Tinkercad announces its closure
Only one hour ago we heard the sad news about Tinkercad its closure. The founders decided to concentrate on a new simulation environment called Airstone.
” Our vision was that a software platform created specifically for supercomputers would let us build some very exciting applications. In early 2011 we launched Tinkercad on this platform. It was the first cloud-based 3D CAD ever built and has grown to be a successful product in its category.
In parallel with Tinkercad, we continued development of the core platform. In October 2012, we launched a scripting interface for one of the key components, the Gen6 geometry modeling kernel. And finally, in late 2012, we had several major breakthroughs in our research work on the core platform that opened up application possibilities we had never imagined possible.
In response to these breakthroughs, I’m excited to announce an updated roadmap. There are two major parts to the new roadmap: 1) we are working on an innovative new simulation
Featured Friday: Showing your 3D printed designs
It’s almost weekend, so that means it’s time for our Featured Friday! Check out the latest entries.
Designer Armand Graham created this beautiful bracelet in gold plated brass:
Marc Fournier designed this great ring in silver:
And last but not least: Software companie Uformia, which we wrote a previous blog about, created this ceramics cup by using 3D face scan data of a real Norwegian Viking.
Enjoy your weekend!
Don’t forget to put your designs in the gallery.
Parametric Parts: Making customization a piece of cake
Are you looking for a specific model; but can’t find the right size? Dave Cowden, a mechanical engineer with a passion for 3D printing, came up with the solution: Parametric Parts. An interview!
What’s your background?
David: «I was educated as a Mechanical Engineer, but I’ve always enjoyed ‘making things’. I moved into the IT industry about 15 years ago, and managed an e-commerce team for 10 years during the dot-com boom. Today, I count software engineering, agile software development, and programming as my trade, but I still make things at home as a hobby. Home projects include making CNC machines and 3D printers. I first worked on 3D printers back in 1992, when they cost > $250,000-at that time at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft. I’ve followed them ever since. 3D printing has always been fascinating to me, along with all other technologies used to make things.»
Why did you start Parametric Parts?
David: «I had the idea while working with my 3D printer at home. I was frustrat
Meet the (train) designer: Ed de Bruijn
There are so many beautiful scaled train and tram models in our gallery that we couldn’t wait any longer to put them on the blog. Meet one of the specialists: Ed de Bruijn.
Where did you grow up?
« I grew up near and in Haarlem, the Netherlands. I had a relaxed childhood being the youngest of 5 children. In 1986 I met my wife and we got married in 1994. In 1999 we moved to Bussum, where we still live. We have two kids, Ewout (16) and Rozemarijn (12).»
What do you do in your everyday life?
« I used to be an Interim Manager, but unfortunately the crisis hit hard so I tried to find a new way of living. I’ve been building train models for many years and people were always very enthusiastic about my design skills. They asked me so many times to build them a model too, but there was a big problem: I used to build in metal (brass) and the number of hours to get the result was too big. The price of the model would become enormous so luckily I heard about 3D printing! Now I can order th
Episode 4: Nokia Lumia 820 shell: functional and smooth!
We promised yesterday to show you an upgraded Nokia Lumia 820 shell, so here we are again with the newest shell: harder, better, stronger, faster!
FULL POWER
After episode 1, 2 and 3, fasten your seatbelts for episode 4! Our engineering team worked on full power again with the 3-matic and Magics software to fine-tune the shell even more. The version you see here is 3D printed in ABS, a very accurate material. Unfortunately it’s not the cheapest material to 3D print in, but wait until our next blog to see the perfect alternative.
So what did they do? The engineers created what they call a ‘fillet‘: they smoothened and flattened the edges of the camera whole. Maybe it’s not that visible on the picture, but wait till you feel it in your hands…
The shell was printed like this, to get the best results:
And, because of the support structure, it’s very important to take the print out very carefully so you don’t damage the buttons.
It’s been four days now since our ve
The Nokia Lumia 820 story continues: the first functional print is born!
After all the nonfunctional prints, it’s now time for our good news show: the first functional Nokia Lumia 820 shell is alive and kicking!
After day one and two of the tests, it was very clear to everyone: The Nokia file needs engineering to work correctly. So our engineering team was sweating off a lot the past few days, but now it’s official: i.materialise can release the first 3D printable ánd functional Nokia Lumia 820 shell!
To be correct: we can actually show you two shells in different materials (resin and polyamide) that passed our test.
Dries, one of the engineers, can tell you exactly how they prepared their work: “We used 3-matic software to perform the needed design operations on the STL file, such as cutting the shell in two parts and thicken the outer shell (from 0.9 to 2 mm). Then we changed the tolerance on the buttons of our resin design because we needed more space between them. On the picture you can see that the buttons are loose, printed in transparant
Meet the designer: Dizingof
He is probably one the most well-known 3D designers in the 3D community and made Thingiverse his second home with more than 160 free 3D designs. Now it’s time to meet the man behind Dizingof: Asher Nahmias from Tel-Aviv, Israel.
When did you start being interested in design?
Asher Nahmias: «Basically I’m self-thought. I’ve started learning design around September 2009 when I run into a Dutch start up that offered a 3d printing service. It seemed very exciting to learn how to transform ideas and concepts into real objects. I published some of my concepts on my Youtube channel – back then they were mainly ‘cool’ accessories for iDevices.»
«I then moved to learning every piece of 3d tool/software that I could find and practically did R&D into anything 3D.. surfaces, meshes construction and augmentation etc..
I had this notion that once I have the knowledge to master mesh creation and surface manipulation I could probably design anything I set my mind to or when creativity juices
MeshUp: Mashup for meshes
For those of you who ever wondered how to save the world from polygons, we may have found the answer at the recent 3D Printshow in London: MeshUp. Developed by a Norwegian company called Uformia, MeshUp wants to create the missing link between advanced 3D modeling features and easy modification by non-experienced 3D modelers.
“MeshUp is the first real volume modeler for meshes. We want to make life easier for 3D printing and for creators. At Uformia we envision a very different experience for users, where without effort, a creator can be sure that their models are always ready for 3D printing.”
At the 3D Printshow, Uformia offered free face scans. They could be used to effortlessly model and personalize a variety of template objects that are watertight and ready to print. For example, ‘Tor Kipper’, a coffee cup with real face scan data that we printed for Uformia in glossy white ceramics.
Features
- Mesh mixing: Create new objects by remixing any number of meshes and
The revolution begins here: 3D Printshow in London
What a great weekend we had in London! The 3D Printshow was overwhelming and crowded at times, but very interesting because of the people you meet and the stories you hear.
Was it the result of the hype around 3D printing? Or did the revolution really start past weekend? It’s hard to tell. But we can say we never saw more people attending a 3D printing event than this one. Not only designers and software companies appeared; also families, students, hobbyists and people who were just generally interested in this ‘new’ industry were very enthusiastic visitors.
What surprised me the most were the inventive designs people are now able to create. The (fashion) show on friday night gave some hints of what people could expect during the weekend, but when you could take a closer look in the galleries afterwards it abolutely blew me away. There were amazing pieces showcased of Niccolo Casas , Matthew Plummer- Fernandez, INNER | LEAF , Iris van Herpen, Michiel Cornelissen, Frans
Who is (y)our Business Developer
Hi all
Although I did some –very occasional- blog posts here, my colleague Tatiana asked me (many times already) to also ‘officially’ introduce myself. My name is Martijn, 30 years old. I work on i.materialise business development. My days are filled with exploring and shaping new products, collaborations and partnerships.
I Live in Antwerp (great city -but unfortunately- far away from Materialise). They say people from Antwerp are very ‘chauvinistic’. I don’t think I am, but we did create a vase once based on the logo of the city and presented it. We never got it back : )
I studied Product development at the academy of Antwerp – and followed an additional year in product Innovation. It feels like a long time ago. But fun it was.
I started working at Materialise, in the –hold on- ‘Rapid prototyping and manufacturing software department’ as the first business developer. Shortly after, the 3Dprinting virus bit me and we started looking into new ideas/products & market. Especia
