In your shoes, in your car

It’s everywhere! Mass-manufactured 3D printed products are finally getting into customer hands… or onto their feet and into their garages. That’s because adidas’ long-anticipated Futurecraft 4D shoes with 3D printed midsoles finally dropped this week. And MINI announced that in 2018, customers can personalize their rides through the new MINI Yours Customized program. Hopefully, this will show everyone what we already know: that 3D printing CAN MAKE (almost) ANYTHING.

Carbon tech, adidas hype

The Greatest Show on Earth (but not the only show in town)

CES is paradise for geeks, futurists, audiophiles, 3D designers — basically, anyone who is really into any technologies available to consumers. That’s why it’s a good place to spot the kind of 3D technology that could one day (soonish) be in your house. There were a couple of standouts at this year’s CES, which ended last Friday: Ethereal Machines’ “5D printing,” a 5-axis 3D printer with a rotating build plate, and the HP Z 3D Camera, which turns an easily-mountable camera into a scanner and facial-recognition tool. Some very cool news also came from outside the consumersphere: Another rotating 3D printer part, this time the printhead, was demonstrated by Harvard researchers to increase the strength, stiffness, and resistance of 3D printed parts. And in another leap forward for really, really big 3D printers, a new printer from CEAD is already contracted to print ships. We’ll see that one in action at CES 2030.

The HP Z 3D Camera (source)

Breathe easy and break a leg

It might not solve all our problems, but I mean, 3D printing can now print structures that could regrow lung and brain tissue, plus titanium bone replacement meshes that are often better than bone grafts. It’s not a license to live dangerously, but it might just be there for us when we inevitably do.

3D Print Your Medical Needs

Learn how you can utilize 3D printing for medical use. Contact us today to let us know how we can help.

The post The Week in 3D Printing: Kicks and Cars, New Tech Alert, and Medical Miracles appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Software

Stratysys is debuting the J750 3D Printing Solution software, which allows users to design for printing in specific materials, while Sigma Labs is releasing web-based quality assurance software PrintRite3D INSPECT, and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is tackling improving print quality with a stable of software tools like Simufact Additive, a simulation tool for predicting and reducing distortion in powder-bed printing.

Machines and Manufacturing

EOS is going after mass additive manufacturing in plastics with its new EOS P 500 polymer printer, while Mimaki and Verashape are both bringing promising innovations to the show. Mimaki’s 3DUJ-553 will be the first full-color 3D printer that can print up to 10 million color combinations, and Verashape’s VSHAPER has a 5-axis kinematics system and a rotating working platform, allowing users to print in multiple materials and on top of what was previously printed. And EnvisionTEC will premiere a set of upsized printers, including the Perfactory 4 LED XXL, which features the largest build area on the market for DLP 3D printing.

Metal and Multi-Material Printing

Do four lasers equal 4x print speeds? That’s the promise of Renishaw’s RenAM 500Q metal 3D printing system. Meanwhile, XJet, Optomec, and ACEO are all releasing multi-material 3D printers at the conference. XJet’s Carmel printers rely on NanoParticle Jetting Technology that layers nanoparticles of either metal or ceramics, Optomec’s LENS 3D Hybrid Machine Tool can mix aluminum, titanium and other reactive metals, and ACEO’s “drop on demand” technology is a multi-material silicone 3D printing process.

There will be so much more to see and do at formnext, but these are the booths we’re starting with. If you’re at formnext this week, stop by and learn more about how Shapeways brings additive manufacturing to all at Hall 3.0 Booth H73. We’ll see you in Frankfurt!

The post The Week in 3D Printing: formnext 2017 Edition appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Last week, we went to New Orleans to meet hundreds of  jewelers from around the world and showcase some amazing Shapeways jewelry designers at the 2017 Society of North American Goldsmiths Nexus Conference.

The SNAG community came to New Orleans to buy gemstones and tools, and to learn about new jewelry-making technologies, including 3D printing. Students, entrepreneurs, and veteran craftspeople took advantage of exhibitions, silent auctions, and a trunk show to display their work.

We got to meet many members of the international jewelry community and hear their stories. Several of them are already part of the Shapeways community.

Rod McCormick, for example, is a metalsmith, sculptor, and jeweler who teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Rod McCormick wearing his Bouquet in 3D printed Nylon

McCormick’s original passion was for traditional metalworking methods: hammering, casting, chasing, repoussé, soldering, welding. Since 1990, he has been involved with CAD, and much of his work now involves digital processes.

Rod McCormick, Aponogeton brooches, 2015. In 3D printed nylon (left) and 24k-gold plated stainless steel (right).

McCormick uses Shapeways Strong & Flexible plastic and gold-plated steel to create custom brooches. He draws his inspiration from metalworking process, from 19th-century sheet-metal pattern-making to 3D modeling programs.

Jocelyn Kolb-DeWitt studied at the Tyler School of Art, also in Philadelphia, and now teaches product design at East Stroudsburg University.

Jocelyn Kolb-DeWitt designed wedding rings for her husband and herself.

Kolb-DeWitt has been 3D printing in for over 15 years, and her work draws on natural attractive elements such as bioluminescence and sexual dimorphism. Her wedding rings have an interlocking chevron design and are printed in 14k White Gold.

For the Parotia necklace, Kolb used Strong & Flexible plastic that she hand-dyed, then put together with other materials.

Jocelyn Kolb-DeWitt, Parotia. Nylon, glass, and magnets.

At the end of four days filled with meeting new friends, learning new techniques, and splurging on tools and gems, Shapeways and SNAG hosted a dance party to put a bow on the conference. It had a masquerade theme with a DJ and a wild array of masks.

We hope to see you at SNAG Nexus 2018!

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