing in both ABS and recyclable PLA plastics. The printer maintains the earlier version’s easily-loaded cartridges (which can be sent back empty for a discount), touchscreen controls and WiFi connectivity.

They’ll start shipping on the 21st of this month to interested makers who pre-order one now for $1,399.

Continue reading 3D Systems second-gen Cube 3D printer boasts faster prints and more materials

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A few months ago we saw how a smart guy figured out how to make small 3D printed records that could be played on a toy turntable. Instructables employee Amanda Ghassaei has trumped that hack: she figured out how to 3D printed records that can be played on any turntable, just like an ordinary vinyl record.

Whereas the audio on the 3D printed toy records had to be input note by note on a custom software, Amanda was able to write a program that automated the process in a very precise manner: “It works by importing raw audio data, performing some calculations to generate the geometry of a record, and eventually exporting this geometry straight to the STL file format (used by all 3D printers).” Sadly, even the high-end Object Connex 500 printers at the Instructables office were unable to encode the geometry at a resolution high enough to create a high quality record. But the fact that even this is now possible is still nothing less than mind-blowing.

Wow. 3D printing hardware’s only going to improve in time, so I’m sure Amanda can eventually recreate professional grade records should she pursue it. Once again we’re seeing people using current technology to go back to a more physical and tactile interaction with gadgets. 3D printing is the bee’s 3D printed knees. Check out the links below for more details on Amanda’s project.

[via Instructables & Amanda Ghassaei via I Heart Chaos]

The 3D “Wiki Weapon” project is interesting, as it explores the area of delivering a fully 3D printable gun. Unfortunately, the baby steps came apart at the seams after a test-firing session of an assault rifle that was made with one 3D-printed part. Right after five shots, on the sixth shot itself, the AR-15 assault rifle snapped in two. This particular failure that happened on the December 1st test goes to show just how challenging it can be to make working gun parts from the materials that are currently used for 3D printing, so the authorities need not worry themselves too much yet. Still, being able to fire five shots before malfunctioning is something to be concerned about, especially in the modern world.

There has been a bunch of gun experts who questioned the capability of 3D printer plastics to be able to stand up to the stresses of a gun firing, where among them include the force of the gunpowder explosion which will help propel individual bullets. I guess it will be some time before fully 3D printable guns will work as well, and “live” as long as their traditionally manufactured counterparts. What do you think?

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