Rapid Ready Roundup: State Department, Printers for Peace, Food and Star Trek
In the course of my diligent efforts to keep you good people up to date on the state of additive manufacturing (AM), I come across many interesting news items. I’ll gather them up every so often and present them in a Rapid Ready Roundup (like this one). You can find the last Roundup here.
If you follow AM news you’ll almost certainly be aware of the controversy surrounding Defense Distributed’s successful firing of a 3D printed firearm. The US State Department apparently heard about it as well and sent the company a takedown order, along with a suggestion the “Liberator” breaks international gun control laws. Continue reading
Staples Bets on 3D Printing
While major news agencies have been running stories about additive manufacturing (AM) for a goodly amount of time now, you can still find plenty of people who have never heard of the technology. Unless your place of work uses a 3D printer or you are a technophile (or know one), the odds of running across an AM system in the wild isn’t all that great, even with some of the retail stores that have begun popping up. That might well be about to change.
Last December, Rapid Ready ran a short piece about a new partnership between Staples and Mcor Technologies that would bring 3D printers into the stores. The first Staples Experience Center featuring the Mcor Iris opened for business on April 29 in Almere, The Netherlands. Other locations are set to follow, including American stores. Continue reading
3D Systems Announces New ProJet x60 Line of Full Color Printers
3D Systems has launched a new wave of additive manufacturing (AM) systems with the announcement of its ProJet x60 line at the Inside 3D Printing conference in New York City. The line is fueled by new VisiJet PXL materials, which have been developed specifically for the ColorJet Printing (CJP) technology that drives the x60 series. 3D Systems is offering six different x60 systems as part of the launch.
The new printers are the ProJet 160, which has been designed to be compact and affordable, with monochrome printing; the ProJet 260C, another compact system, though this one offers full color 3D printing; the ProJet 360 is a professional 3D printer, offering a larger build area with monochrome printing; the ProJet 460Plus, a professional 3D printer with full color printing; the ProJet 660Pro, an industrial-sized system that offers full color printing; and the ProJet 860Pro, an industrial 3D printer with the largest build area for the new series and full color printing. Continue reading
The 3D Printer Experience Opens in Chicago
Rather than being hidden away in back rooms or the depths of the production floor, 3D printers are making their way into the light of public consciousness, and possibly into your living room. The number of additive manufacturing (AM) systems available to home users has never been higher, with each new product jostling with the likes of MakerBot or 3D Systems’ Cube for each hobbyist dollar.
While everyday consumers are becoming more aware of the potential of AM, a 3D printer still isn’t something you see every day. Giving people a firsthand view of an AM system at work is the best way to further educate, and a number of stores specializing in 3D printers have begun to spring up. MakerBot has one in New York, 3D Creations has opened its doors in Milwaukee, and now Second City is getting The 3D Printer Experience. Continue reading
Rapid Ready Roundup: NAMII, Geomagic Design, a Word of Caution and GlaDOS
In the course of my diligent efforts to keep you good people up to date on the state of additive manufacturing (AM), I come across many interesting news items. I’ll gather them up every so often and present them in a Rapid Ready Roundup (like this one). You can find the last Roundup here.
We’ll start today’s Roundup with a NAMII update. Hot on the heels on a recent announcement that seven AM projects have received $4.5 million in funding from NAMII, comes news of further funding from the research and development center. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a member of NAMII, has been granted new funding to develop two different AM-related projects. Continue reading
