netfabb and the magic boxes

Monday, May 07, 2012 by Susanne Zeitler

3D printers are no longer just a toy for a small group of DIY'ers; You can assemble one, print with it and get excellent results on the same day. But the market grows, so it's really hard to find out which machine is the best. And how can you copy and print real things?

The renowned German magazine for computer and technology c´t has published 16 pages about these questions. They present 3D scanning techniques that you can imitate with only a common digital camera or also with a Kinect camera. In a second article, they evaluate seven "magic boxes": the 3D printers 3D touch, RapMan 3.2, Replicator, Ultimaker, Protos, Felix 1.0 D and UP! netfabb is part of this in the chapter about preparing files from scanning to printing and also as engine for the Ultimaker printer. Thanks c´t magazine for mentioning us!

via c´t

Category: 3D Printer

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From game to printer: Convert your favorite characters into STL files

Friday, May 04, 2012 by Susanne Zeitler

If you ran out of ideas what you should print next, here's something cool we've just found: The shareware 3D Object Converter can import 3D model data from external sources and convert them into standard 3D file formats. The software supports an incredible number of 615 different file formats! So if you're into gaming for example, you can drag your favorite character from the game, import it into netfabb and let it become real on your 3D printer!

via 3d Object Converter

Category: 3D Printer

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Issue "Copyright" - Will lawyers hunt for your printed model?

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 by Susanne Zeitler

Have you ever wondered about who created the file you're printing - or about who designed the three-dimensional part you've just reproduced on your machine?

When it comes to 3D printing, "the copyright discussions of the last years seem to be only an entertaining short story," say the guys from Breitband, a program of the German radio station Deutschlandradio Kultur. "With a 3D printer in your living room, the so called 'intellectual property' turns into real, tangible property." Today, you can share movies, music and software, but in the future, that might also be figures, cups or even cars and their models. Is it possible, that lawyers won't just proceed against music piracy, but also against users, who share and download the models of the latest branded shoe?

If you know some German, you should listen to the very interesting discussion with Rüdiger Stihl and Nick Pinkston about intellectual property on Breitband's website.

Category: 3D Printer

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2012 Annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference

Friday, April 27, 2012 by Ulf Lindhe

I just participated in what must be one of the best conferences I have ever been to, the 2012 Annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference (AMUG) held in Costa Mesa April 22-26, 2012. After a bold decision by the organizers to change the name from 3D Systems Users Group to the Additive Manufacturing Users Group and include all technologies in the conference the attendance almost doubled compared with previous year. The general atmosphere and willingness to share information was outstanding. Four days of in-depth technical presentations were complemented with two evenings of networking and two evenings of a Technology Expo featuring 56 exhibitors.

Next years event will be held in Jacksonville, Florida, from April 14 – 18, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville. Expect record attendance and a high level on presentations.

More info about AMUG at: http://www.additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com/index.htm

Category: 3D Printer

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FIT Technology Day

Monday, April 02, 2012 by Ulf Lindhe

As part of the FIT Group, netfabb participated in the FIT Technology Day at FIT headquarters in Parsberg in Germany. The Technology Day was arranged with parallell conference and training sessions and ended with a big party. Some 500 people attended and the event was a great success. The picture below shows all my awesome colleagues within the FIT companies. You all did a great job!

Customers, prospects and families were invited to the event and all employees had a chance to interact with our customers and prospects. netfabb had its own area during the event and hundreds of visitors stopped by for a demo and a chat with our developers.

Category: 3D Printer

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Additive Manufacturing featured by CNN Money

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 by Ulf Lindhe

Additive Manufacturing with Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and netfabb Selective Space Structures featured by CNN Money with examples from robotics, aerospace and prosthetics.

Full story at: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/03/15/t-ts-additive-manufacturing.cnnmoney/

Category: 3D Printer

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Vijay Kumar: Robots that fly ... and cooperate

Monday, March 12, 2012 by Alexander Oster

A short update to our recent blog post about small robots performing the James Bond Theme. Vijay Kumar gave a very enlightening talk about what exciting quadrocopter control technologies they are working on.

via TED - Ideas worth spreading and University of Pennsylvania

Category: 3D Printer

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3D Print the shape of sound

Saturday, March 10, 2012 by Ulf Lindhe

New app from Shapeways allow you to create 3D printed objects from the shape of your own sound profile. 3D print at the ~~speed~~ shape of sound. Capture a voice, moment or music in seconds or upload audio you’ve already created and create your unique 3D printed object.

More info at http://www.shapeways.com/creator/thevibe

Category: 3D Printer

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netfabb on German TV: Update

Tuesday, March 06, 2012 by Alexander Oster

As announced, netfabb for Ultimaker was a topic on the major German TV network ProSieben. And the exposition was really wonderful and understandable for everyone. And we of course love the long-lasting occurance of netfabb Studio for Mac. Thanks to Andreas Kahler from FabLab Munich for the excellent presentation.

You can watch the full stream here: http://www.prosieben.de/tv/galileo/videos/clip/279462-3d-drucker-1.3097687/

via Galileo

Category: 3D Printer

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netfabb on German TV

Monday, March 05, 2012 by Alexander Oster

Today, the Ultimaker and netfabb will be topic on one of the major German TV networks. netfabb airs on Pro7 Galileo this evening: 5th March 2012, 7pm CET.