i.materialise 3D printing service blog

Cheaper US shipment costs

By Tatiana | May 22, 2013 | News | No comments

About a month ago we were very excited to announce to you that we started producing in the US. Today we’re happy to give you some more details about the benefits!

For our US customers we’ll be producing polyamide natural white, blue, red & black, alumide, paintable resin, prime gray and transparent resin models locally. For these orders we’ll apply shipment costs between 10 $-12$ (instead of 18$ ). Should your order also include prints in other materials, standard shipping cost will apply.

Note: To create level playing field between customers, there are no shipping costs for orders above $129 (in line with 99 € threshold applicable in Europe).

Tinkercad is back-and it’s free!

By Tatiana | May 21, 2013 | Community, News | No comments

Together with so many others we were really disappointed when Tinkercad announced it’s shut down. Deep down we hoped someone would acquire and save Tinkercad.

And it happened! Autodesk signed a deal to acquire Tinkercad and blow new life into the platform. The official announcement sounds really promising for many makers:

“The shutdown plan has been rolled back and effective immediately new users are again able to sign up for the site. Even better, at the request of Autodesk, we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts. We have automatically upgraded all existing free accounts to this new powerful plan. This account will be offered for a limited time only so make sure you sign up as soon as possible.

Before signing the deal we spent a lot of time talking to Autodesk engineers and product people about their vision for Tinkercad. We were impressed by the deep insight the Autodesk team had into the Tinkercad interface and the underlying technology. There is also a strong alignment on topics like furthering education and the vision of making design more accessible. But most of all we are very excited about the roadmap Autodesk has drafted for Tinkercad.

As our team continues working on Airstone I’m pleased to see Tinkercad find a safe and welcoming home. I can speak for everyone when I say that we are looking forward to using Tinkercad for a long time to come.”

Tinkercad will continue to work with our 3D printing service.

So what’s new? Free accounts will have access to store unlimited designs (instead of just one) and to import 3D meshes in STL format and 2D files in SVG format. They will be able to have access to shape scripting tools for generating 3D models parametrically -options that were previously only available to paid accounts.

We wish the Tinkercad team the very best with their new start!

Maker Faire update

By Becky | May 19, 2013 | Events | No comments

We’re here at the Bay Area Maker Faire, about 3/4 of the way through the day. It has been GREAT to see all of you who have stopped by so far. Franky was on the Autodesk “Future of 3D Printing” panel, which had some really good questions and answers about future 3D materials, current experimentation with materials, and where the industry is headed.

If you’ve gone by our booth, you may notice that we didn’t quite have all of our promised demos. Unfortunately, we had some delays in getting our items here on time (due a variety of factors beyond our control). We do still have material samples, though, and we’ll continue to be at the booth the rest of the evening and all day Sunday. (We’re working on getting our display pieces before Sunday morning and will update you if we will have additional items in the booth tomorrow.)

In addition, we are still doing our meet-up tonight at The Swingin’ Door here in San Mateo. So if you’re in the area, join us from 8-10 pm for a closer look at some of our samples, share what you’re working on, and ask us your 3D printing questions. We hope to see you there!

Featured Friday: showing your 3D printed designs

By Tatiana | May 17, 2013 | Featured Friday | No comments

Congratulations. You survived the work week! Let your weekend start properly with our Featured Friday! Check out the latest gallery entries.

Ari Pisilä 3D printed this brooch in brass gold plated and polished:

“I designed this funky fox for my mother in law since she is a big fan of foxes. This piece of art looks great and feels surprisingly heavy because it’s pretty thick. It has an integrated mechanism behind where a normal safety pin can be inserted.”

Raymond McConnell designed a Puma ring in unpolished stainless steel (old silver finish). This gives it a textured surface looking like fur. The USA ring size of 11 1/2 and a UK ring size of Y.

Our last design comes from Steve Koll. It’s a round cufflink with ginkgo leaf imprint on top. He 3D printed it in Titanium. Gorgeous!

Enjoy your weekend!

Win an Autodesk Premium Membership account with our Pencil Grip Challenge!

By Tatiana | May 17, 2013 | Challenges | No comments

Did you see the ‘dragonbite‘ pencil grip made by Vangelis and Dinos? Isn’t it stunning? Now we’re challenging you to make you’re own.

THE CHALLENGE
For this Challenge we’d like you to make an ergonomical, fun design for your pencil in polyamide. You can choose between all our polyamide finishes to give your design an extra touch.

PRIZES
We will select 5 winning designs. The 5 winners will all get the print of their design and an Autodesk Premium Membership.

Note that the jury selects upon the 3D renders you put online, so make sure to make a very clear, visible render.

WHO CAN ENTER
This challenge is open to all designers, professional and amateur, regardless of sex, age or nationality.

CHALLENGE PERIOD
Submissions will be accepted up to 23:59 Central European Time, June 30th, 2013.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
There is no limit on the number of entries per contestant. To enter, you need to upload your design(s) here and provide a clear explanation (under ‘desciption’) in at least 50 words. Note: we will put the english version online on Monday, but you can submit your design already at the Japanese or Korean version.

JURY
The i.materialise team together with Autodesk.

MATERIAL & BOUNDING BOX
Participants need to upload their file here. You can find more information about the file formats in our FAQs under ‘website’. The material for this challenge is polyamide.

There are limits on the size of the design:

Bounding box polyamide: 125 cm³ (e.g. 5 x 5 x 5cm)

DESIGN TIPS

Combining a good clearance and the flexibility of PA: Variation is the diameter of the pencil (an average one is 7.5 mm) and variations in the production process of PA make it difficult to make a perfect fit between the grip and the pencil. Therefore you have to foresee enough distance between the grip and the pencil. Go for a clearance of 0.6mm if you want to be sure that the pencil will pass through without getting stuck. Make sure to combine this clearance with the flexibility of PA in order to get a perfect fit. A good example is the mouth of the dragonbite which adjusts to the size of the pencil so that the pencil is tightly held. The front of the beak has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the pencil but will bend open and fit with the diameter of the pencil that get inserted.

Ergonomics: the purpose of the grip is to increase the ease of use of the pencil so it’s key to think about ergonomics of the future users. How well is your design adjusted to the end user? How will people with bigger or smaller hands hold the grip? Does the grip allow the fingers, hand and/or wrist to be in a neutral position so that the user feels no stress or strain? Etc. are questions to ask yourselves during the design.

Feel free to consult the design guide to have a nice overview of the possibilities of PA http://i.materialise.com/materials/polyamide/designGuide

GENERAL CONDITIONS
· i.materialise’s general terms & conditions apply to this challenge, for more information visit: http://i.materialise.com/legal/terms& & http://i.materialise.com/legal/terms#challenge

· All entries must be unique and never 3D printed before.

· i.materialise reserves the right to amend these rules at any time. Any amendment to competition rules will be posted on the i.materialise website.

· In addition, attendance of the semi-finalists at the award event is not mandatory and will be at expense of contestants. Prizes must be accepted as awarded. No cash alternatives or substitutes will be allowed. The decision of the jury will be final.

Join us for Autodesk’s ‘Future of 3D Printing’ panel at Maker Faire

By Becky | May 17, 2013 | Events | No comments

The Maker Faire is coming up quickly and we can’t wait to meet everyone! In addition to having a booth and a Saturday night meet-up, we’re participating in a panel -organized by Autodesk- at the Faire.

Autodesk is sponsoring a panel discussion on Saturday, May 18th from 3:00-3:30 pm on the Make: Live stage. And our very own Franky will be one of the panelists. The topics they’ll discuss will include the following:

What materials are on the way?
What new technologies can we expect in the coming year?
How will the technology change the creative landscape for Young Makers, Educators, Designers and Futurist?

And if there’s time, they’ll take audience questions as well. We’re looking forward to this discussion. So tell us, what questions would you ask about the future of 3D printing, given the opportunity?

Printcraft: 3D printing in Minecraft!

By Tatiana | May 16, 2013 | Community | No comments

When we met Paul at the 3D printshow last year we were really excited about his project. Now, 6 months later, it’s possible to 3D print your favorite designs from Minecraft through i.materialise!

Can you tell us a little bit more about Printcraft and yourself? How did you come up with
this idea?
Paul Harter: «I have a small software and technology consultancy. Over the years I have done a lot of work with 3D and real-time graphics, but Printcraft is my first foray into the world of 3D printing. Printcraft was a hobby project I started with my children. Through the Makers Guild, a group of makers, artists and coders in London, I had access to a Makerbot Thing-O-Matic when they first came out. When I brought it home for the first time my two boys, aged 8 and 11, were very excited. They wanted to jump on it and start printing, but the available CAD tools to design objects required a little too much learning before they could get started. They quickly got bored and
went back to building things online with their friends in Minecraft. The solution was simple: to print the things they are making in Minecraft. I wrote a small JavaScript script to pull models out of the game, which could then be converted into STL-files using OpenSCAD. This was the first version of Printcraft. »

How does it work?
Paul: «Since that first version I have completely rewritten Printcraft to make it a reliable and scalable tool for building models, this means that many more people can use it. The basic idea of Printcraft is very simple, it’s a customised Minecraft server, with the added ability to easily export models as files that can be printed on a 3D printer. To use Printcraft you first need a Minecraft account. If you don’t have one you can get Minecraft from Mojang. Then you login to one of our multi-player Minecraft servers: eu1.printcraft.org in Europe or us1.printcraft.org in America. »

In the game there are many building plots, you just pick one and build a model in it using Minecraft’s blocks. When you are ready you press the PRINT button next to the building plot and your model is sent off to be processed. You are given a link to a web page to collect it from, here you can see a preview of your model, and download it as an STL file, which can be printed on any 3D printer. You can share it with others using Thingiverse or get a print made for you by i.materialise. We are particularly excited by the ability of i.materialise to print in full colour, which offers the possibility of printing out very realistic Minecraft models. Our first test colour print from i.materialise was of a cow which we really like, and lots of people who have seen it are very excited by it too. »

Screenshot of the cow design in Minecraft.

What’s your background?
Paul: «I’m a Digital Toolmaker, which describes what I do better than just Computer Programmer or Technologist. Most of my work involves working closely with clients to make new creative software tools. My previous career was as a film and video editor, and much of my work is still for film and television, creating software production tools and real-time graphics. You can read about my other work on my company website.»

Why 3D printing?
Paul: «I’m as excited by the possibilities of 3D printing as everyone else. The ‘democratisation of production’ has been led by these new printers, and easy to use online 3D printing services, like i.materialise, are part of the same process, opening up advanced manufacturing techniques to a wider audience. I guess I see Printcraft as playing a similar enabling role, helping and encouraging young children to join in making things with these exciting new technologies.»

Skull design in Minecraft. Ready to 3D print?

Here you go! 3D printed in silver with a sandblasted finish.

EDUCATION
What is your goal with this project?
Paul: «I have recently received some funding from NESTA, Mozilla and the Nominet Trust, as part of their Digital Makers programme, to enable me to develop Printcraft further. I’m improving the technology so that many more people can use it and I’m working with teachers and students to create educational resources with Printcraft. Technology education is an interesting area at the moment in the UK. I find myself in the middle of a very active debate about how best to teach technology, in and out of school. Recently I’ve been developing workshops for teenagers with a group called Technocamps in Wales, and this term I’m working with a class of twelve year olds at Bethnal Green Academy in East London. We are using Princraft to help the students redesign and then remake their school in miniature. I’m learning at least as much as I’m teaching, and I hope Printcraft will prove to be a useful teaching aid that others can use too. This teaching is part of wider research I’m doing. Hand in hand with developing the software I’m exploring how Printcraft is being used in differentcontexts, home, school and clubs, so that I can make it a more fun and useful tool.»

And the winners of the Accessory Challenge in cooperation with Melinda Looi are..

By Tatiana | May 15, 2013 | Challenges | 4 Comments

We had such a hard time choosing the winners. But when we counted the votes of the i.materialise team, Wim Michiels (Materialise) and Melinda Looi we finally selected the 10 winning designs. They will all be exhibited during the fashion show in Malaysia.

On the 14^th of June, Materialise organizes an international 3D design fashion show in Malaysia. The following designs have just earned a spot at this event which will be attended by national and international media houses.

We want to thank all the participants for their hard work en beautiful entries. These are the winning designs:

Most ‘out of the box’ designs:

1. Linlin & Pierre-Yves Jacques

2. Marlon Artis -Owls Wear

3. AmniosyA- Fly around

4. Erin Joyce – Fierce birds

Most innovative designs: rethinking traditional accessories with 3D printing technology

1.       Gurusprad Rao- Peacock head gear:
2.       Saowakon P. – Kinnaree
3.       Gloria Valli – Woodpecker

Most Entrepreneurial innovations: best consumer oriented designs

1.       Marc van Megem – Hummingbird Bracelet:
2.       Marlon Artis – Snowey Owl Brooch
3.      Rachel Bridget Chee – Nesting Necklace

3D print Love, not War!

By Tatiana | May 13, 2013 | News | No comments

Who doesn’t like to buy flowers once in a while for their (girl)friends or family. Well, we certainly do! With the latest -unnecessary- buzz on the 3D printed gun, Belgian startup Twikit wants to spread a positive 3D printed message to the world.
They challenged Dutch designer Michiel Cornelissen to rethink the customization of medals and trophies. He came up with the idea of 3D printed polyamide flowers with a message.
You no longer need a card to go with the flowers. From now on you write your own personal note on the leaves. Twikit offers the flowers in different spring colors: red, green and pink.