Make Parts Fast

Are you a “power user?”

Are you taking full advantage of your 3D printer (3DP)/additive manufacturing (AM) technology? That was one of the questions posed at the recent Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) conference last month. Todd Grimm was one of the speakers there, and according to his research, there’s a 90/10 ratio in the use of 3DP/AM technology, which  states that 90% of engineers are... Read More

Patience, you impatient critics

The Stratasys Mojo 3D printer system has only been out a couple of days and already critics are complaining that this technology still costs too much. Some have assumed the reason we don’t have their ideal affordable, accurate, fast, high quality, multiple material, highly reliable 3D printer yet is because corporations must make profit first, and this is somehow a bad thing. So... Read More

Get your Mojo running—the newest professional desktop 3D printer

A professional-use desktop 3D printer, FDM-based, for less than $10,000—this is Stratasys’ newest product innovation and the fulfillment of CEO Scott Crump’s long-time goal of putting a reliable, capable, accurate, and easy to use 3D printer on every engineer’s desk. (My apologies to Steppenwolf for the headline, but I couldn’t resist.) The Mojo 3D printer is not just... Read More

AMUG recognizes 3D printer/AM experts

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) is not the same conference it was last year, or even a few years ago. This is the conference you want to attend if you want to learn more about operating, using, exploring, specifying, or justifying the purchase of any SLA, LS, extrusion, inkjet or polyjet system. Of the more than 300 attendees this year, the majority, 90% at least,... Read More

Who has the best 3D printer?

With nearly 50 3D printer systems to choose from, including jetting; lamination; electron beam melting or direct metal deposition; photo curing; and sintering, how do you narrow that down to the best 3D printer for your needs? Introduced in 2010, the Make Parts Fast 3D printer selector tool was created to help you narrow your choices. It is updated as new systems are introduced... Read More

What’s the next great feature of 3D printers?

The recent acquisition/merger activity in this market is having some wondering what will happen to future innovation and development. Will companies simply buy their way to large size? Or will innovation return as a strong stepping stone to higher growth? What innovative feature or function would you like to see in 3D printing/additive manufacturing systems? One example, a few engineers... Read More

From research to reality—the 3D printing of human tissue advances

Recently I encountered this story from Explaining the Future about developments in bioprinting. Bioprinting involves the use of 3D printing technology to print live cells to potentially build organs or other parts of the body. While still in the research phases, this application of 3D printing is astounding. As Explaining the Future noted, all bioprinters are experimental today.... Read More

3-D Printers used in research and treatment of health conditions

This story was recently published on 3/19/2012 in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. It’s an interesting look at the use of 3D printing in medical research at the Cleveland Clinic. By:Peggy Turbett, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio — Imagine a custom-made knee replacement modeled to fit exactly from scans of your own bone, built one infinitesimal layer at a time by... Read More

Turn sound into 3D printed reality

So, what can you do with a 3d printer? Well, one answer to this continual question is to create an image of your favorite sound. This is a cool little app. Known as The Vibe, it’s an iPhone case you can customize to your favorite sound using SoundCloud.       The Vibe connects to SoundCloud where you select your favorite sound. Then the waveform is created and integrated... Read More

The potential nightmare of “democratizing” 3D printing

In the 3D printing world, we are in a period of thinking only good things about this technology. However, for many engineers, the idea of “democratizing” the design and manufacture of parts brings up nightmare scenarios. For example, let’s say an average person wants to print a replacement part for their car (this is a critical part to the operation of the car) to fix it because... Read More